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“Telling oneself” is not just keeping a diary but can become a powerful psychotherapy tool, especially in some conditions. On the insert on newsstands for free with the Corriere della sera Thursday 18 November

We are publishing a preview of an article in the new Corriere Salute. You can read the full text on the free issue on newsstands Thursday 18 November or in Pdf on the Digital Edition of the “Corriere della Sera”

There are many threads that connect the activity of writing to the moods and the literary and poetic production are the most evident example of this. But the writing it is also a potential therapeutic or self-therapeutic tool, so much so that it has attracted the attention of psychologists and psychotherapists for its possible structured use, and various researches are evaluating its level of effectiveness. “Research into the beneficial effects of what is called writing therapy has a long tradition,” he says Chiara Ruini of the Department of Psychology of the University of Bologna, which with Cristina Mortara wrote a review published in the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. “But unfortunately the quality of the studies, the heterogeneity of the people included and the heterogeneity of the protocols used make the results obtained so far difficult to aggregate and compare with each other. Therefore the objective proofs of efficacy are scarce, and in any case the effects are probably quite contained ».

The fact remains that writing therapy may be useful for the integrative treatment of traumatic states, depressive disorders and related to stress, patients with oncological or chronic diseases. «Therapy is more effective if it is within the psychotherapeutic path the writing sessions are at least three, lasting about twenty minutes each and guided by specific instructions. For example, indications on the topic to be discussed, whether to write in the first or third person, how to describe the emotional experiences and any events that have occurred. Very important guidance and feedback from the therapist »says Chiara Ruini.

Writing therapy has been studied in the psychological field especially for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for which the evidence of efficacy seems more evident. «It is generally oriented towards the description of the traumatic event and related emotional experiences and / or salient memories, to promote stress resilience processes. In these patients the effectiveness of narrative techniques is comparable to that of other established psychotherapies, and also in this case the involvement of a psychotherapist ensures better and lasting results. As for anxious and depressive disorders, or other clinical conditions, the evidence of efficacy is less consistent. There is probably a beneficial effect in reducing the length of psychotherapeutic interventions, favoring the process of “self healing” ».

You can continue reading the article in Corriere Salute on newsstands for free on Thursday 18 November or in Pdf in the Digital Edition of Corriere della Sera.

November 16, 2021 (change November 18, 2021 | 08:40)

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