Uncovering Treasures That Matter (eBook)

Writing as a Tool for Healing

When you write, you know that you must clearly state to the reader precisely what you mean to say if you want them to understand your message. There is no chance to add explanatory asides; every aspect of the writing must be carefully thought through as one puts pen to paper. This act activates different areas of the brain to examine all the information you wish to convey. It helps to describe the characters, their relationships and feelings, and their varying perspectives. All this is done in the brain, forging new connections and insights. New insights often emerge from the very act of writing them down. You may gain a more profound knowledge of yourself by logically going through the event in your mind. Writing will provide insights that may lead to a deeper understanding of your behavior, emotions, and motivations. It can be a powerful tool for change.

Writing can give meaning to your feelings; when you write and read aloud what you have written, you share that feeling with another person. It helps to gain an understanding of memories and unresolved issues. You will learn new things about yourself and see life differently…all steps to change. The writing process is therapeutic; you will connect with others and yourself by sharing the stories.

In contrast, when we just tell a story, we are resaying what we already know. We watch to see if the other person gets it. We’ve all heard the ‘fish that got away’ story repeatedly. Maybe we are even guilty of telling one ourselves. When we write, we create something entirely new. We take those random, unconnected thoughts, write them down, read them over, and rewrite them until we get them right. The next step is to read it to a sensitive and empathetic listener, someone you can dialogue with to gain a more profound knowing. You are transformed in the process of writing, and you see your path more clearly.

James Baldwin said about writing, “You go into a book, and you’re in the dark, really. You go in with a certain fear and trembling. You know one thing. You will not be the same person when this voyage is over. But you don’t know what’s going to happen to you between getting on the boat and stepping off. And you have to trust that.”

Journal Writing

Diaries and journal writing have been around for centuries; this is a private, uncensored examination of one’s life – written for oneself. It can take many forms, daily musings, writing to help work through and clarify existing problems, or writing to chronicle one’s life. The primary component is private, personal, unstructured, and individual. Ira Progoff was one of the first to identify the value of the journal writing method in his book, At a Journal Workshop (https://intensivejournal.org/Intensive_quick-summary.php). He was a psychotherapist who focused on depth psychology and Jungian approaches to study the lives of ordinary people. This method consists of specific writing exercises that touch on all aspects of life. The purpose is for patients to get to know and understand their lives and to find a way to work through whatever issues prevent them from achieving their full potential.

Example: Where has the time gone? Where has my life gone? In many ways, it feels unplanned but not meaningless. Instead, it seems that one thing naturally unfolds into the next. Primarily it concerns my work and the meaning I gain from that. Without that, I don’t know how I would handle the lockdown that COVID has inflicted on all of us. I wonder what my life will be like when I am not working. I wonder if I should think about that now, plan, and listen to what other people say. Not much would happen if I had to figure out what to do and what I care about each day. I think I could wander around. This seems important to me to know.

Expressive Writing

This method of writing is personal and emotional and uncovers the inner thoughts and feelings related to an event with no regard for “writing style.” James Pennebaker began studying expressive writing and wellness in the 1980s with college students at the University of Texas at Austin (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/psychology/faculty/pennebak). The findings showed that the students who had written about a traumatic event, compared to those who wrote about an emotionally neutral topic, made fewer visits to the health center in the ensuing months (Pennebaker & Beall, 1986). This initial study has led to a plethora of research that shows a range of benefits from expressive writing, such as enhanced immune function, clinical improvement in health status for patients with asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, and improved quality of life for cancer patients (Baikie & Wilhem, 2005). The bottom line is that writing from the heart to the emotional core of things is good for you.

Example: I’m sitting in a waiting room at a Kaiser facility after receiving the first dose of the COVID vaccine. I have read all the disclaimers regarding this Pfizer vaccine and almost changed my mind. I’ve now taken a dose of a vaccine that has not been thoroughly tested or 100% approved by the FDA that may prevent COVID but has no tested effect on the new virulent strains of COVID. This is all new and untested, and I have joined the millions who are getting the vaccine to hopefully restore a bit of human contact and freedom into our lives.

Morning Pages

In her book, The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron created a writing method she calls morning pages (https://juliacamerononlive.com/the-artists-way/). It is an unstructured form of writing that taps into the subconscious. The process includes three handwritten pages of stream of conscious writing done first thing each morning, thus the title, morning pages. The goal is to get the thoughts out of one’s mind and down on paper. It is a cleansing and healing written form of meditation. It was initially designed for blocked artists to get them back to their creative essence and away from the fears that limit them. It applies to everyone. The primary goal is to write without thought for purpose, structure, format, or to share with anyone else. It is written for your eyes only. The desired outcome is a clearing of your mind.

Example: August 2018, It is 18 degrees centigrade, with clear skies and no wind. I feel like a sailor, reporting on the sailing weather for the day. I rarely think about the weather when I am home in California, mainly because I am not outside in it as I am here in Sweden. And secondly because it seldom changes. If one were to say it will be in the mid-70s F, more than 50% of the time, it would be spot on! Now the laundry is done, and the house is getting back in shape after hosting the family for 2+ weeks. Now I feel the space I need to concentrate and work on meaningful projects. Oh, how I look forward to that.

Life Story Thematic Writing

In the mid-1970s, while dean of the Leonard Davis School of gerontology at the University of Southern California (USC), James E. Birren created a life story writing method called Guided Autobiography. This method is described in detail in his last book, Telling the Stories of Life in Guided Autobiography Groups (Birren & Cochran, 2001).

(www.guidedautobiography.com). This process guides participants through major life themes using sensitizing questions designed to stimulate their memories. Students must write two pages of their own life story based on one of the questions that resonate with them. In the structured Guided Autobiography (GAB) workshop, participants are divided into small groups of 6 and share their stories. These stories may never have been told, yet each carries such a weight; they are pivotal life events. The program consists of nine life themes and questions each person responds to in writing and then reads to others in their group. GAB was designed as a small group process to help others write their life story two pages at a time.

Example: Family—My hero. Grace

She came into my life when I was four. She was an African American lady. I never even thought of her as black; even now, I think of our skin as the same even though I am a fair, white-skinned person. I loved her with all my heart. I still love her. I miss her so much. She died in 1972 when I was 25. I was so distraught that I could not even go to the service.

Grace taught me almost everything that matters in life. She taught me to laugh, sing, dance, and care about other people truly and deeply. She had had a hard life being a black woman in the south. She came north to New Jersey, where I lived. She took such good care of me. My physician father and fashion model mother were busy elsewhere.

Grace was steady. Grace was calm. Grace was good. Grace was brilliant, not educated, but so intelligent. Grace knew what was necessary. Grace’s love was of profound importance to my life.

The Treasures That Matter Method

Therapists use many different methods when helping their clients; one of them may include writing. Many writing traditions have been used for therapeutic healing, including— Journal writing, expressive writing, morning pages, and life-theme writing. They each have their strengths and uses, and we have borrowed from all of them to create the Treasures That Matter writing method.

The Treasures That Matter (TTM) method is a new way for therapists to incorporate writing into their clinical practice. It is an easy method to add to a therapist’s tool kit to help clients make...