Table 3 - available via license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
Content may be subject to copyright.
Source publication
The basic aim of this paper is to suggest a flexible and individualized writing program as a tool for use during the grief process of bereaved adults.
An open, qualitative approach following distinct steps was taken to gain a broad perspective on the grief and writing processes, as a platform for the writing program.
Following several systematic me...
Context in source publication
Citations
... The expressive writing program Two writing coaches co-developed the 10-week expressive writing program, which was based on Dr. James Pennebaker's seminal work "Confronting a Traumatic Event. Toward an Understanding of Inhibition and Disease"(26), his book "Expressive Writing: Words that Heal" (27), and a systematic writing program for facilitating the grieving process for bereaved adults (33). The two writing coaches were college-trained artist. ...
Objective:
To examine effects of a videoconferencing coach-guided expressive writing program on facilitating grief resolution in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI).
Design:
One group pretest - posttest design with a 1-month follow-up.
Setting:
Home-based videoconferencing.
Participants:
Twenty-four adults with SCI.
Interventions:
10 weekly 1-hour videoconferencing sessions in which participants engaged in expressive writing guided by writing coaches, either individually or in small groups.
Outcome measures:
Self-report questionnaires on measures of grief, emotional distress, depression, stress, trouble falling asleep, meaning and purpose, self-efficacy for managing chronic conditions, ability to participate in social roles and activities, and satisfaction with social roles and activities.
Results:
Immediately after completing the program, participants showed significant reductions in measures of severity of grief, trouble falling asleep, and trouble participating in social roles and activities and significant increases in self-efficacy for managing chronic conditions and satisfaction with social roles and activities. Participants maintained benefits at 1-month follow-up, showing significant reductions in measures of severity of grief, trouble falling asleep, and distress related to different difficulties and significant increases in feelings of meaning and purpose in life compared to their scores at pre-program. Post-hoc analysis showed that participants whose injury was sustained within 5 years of study enrollment had significant reductions in change scores of distress and trouble participating in social roles and activities compared to those whose injuries were sustained more than 5 years before the study began.
Conclusion:
The videoconferencing coach-guided expressive writing program helps adults with SCI reduce grief intensity and trouble falling asleep and produces a sustained effect. People who sustained a more recent injury seemed to gain more benefits from the program than those whose injuries occurred less recently.Trial Registration: NCT04721717.
... We included therapeutic writing as a means to integrate affects in CBT offered to patients with BED [1]. Therapeutic writing has been provided in other clinical settings such as groups working with personal grief [12][13][14] or long-term pain [15]. Therapeutic writing is a creative act comprising different personal writing activities that provide insight or perspective on life [16], help one to deal with emotionally upsetting events [17] and is personal, private and free from criticism [18]. ...
... The sub-theme, Struggling to achieve a flow in the writing process, describes how expectations, structure and writing instructions affect the writing process. According to Furnes and Dysvik [13], concentrated writing sessions are important when implementing therapeutic writing. Seih, Chung and Pennebaker [39] highlight the value of writing about the same perspective repeatedly in order to create more emotions related to a given theme and 'boost' emotions for those who are easily disconnected from their feelings. ...
... According to Furnes and Dysvik [13], writing-related disadvantages should be taken into account. Painful and difficult feelings and thoughts, as well as being unfamiliar with the written form, can be experienced as an additional burden, making it hard to start writing [13]. ...
Introduction:
Therapeutic writing involving affect consciousness (AC) can be used to put difficult topics into words. In this study, we investigated how patients with binge eating disorder (BED) experienced therapeutic writing and AC in the context of cognitive behavioural therapy. The elements were included in an existing cognitive behavioural therapy group programme and the participants' experiences investigated qualitatively.
Aim:
To investigate therapeutic writing as experienced by patients in the context of a BED group programme focusing on AC.
Method:
A phenomenological, hermeneutic design with semi-structured interviews was employed. Eight participants were recruited after completing the BED programme at a Community Mental Health Centre on the West Coast of Norway.
Findings:
Four sub-themes emerged: Struggling to achieve a flow in the writing process, Deeper understanding of eating patterns through writing, Moving specific feelings towards the surface by writing and Greater insight into oneself as a human being by shared writing. Based on the sub-themes, one main theme was developed: Therapeutic writing in a binge eating disorder programme means focusing on oneself as a human being by becoming closer to one's feelings.
Conclusion:
Therapeutic writing offered in treatment for BED involves individual movements at different levels, including processes of awareness of feelings, cognitions and oneself as a human being.
... However, not all writing practices are as beneficial, and some forms of "free" writing might lead to rumination among other impediments to meaning-making and affective processing (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2001;Pennebaker and Smyth, 2016). Thus, it is important to combine both practices of free-writing and directed-writing, to facilitate insights among participants, and to target the individual needs of participants in relation to their own vulnerabilities (Furnes and Dysvik, 2010). When it comes to grief, mourning and bereavement, writing courses address the importance of telling one's stories of grief and finding an audience for such stories, which is a crucial part of most therapeutic processes (Neimeyer, 2001). ...
The unexpected death of a child is one of the most challenging losses as it fractures survivors’ sense of parenthood and other layers of identity. Given that not all the bereaved parents who have need for support respond well to available treatments and that many have little access to further intervention or follow-up over time, online interventions featuring therapeutic writing and peer support have strong potential. In this article we explore how a group of bereaved mothers experienced the process of participating in an online course in therapeutic writing for the integration of grief. Our research questions were: How do parents who have lost a child experience being part of an online course in therapeutic writing? What are the perceived benefits and challenges of writing in processing their grief? We followed an existential phenomenological approach and analyzed fieldwork notes (n = 13), qualitative data from the application and assessment surveys (n = 35; n = 21), excerpts from the journals of some participants (n = 3), and email correspondence with some participants (n = 5). We categorized the results in three meaning units: (1) where does my story begin? The “both and” of their silent chaos; (2) standing on the middle line: a pregnancy that does not end; (3) closures and openings: “careful optimism” and the need for community support. Participants experienced writing as an opportunity for self-exploration regarding their identities and their emotional world, as well as a means to develop and strengthen a bond with their children. They also experienced a sense of belonging, validation, and acceptance in the online group in a way that helped them make sense of their suffering. Online writing courses could be of benefit for bereaved parents who are grieving the unexpected death of a child, but do not replace other interventions such as psychotherapy. In addition to trauma and attachment informed models of grief, identity informed models with a developmental focus might enhance the impact of both low-threshold community interventions and more intensive clinical ones. Further studies and theoretical development in the area are needed, addressing dialogical notions such as the multivoicedness of the self.
... Our findings suggest that the online discussion about the estimated death toll of Hurricane María promoted the disclosure of emotions and reactions after trauma. There is literature supporting the health benefits of writing about traumatic events (Smyth, True, & Souto, 2001), and how it can help people with grief (Furnes & Dysvik, 2010). Part of the benefits shown in our findings was that sharing online disclosures elevated the community sense of belongingness, social resilience, and advocacy. ...
This study explores the sentiment expressed by Twitter users after the Harvard University report was released, reporting a death estimate of 4,645 Puerto Ricans following Hurricane María. Researchers utilized the NVivo addition NCapture to collect Twitter data including the hashtag #4645Boricuas. Thematic content analyses explored emergent themes within the hashtag. Geographic information systems (GIS) documented the location of Tweets and differences across geographical locations among Twitter users. The themes that emerged in #4645Boricuas included: disaster phases, media, psychological processes, and politics. GIS documented that Tweets from Puerto Rico were more likely to discuss themes of psychological processes, politics, and resilience compared with disaster phases or media. The present data highlights how individuals engage with Twitter to cope following the trauma of natural disasters.
... The study’s research tool was a specifically constructed and implemented writing program, based on the theoretical framework highlighted in Part 110 and the findings of two review articles.3,7 The participants in the writing program were divided into two groups: one group consisted of individuals who had experienced the loss of a spouse or partner, and the other group consisted of individuals who had lost a parent or sibling. ...
... This implies that flexibility and individualization are important when implementing grief management programs like this one. Based on our suggested platform for understanding grief work, described in Part 110 of this two-part article, and the present findings, writing may be performed within a systematic writing program. This writing may also be an integral part of traditional grief groups or discussion groups. ...
... The forms of writing that were incorporated into the writing program were free writing and focused writing.10 The organization and content of the writing program are described in Table 2. ...
This paper, the second of two, reports the results of a systematic writing program used as a tool in the grief process. The study was based on a specifically developed program, which has been described and discussed previously in Part 1.
The study had a qualitative research design, with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. The research tool of the study, a writing program, was developed and implemented. A purposive sample was used, consisting of 13 bereaved adults.
From an analysis of all of the texts written during the program, we drew four conclusions. Writing yields new thoughts and increases knowledge. Writing is stressful as well as a relief. Writing awakens and preserves memories. The value of writing is related to the forms, ways, and situations of writing.
We have discussed handling grief with a unique process. Our findings reveal a great breadth and variation in the experiences associated with different writing forms, ways of writing, and writing situations. This implies that flexibility and individualization are important when implementing grief management programs like this. We believe that a structured writing program can be helpful in promoting thought activity and as a tool to gain increased coherence and understanding of the grief process. This writing program may be a valuable guide for program development and future research.
Group processes in social work are complex. In this article, the authors examine how Norwegian leaders experience these processes during their grief support group work. The authors take a qualitative approach, specifically semistructured interviews. Seven group leaders participated. Using qualitative content analysis, the authors found new and supporting information as presented in two inter-related themes: (1) Achieving cohesion is a challenging balance and (2) Facilitating the group activity is linked to group leaders’ engagement and competence. The authors suggest that group work is enhanced by well-qualified leaders paying attention and understanding toward the ongoing group processes, homogenous groups, prescreening, individual timing, and group cohesion.
Chronic pain has been found to cause significant losses in the lives of those who experience it. To improve their life situation, it is important to understand the impact of these losses and manage them effectively. The aim of this study was twofold. We wanted to investigate which phenomena in the lives of patients with chronic pain could be described as experiences of loss, and whether a cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)-based group approach could help them process such losses. A qualitative approach based on semistructured interviews with six patients was chosen to investigate the experiences of patients with chronic pain. The findings in this study indicate that the patients experienced several losses: loss of ability to engage in meaningful activities, loss of relations with others, and loss of self. The experience of loss in their life situation can be difficult for them to deal with and creates a need for support and guidance. The study indicates that participation in a CBT-based group that focuses on processing these losses can be beneficial in helping patients identify and accept the losses and changes they have experienced, and thereby change their behavior toward a meaningful life despite their chronic pain. Failure to address these losses may result in patients obtaining few of the benefits that could be gained from pain management groups. Because the findings point to the synergies among several components in the program, it is difficult to isolate the effects of a single component. The conscious use of CBT-based elements, i.e., changing behavior by changing thoughts and feelings, in the pain management group seemed to help them to process the losses through new insight and understanding.
