About Expressive Writing

  • Expressive writing is a form of therapeutic writing that delves into one's deepest thoughts and feelings in a free-flowing and unedited manner. Unlike a regular journal or literary genre with set expectations, the primary purpose of expressive writing is to delve into, process, and make sense of difficult emotions, experiences, or parts of the self.

  • The benefits of therapeutic writing abound. Here are a few:

    • Process Emotions: Writing helps you organize your thoughts and feelings, allowing you to understand and make sense of difficult experiences.

    • Release Tension: Putting your emotions on paper provides a safe outlet, which can relieve stress and reduce the mental burden of holding them in.

    • Meaning Making: Expressive writing offers the opportunity to shape chaotic, painful, or confusing experiences into a coherent narrative, transforming them from a series of events that happened to you into a meaningful story you can fully metabolize and understand—bringing you closer to post-traumatic growth.

    • Gain Perspective: Writing also creates the necessary distance from an experience to help you see it from a new angle and to gain fresh insights.

  • Writing with others can be scary. But going it alone isn’t the answer, either. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness a public health epidemic, noting that about half of American adults reported experiencing loneliness even before the COVID-19 pandemic. People who gravitate toward writing know a thing or two about isolation, as do folks who’ve struggled with their mental health.

    You don’t have to go it alone. Here are a some of the unique therapeutic benefits of writing with a group:

    • The Power of Witness: When others listen without judgment, your story is validated, and a private burden can transform into a shared experience.

    • Deepened Self-Understanding: Reading your own words aloud can bring new insights, leading to a deeper understanding of your emotions and perspective.

    • Fostering Connection: Sharing your story invites others to do the same, creating a sense of community and reminding you that you are not alone in your struggles.

    • Overcoming Shame: Giving voice to a personal story helps break the hold of shame, as you realize that your story is only a part of you, not all of you and not something to hide.

  • As Joan Didion wrote: “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” But sometimes, these stories can be limiting, or even harmful. They can crowd out newer, more vibrant parts of yourself, leading to anxiety, depression, and a life that can feel smaller than it should be. As a psychotherapist and longtime writer of personal nonfiction that has delved into my own personal past, and as a teacher of creative writing with more than twenty years of experience working with people of all ages and in diverse settings, I’m uniquely qualified to help you find a new story for a new chapter in your life. Let’s dive in! The water’s warm.