Female therapist, sitting on therapy room floor with laptop on her lap, typing.

As therapists, we often talk to clients about self-care, encouraging them to engage in activities that are self-nourishing and self-regulating. This could be going for a walk, time alone, time with friends, drawing, reading a book or creative arts. Self-care is important for everyone, including (and especially so, for) therapists. Our work can be heavy, emotionally taxing and consuming.

For me, reading and writing are self-regulating activities. A quiet moment reading a book relaxes me, it takes me away from the worries and chaos of everyday life and I am completely present in the moment. Reading is a passive form of self-care while writing, on the other hand, is an active form. It requires active engagement in the process which can be self-regulating, help us focus and concentrate, and it’s a great de-stressor.

When you write, you put your thoughts and feelings down on paper. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a blog post, a journal entry, a feature article or a fictional story, there are lots of different ways we can work things out on paper (or screen!).

This can be therapeutic, especially for therapists who spend so much time with the thoughts and feelings of others while trying to not let our own thoughts or feelings get in the way of the therapeutic process. So the act of creative writing gives us an outlet to process what we may otherwise be unable to share.

Creative writing improves health and wellbeing

Most writers will tell you that creative writing is conducive to emotional and physical health. It’s like flexing and working the muscles of the brain: a cognitive and emotional workout.

What does the research say?

There’s plenty of research which links creative writing practices to increased emotional and physical wellbeing.

What researchers don’t always agree on, is why. One study considered theoretical models of the psychological benefits of creative writing and argued that the benefits may come from the process and technique of writing rather than the content, and that the input of professional writers to support that process might be important.

What does the process of writing offer us?

If we don’t focus too much on what is being written, rather the process of writing, what benefits can it have for therapists?

Mental clarity

Creative writing involves the arrangement of ideas into words and sentences. This helps us understand our thoughts and feelings, put things into perspective and make more informed decisions. It brings thoughts and emotions to conscious awareness.

“Sometimes the ideas just come to me. Other times I have to sweat and almost bleed to make ideas come. It’s a mysterious process, but I hope I never find out exactly how it works. I like a mystery, as you may have noticed.”

~ J.K. Rowling

Emotional expression

When we write we express our emotions and it can help us deal with difficult situations in a healthy way. Writing can help us unwind and de-stress.

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

~ Maya Angelou

Emotional regulation

Writing can help us shift emotional states, bring down high levels of arousal and release a build up of feelings. Writing offers many parallels to the therapeutic process, it is through the writing process that we work out our thoughts and feelings, in a similar way to a client’s experience in the therapy room. Is it a replacement for our own therapy? No but it can be a cathartic experience that helps shift and free up emotional blockages.

“The miraculous connection between writing and the immune system results from cracking through inhibition. It seems that when we don’t speak the truth of our experience, we inhibit our emotions, and that inhibits our immune function. Keeping secrets and maintaining denial require physical energy, energy our bodies could use in healthier ways were it available.”

~ Peggy Tabor Millin

Self-esteem

Learning how to write and deepening your creative writing practice- like with any new skill- can give you a sense of achievement, self-satisfaction and make you feel good about what you’ve created. You don’t have to write for anyone but yourself.

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer.”

~ Barbara Kingsolver

Connection

When we’re part of a writing community, it can help us feel connected with others, providing a sense of belonging. With the same sense of camaraderie we see in team sports, writing communities can offer social and emotional connections that are outside of our work.

Collaborative workshops and writers' peer groups hadn't been invented when I was young. They're a wonderful invention. They put the writer into a community of people all working at the same art, the kind of group musicians and painters and dancers have always had.

― Ursula K. Le Guin, Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew

Final thoughts

You don’t have to be an aspiring author to experience the benefits of creative writing. As therapists, it is so important to have an outlet outside of work, to engage in self-care and nurture ourselves with self-regulating activities.

If writing fills up your cup, then consider joining my Therapist’s Writing Circle.