Writing to Overcome Trauma and Improve Your Mental and Physical Health

In this video, we dive into the fascinating world of expressive writing and explore how turning your trauma into a narrative can lead to real mental and physical benefits.
Join us as we break down the science behind the Expressive Writing Paradigm and share groundbreaking research by Dr. James Pennebaker and others. From reducing PTSD symptoms to improving mood and stress levels, discover how this simple yet powerful technique can help you process emotions, gain new insights, and ultimately promote long-term healing.
If you're interested in psychology, trauma recovery, or just looking for a new way to boost your mental health, this video is for you. We also include practical writing prompts that you can try right away to experience these benefits firsthand. Don’t miss out on this deep dive into one of the most accessible therapeutic tools available!
#ExpressiveWriting #MentalHealth #TraumaRecovery #WritingTherapy #resilience
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[@sandylopez1069]

I so appreciate this interview and the intervention with the supporting data!!! ❤

[@daisynorman5777]

Very interesting and informative discussion.

[@SylviabombsmithUjhy75bd34]

Excellent interview! She seems very smart and obviously knows her stuff. I had a few thoughts of my own to add, if I may:
-Something happens unconsciously when we codify thought into written word; it becomes official. Psychoanalytically, we might think of writing interventions as encouraging making the unconscious conscious, making the implicit, explicit. Language and its centrality in our species leaves no surprise that writing can bring about healing and cathartic effects that Emerald alludes to (you should have Steven Pinker on! - a renowned psychologist and expert on language).
-"We don't store experiences, we _storey_ them" - Which makes sense why writing would allow for a type of re-authorship of one's narratives, or at the very least, allow for what has been called the "sense-making process" whereby we help the patient "make sense" of the things they have been through which have led them to who they are now.
-From a Social Constructive perspective, and as Dr. Steven Bacon contends, therapy deals with "constructed reality" (opposed to professions which deal in "physical reality" like surgery or engineering, where you have to have "specialized knowledge" and training to be able to do those jobs. Not the case with psychotherapy. We all know the studies that show that training and experience do not seem to reflect or account for much of successful therapeutic outcomes (Okiishi et al., 2006; Smith et al., 1977; Wampold & Brown, 2005). As such, writing provides the opportunity for the patient to "construct" (or sometimes deconstruct) the event differently, in a more adaptive way.
51:17 - I am reminded of the saying "avoid avoiding". This central idea of "going towards" (and _not_ avoiding) that which is difficult because we believe that is where the healing occurs, is a very old idea, and an interdisciplinary one as well. Frank Ostaseski tells a beautiful 2 minute story about a Telephone Pole analogy an audience member gave during a Q & A he gave after a lecture. Link below in the references.
We also see this idea reflected in the animal kingdom. The bison face their body towards an oncoming storm, and then walk right through it (reminiscent of the saying "the only way to it, is through it")
-Finally, there is one other benefit that writing provides. It provides the opportunity for the individual to uncover the *specific* *details* of the traumatic event (one could imagine how writing prompts might be useful here), which can sometimes get lost in a persons recollection of the event. Dr. Allen Wade (the founder of Response-Based Therapy) talks about the importance of getting the physical descriptors and details about the event to uncover hidden forms of resistance (to the violence) and attempts at maintaining the individuals dignity (two underlying assumptions that Response-based approaches hold). Watch Dr. Allen Wade tell 2 different and fabulous stories of how, upon drilling down to the details, we get a very different picture of the traumatic event, rather than if we just assumed the sequence of events that took place. Links in the references.
References
Okiishi, J. C., Lambert, M. J., Eggett, D., Nielsen, L., Dayton, D. D., & Vermeersch, D. A. (2006). An analysis of therapist treatment effects: Toward providing feedback to individual therapists on their clients' psychotherapy outcome. Journal of clinical psychology, 62(9), 1157-1172.
Smith, M. L., & Glass, G. V. (1977). Meta-analysis of psychotherapy outcome studies. American psychologist, 32(9), 752.
Wampold, B. E., & Brown, G. S. J. (2005). Estimating variability in outcomes attributable to therapists: a naturalistic study of outcomes in managed care. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 73(5), 914.
th-cam.com/video/D4O8tR2KoAk/w-d-xo.html - Therapists Don't Improve with Training or with Experience
th-cam.com/video/4lHrWO5bvwc/w-d-xo.html - Turn Toward Suffering - Frank Ostaseski, Founder, Metta Institute
th-cam.com/video/xSSXrGUVSQE/w-d-xo.html - Violence Resistance And The Power In Language_February 6, 2019 Dr. Allen Wade
th-cam.com/video/7Gzq_mB_gGE/w-d-xo.html - The rise of the resistance movement - enough is enough Dr. Allen Wade