Use of self-guided writing therapy as an intervention for trauma: A sample of incarcerated women

Abstract

A growing body of scientific literature suggests that when individuals are asked to write about personally upsetting experiences, significant improvements in physical health are found. However, some attempts to replicate these findings and establish causal relationships between disclosure and health have yielded inconsistent results. Thus, in an effort to implement a narrative therapy utilizing a less typical sample, Pennebaker's self-guided writing therapy was utilized as an intervention for incarcerated women who had experienced traumatic events. Volunteer participants were randomly assigned to either the traumatic (experimental) or trivial topic (control) writing group, and were asked to write on these topics daily for four days. Objective medical utilization data was collected for the 12 weeks pre-intervention through 12 weeks post-intervention, and was supplemented by participant self-report measures. Institutional misconduct data was also collected for this period. No decreases in medical utilization or institutional misconduct were found. However, a significant increase in mental health utilization was demonstrated by the treatment group following the intervention. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research in this area are discussed.