The Transformative Power of Expressive Writing for Wellbeing

Regina Beach is a freelance writer and editor. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Plumb Lines project for Lapidus International. Read more of her work here.

I recently had the thrill and privilege of acting and singing in a play, (something I haven’t done since I was in school.) I’m not a professional singer, I’m certainly not a dancer and yet I was invited alongside 13 other amateur performers to do a two-week artist residency and perform our co-created show “From Where I Sit” as the capstone of the Disability Arts Festival in the state of Alabama—all thanks to writing for wellbeing.  

I was first introduced to the concept of writing for wellbeing through a scientific study out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Arts in Medicine program. The investigators were looking at the effectiveness of expressive writing on facilitating grief resolution in adults with spinal cord injury and illness. I had just finished running an Artist’s Way creative cluster for people (like me) who live with Multiple Sclerosis. Three of us decided to join the study not really knowing what to expect.  

The format was one-on-one or small group video conferencing led by a coach trained in expressive writing. We met for a half hour every week for 10 weeks. Each meeting started with a minute of silent breathing to get settled. Then the meeting guidelines were reiterated, and a new prompt was introduced. Twelve minutes were given to write on the prompt and then participants were given time to silently read over (but not edit) what they wrote. Finally we had seven minutes to write a response to our own writing. At the end of each meeting participants had the opportunity to share their writing with the facilitator if we wanted to. 

We wrote to prompts such as Use expressive writing focussed on thoughts and feelings to describe your current life situation; or Emotional disclosure – write about the feelings you have around living with MS. ALL feelings are valid and worthy of expression; and Affirmative writing pays attention to the present and looks forward to the future and focuses on the mind, body and spirit. Use affirmative writing to write about what you’ve learned about yourself while living with MS.   

I found the process very cathartic and enjoyed getting to know my coach, Elizabeth over the course of the 10 weeks. She had vaguely mentioned a group of alumni I could join once I had finished the study if I wanted to. Several months after my one-on-one sessions concluded I was invited to a Zoom meetup where Artistic Co-Director of Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, Suzanne Costello, had been collecting personal stories to create a stage show about the lived experience of people living with spinal cord illness and injury. 

Suzanne had directed similar projects based on expressive writing and storytelling with veterans, people impacted by cancer, and incarcerated women. She has built a career on bringing theater to people who may not consider themselves theater goers and creating professional-level performances starring people with little-to-no previous acting experience. We continued to write to prompts and share our work monthly. Anita Hollander a disabled composer, came on board as our music director and turned our stories into four beautiful songs. 

I feel so fortunate that I had this opportunity to perform, to be seen and heard, and to help shed light on what is sometimes an invisible disability with the wider world. The residency was transformative for my confidence and creativity. I have made life-long friends and we continue to meet monthly in peer-led sessions where we share our writing, update one another on our lives and choose a prompt for the following month. This is the power of expressive writing: bringing strangers together to share their lived experience and create something bigger than themselves.

From Where I Sit is available to watch on YouTube here and here. 

The initial published research study: Effects of a coach-guided video-conferencing expressive writing program on facilitating grief resolution in adults with SCI

And the subsequent research study: Exploring the Therapeutic Role of Coach-Guided Videoconferencing Expressive Writing in Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Study