Can Creative Writing, as an Add-on to Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder, Support Rehabilitation?

ABSTRACT

Creative writing may help patients find new powers in the acts of making art and expanding horizons beyond illness, including addiction. The aim of the present pilot study was to introduce creative writing workshops to alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients and investigate self-perceived rehabilitating impact, improvement in quality of life, and executive functions. The study was conducted in a mixed methods design; primarily semi-structured group and individual interviews as well as participant observation, supplemented by a small evaluation questionnaire at baseline and follow-up at the end of exposure. The patients had experienced the workshop as having influenced their lives in a positive direction, impacted by doing creative writing, sharing and receiving feedback, and the community of the group. The patients perceived both advantages and disadvantages about discussing alcohol in the workshop. The patients experienced an increase in quality of life from the beginning to the end of the workshop. There could be a need for creative writing workshops as add-ons to ordinary AUD treatment. In such an offer, creative writing might function as a means to improve patient rehabilitation, quality of life, and executive functions.

KEYWORDS:

• Alcohol use disorder
• treatment
• creative writing
• mixed methods
• qualitative

Acknowledgments

The present pilot study is financed by University of Southern Denmark’s strategic research focus area on Welfare Innovation. The authors’ thanks go to patients and staff at the municipal alcohol treatment clinic in Odense. Also, we wish to thank our colleagues at the Unit of Clinical Alcohol Research, Department for the Study of Culture, and Centre for Telepsychiatry. Especially, we would like to thank the authors, Trisse Gejl and Pablo Llambias, who have put huge efforts into this course. During the creative writing workshop sessions, works were used from the following authors: Inger Christensen, Trisse Gejl, Mikael Josephsen, Pablo Llambías, Asta Olivia Nordenhof, and Pentti Saarikoski. Interview templates are available through correspondence with the authors of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.