Therapeutic Writing for Disordered Eating: A Systematic Review

ABSTRACT

A systematic review of the literature was carried out to assess whether therapeutic writing could improve outcomes for clients with disordered eating. Twelve studies were identified that met the review’s inclusion criteria. Each study was critically appraised for methodological quality. Quantitative results from the largely high to moderate quality studies show a positive trend, indicating therapeutic writing may improve outcomes for clients with disordered eating. Qualitative results indicate that brief therapeutic writing interventions can access a depth of emotional experience. Further research in this area is therefore warranted. Counselors working creatively with clients experiencing disordered eating are encouraged to consider therapeutic writing, particularly when seeking to enhance emotional expression or group cohesion.

KEYWORDS:

• Disordered eating
• therapeutic writing
• systematic review
• poetry therapy
• bibliotherapy
• eating disorders
• creativity in counseling