About Therapeutic Creative Writing

Therapeutic writing draws on the work of psychologist James Pennebaker, who found that writing about challenging experiences for just 15 minutes a day over four days helped people to process emotions. He found it helped his participants gain perspective and improve both their mental and physical health. Pennebaker's research showed that putting thoughts into written words can reduce stress, boost immunity, and foster emotional clarity. 

Later others asked the question, what happens to our well-being when we write creatively?

In response, Celia Hunt found that creative writing encourages a closer relationship with our inner world, leading to discoveries about ourselves. By committing creative words to a page, we find ways to change and heal. Gillie Bolton suggests that through creative writing, we encourage a deeper exploration of our internal landscape, offering us a reflective tool to communicate with ourselves.