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The Writing Cure presents groundbreaking research on the cognitive, emotional, and biological pathways through which disclosure and expressive writing influences mental and physical health. Although writing has been a popular therapeutic technique for years, only recently have researchers subjected it to rigorous scientific scrutiny and applied it to persons suffering from physical illnesses such as cancer and hypertension. Contributors present cutting-edge findings on expressive writing and health outcomes and point students and scientists to new avenues of research. The volume is rich in illustrations of clinical applications for this technique and it provides examples of how expressive writing can improve the immune system and lung function, how it can diminish psychological distress and enhance relationships and social-role functioning. It also includes discussions of alternative writing intervention formats, including workbooks and the Internet. Featuring a revealing epilogue by James Pennebaker, one of the pioneers of expressive writing intervention, this volume will be of interest to researchers and practitioners who explore and work with expressive-therapy techniques.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Contributors(p. xi)
• I. Introduction(p. 1)
• Chapter 1. The Writing Cure: An Overview(p. 3)
• II. Writing and Adjustment to Life Stressors: Examples of Current Research(p. 15)
• Chapter 2. Expressive Writing and Blood Pressure(p. 17)
• Chapter 3. Emotional Expression, Expressive Writing, and Cancer(p. 31)
• Chapter 4. Writing for Their Lives: Children's Narratives as Supports for Physical and Psychological Well-Being(p. 53)
• Chapter 5. Effects of Written Emotional Disclosure Among Repressive and Alexithymic People(p. 75)
• III. Emotional, Cognitive, and Biological Processes(p. 97)
• Chapter 6. Expressive Writing and Health: Self-Regulation of Emotion-Related Experience, Physiology, and Behavior(p. 99)
• Chapter 7. Gain Without Pain? Expressive Writing and Self-Regulation(p. 119)
• Chapter 8. Stress, Expressive Writing, and Working Memory(p. 135)
• Chapter 9. Emotional Expression and Health Changes: Can We Identify Biological Pathways?(p. 157)
• Chapter 10. Cognitive Processing, Disclosure, and Health: Psychological and Physiological Mechanisms(p. 177)
• IV. New Directions in Clinical Applications of Expressive Writing(p. 197)
• Chapter 11. Translating Research Into Practice: Potential of Expressive Writing in the Field(p. 199)
• Chapter 12. Interapy: A Model for Therapeutic Writing Through the Internet(p. 215)
• Chapter 13. Workbooks: Tools for the Expressive Writing Paradigm(p. 239)
• Chapter 14. To Everything There Is a Season: A Written Expression Intervention for Closure at the End of Life(p. 257)
• Epilogue: Writing, Social Processes, and Psychotherapy: From Past to Future(p. 279)
• Author Index(p. 293)
• Subject Index(p. 305)
• About the Editors(p. 313)

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CHOICE Review

When people write expressive essays about problems in their lives, they frequently experience beneficial outcomes. This is the conclusion from a convincing body of research studies carried out over the past decade. Lepore (Brooklyn College) and Smyth (Syracuse Univ.) offer a much-needed summary of the findings to date along with important new developments. The positive effects that follow expressive writing are impressive. People who have experienced stressful events such as job termination, medical procedures, or chronic illness sometimes show improvements in emotional well-being and physical health after writing about deep feelings associated with these stressors. The reason for this is still unknown and is actively being investigated. Experts in the field wrote the individual chapters of the book; they sort through the claims made for expressive writing and identify those supported by research. In addition, the book provides a wide-ranging discussion of possible theoretical explanations for the observed effects. The selections are well written with useful bibliographies. Recommended for collections serving programs in psychology, social work, and health-related disciplines. R. Madigan University of Alaska, Anchorage