Creative writing as a means to recover from early psychosis– Experiences from a group intervention

Figures & data

Table 1. Ten-minute exercises performed during sessions and homework tasks.

Exercise performed during sessions	Prompts for voluntary homework in-between sessions
“Memory and the senses” (individual task): Write on a childhood memory through sensual description, inspired by an excerpt by Charles Bukowski’s “Ham on Rye”.	“Trust”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Helge Torvund as inspiration.
“Writing as fantasy” (individual task): Write about yourself at the age as given by the roll of two dices.	“What we are searching for”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Linda Klakken as inspiration.
“Making abstract feelings concrete” (group task): The participants were asked to respond to feelings such as despair, joy etc and describe them through landscapes, animals, things, etc. Their ideas were written on flip chart based on metaphors and similes.	“My heart”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Hans Børli as inspiration.
“Writing to a painting” (individual task): Focusing on writing as visual description of details to create mood.	“Standing in the rain”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Astrid Hjertnæs Andersen as inspiration.
“Creating suspense through condensation” (individual task): Writing flash fiction of six words. Discussion of the different flash fictions on flip over.	“I will … ”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Arild Nyqvist as inspiration.
“Smell” (individual task): The exercise became too challenging for one participant, so we wrote lists to the prompt: ‘The easiest things are … ‘	Bring a text (song lyric, poem, novel) that you are fond of, and write a text inspired by it.
“Haiku” (individual task): Participants got a crash course in writing haiku. The haikus were written on flip chart and discussed.	Writing from a different perspective: “Write a text where you are either a dog, a tree or the universe”.
“An unexpected meeting” (individual task): Write a dialogue as an opening to a short. This task was accompanied by reading the short story “Maria” by Norwegian author Kjell Askildsen as inspiration.	Write a short story titled ‘It´s so nice today … ‘.
“On writing” (individual task): The group read excerpts from a novel and an interview with the Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård that thematises what writing is. The participants wrote to the prompts: “Writing is for me … ”, “When I write … ”	Write a text about “Places”.
“If I was invisible” (individual task): Write a text from this perspective.	Write a metatext on writing.
“What would you not like to change in your life” (individual task): Write from a personal view.	“Once I lost something”.
Reflections on writing (individual task): Write about your personal view.	“What would you like to be?”: accompanied by a poem by the Norwegian author Lars Saabye Christensen as inspiration.

Table 2. Quotes related to theme a): A creative community.

A creative community
Quote	Participant
“What I loved most was to listen to other people read their texts aloud”.	1
“There are really good stuff coming from these sessions … And I get surprised about myself, too. A text I think is really bad, and then it comes … (positive feedback) … and sometimes, when I think it is not so good, another one has a text that is really … wow. Then, you forget about the bad text you made yourself”.	2
“You feel attached to the group … I may have said this before, but we build each other up in a way”.	3
“I have not been able to get to know the other persons (previously), even though we stayed at the same place (ward) … we had no common interest before we found the writing … (now). I am looking forward to start talking: Hey are you going to attend the writing course today?”	4
“I think it was nice to share opinions with the others (members). … like people could have their own opinions about the other members poems or things that happened in the room”.	5

Table 3. Quotes related to theme b): Safety in structure and framing.

Safety in structure and framing
Quote	Participant
“It is nice just to talk and, at the same time, have something concrete to relate to while you are here”.	1
“So, there is a lot of fragility, when it comes to our issue (psychosis) … or the problems that are out there, where other (people) are. … But maybe it’s just that, that you (the two group leaders) do not have so much experience that makes it so good, you see? For you meet us as human beings”.	2
“I think there was some, or a bit optimism in some of the topics we had. For example, …: ‘What would you not change in your life?’. I liked that kind of thing. In a way, it forces you to look at the good sides of life, then”.	3
“I think it’s absolutely brilliant. It is very easy to participate. It does not require much; it just requires that you show up. And really just have a good time”.	4
“If there was something we (participants), for example, didn’t like, or found unpleasant or like that. I experienced that it was listened to or that you (the group leaders and KLR) discussed it or tried to find out in plenary, how you could possibly do it differently. I saw that as a strength”.	5

Table 4. Quotes related to theme c): Freedom to master and grow.

Freedom to master and grow
Quote	Participant
“I have felt free and felt more like a real person, in a way … I didn’t even think about the fact that I am a patient here, while we have had these meetings. And normally, I think about that as soon as I walk out that door”.	1
“It is a kind of therapy, but it is very … low threshold … you feel a little bigger than in a therapy room, I must say”.	2
“I’ve learned a little more about myself, in a way. It’s hard to say what it is, but maybe I … dare to open up a little more about things I write about, for example”.	3
“And then you get to know the feelings of others when they in a way show emotions. They think they know my feelings too I think”.	4
“I think in a way that the combination of the writing group itself, the concrete thing you do (in it) and the psychological background, is gunpowder.”	5