None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Existing therapeutic writing studies are largely based on Expressive Writing, a short-term intervention based on a single writing-task instruction. They have demonstrated the emotional and physical health benefits in various populations; however, the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a longitudinal therapeutic writing program utilising creative writing undertaken in a therapeutic setting to improve emotional wellbeing and adaptation to grief is unknown. The premise underlying this longitudinal study was that more and longer-lasting health benefits might be achieved than the short-term Expressive Writing intervention in the context of grieving if the writing intervention was extended, if writing prompts were more varied and if the intervention was undertaken in a therapeutic setting. This quantitative and qualitative Writing-for-wellbeing pilot study assessed the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a longitudinal writing intervention in helping participants to work through their grief to facilitate adaptation, meaning-making, and emotional wellbeing. The study was designed to test a 6-session writing intervention with two groups of 10 adult participants each. The first comprised bereaved participants. The participants in the second group had experienced living losses, which included life-threatening illness, divorce, infertility, severe long-term menopause, caring for an elderly parent with dementia, loss of family connection, and caring for a disabled child. Groups were small to facilitate a safe environment and an intimate space for sharing. To assess potential efficacy, participants completed a series of measures at pre-test (immediately before session 1) and post-test (at the conclusion of session 6). Participants completed measures of prolonged grief, adaptive coping, anxiety and depression, meaning reconstruction, and a satisfaction questionnaire.
Interventions
Name: Rewriting Grief and Loss: A Pilot Writing-For-Wellbeing Study
Participants took part in six weekly 2.5-hour sessions, which included two writing exercises followed by sharing after each. Each of the 12 writing exercises lasted 20–30 minutes and had different and varied writing instructions. Writing-for-wellbeing writing prompts are inclusive of creative, imaginary, expressive, and metaphorical writing. The writing exercises used Free-Flow Writing (FFW), a technique that works on the prin
Name: Rewriting Grief and Loss: A Pilot Writing-For-Wellbeing Study Participants took part in six weekly 2.5-hour sessions, which included two writing exercises followed by sharing after each. Each of the 12 writing exercises lasted 20–30 minutes and had different and varied writing instructions. Writing-for-wellbeing writing prompts are inclusive of creative, imaginary, expressive, and metaphorical writing. The writing exercises used Free-Flow Writing (FFW), a technique that works on the principle of free association. Participants are given a set of guidelines that are designed to access thoughts and feelings by free association, without revision, editing or correction and write for a set time (Killick & Schneider, 2010). Killick, J., & Schneider, M. (2010) Writing yourself. Continuum. Participants used their own pens and were provided with a folder with paper. Adherence was monitored through session attendance checklists. The Writing-for-wellbeing intervention was delivered by an experienced practitioner who holds a doctorate in Creative Writing with a research focus on grief, bereavement and narrative psychology. The study was undertaken by the same scholar and a co-investigator who is a Professor of psychology. The intervention was delivered face-to-face in a group setting There were two groups. Group one had 10 bereaved participants and Group 2 had 10 participants who had experienced a range of non-death losses Location: The intervention was held April to May 2021 in Perth, Australia, at the premises of the Grief Centre of Western Australia, 105 Banksia Street, Tuart Hill WA 6060.
Sponsors
Dr. Katrin Den Elzen
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Adults. Participants have to be literate and able to understand English, there are no special writing skills necessary, Participants must have experienced grief either due to bereavement or another significant loss such as life-threatening illness, divorce, infertility, or caring for an elderly parent with dementia. No limitation was placed on how long ago the loss occurred. The rationale underpinning this decision was to allow people the opportunity to actively address their grief even a long time after their loss occurred.
Exclusion criteria
None
Outcome results
None listed