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Pioneered by Dr. James Pennebaker in the late 1980s and strenthened by scholars and researchers like Kathleen Adams, Ira Progroff, and Joshua Smyth, therapeutic writing involves expressing your deepest thoughts and feelings about emotional or traumatic experiences through structured writing prompts and analysis. 

Many people struggle to process strong emotions resulting from trauma through conventional strategies such as talk therapy or mindfulness meditation, though these solutions  hold clear value for others. Storytelling is often perceived as more accessible, offering the chance for reluctant individuals to explore inner thoughts while still feeling safe. After all, our brains are built for stories. It's how we process and make sense of the world and our human condition. Other people simply find storytelling strategies more interesting than conventional therapy and therapeutic writing protocols are particularly effective for such people. 

More than 300 peer-reviewed studies have demonstrated that many people who practice expressive writing experience decreased anxiety, blood pressure, or depression symptoms, which are also often attended by improvements in immune functioning, memory, and mood for up to six months following the intervention.

That said, research over the past 30 years shows that therapeutic writing (not to be confused with writing therapy) is more beneficial to physical health and wellbeing by improving executive functioning, reducing the effects of stress and improving cognitive integration. The health effect of expressive writing on people with clinical disorders however is less robust than the benefits it has on those without clinical diagnoses. That said, research is limited due to the ethical constraints of testing chronically or severely mentally ill patient groups. 

Therapeutic writing is used in a variety of medical and non-medical settings and has been used with success to aid in the treatment of a multitude of physical health conditions including Asthma, Rheumatoid Arthritis, HIV infection, Post-Traumatic Stress, Cystic Fibrosis, Breast Cancer, palliative care, eating disorders, burnout and compassion fatigue. Several studies have also measured its positive impact on general health markers like sleep quality, wound healing, and reduced doctors visits.