What will your story be? The Transformative Power of Expressive Writing

Journal title EDUCATIONAL REFLECTIVE PRACTICES
Author/s Denise VanBriggle
Publishing Year 2011 Issue 2011/1-2
Language Italian Pages 29 P. 111-139 File size 373 KB
DOI 10.3280/ERP2011-001007
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In the last 15 pages, the article is in English.

This literature review explores research focusing on the potential for expressive writing to heal and transform adults. Our stories have the capacity to name and bring closure to painful and unpleasant events. Stories allow us to explore the pieces of our lives "from the mundane to the trauma- tic" and weave them into a comprehensive whole. In this review the term "heal" is used in psychological and somatic terms. Does nailing our pain to the page renew our sense of self? Do our bodies seem lighter because writing lifts our burdens? An analysis of the studies about writing and healing results in a synthesis of three interrelated themes that underscore expressive writing’s function as a healing process: revealing our secrets, naming our pain, and the associated physical and mental health benefits. The connection between story making and truth telling as tools for selfdiscovery and as catalysts for perspective transformation begs further study.

Denise VanBriggle, Quale sarà la tua storia? Il potenziale trasformativo della scrittura espressiva in "EDUCATIONAL REFLECTIVE PRACTICES" 1-2/2011, pp 111-139, DOI: 10.3280/ERP2011-001007