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The Positive Side

Fall 2003
Volume 6, Issue 3

The Write Stuff

Wanting to explore what he calls “the interface between writing and therapy,” Dr. Allan Peterkin, staff psychiatrist at Mount Sinai Hospital, attended some writing workshops at the University of Toronto along with occupational therapist Julie Hann. They then enlisted U of T’s director of professional writing, Professor Guy Allan, to help adapt his workshops for use by PHAs.

Treating writing as therapy, they borrowed some tactics from art therapy groups: The focus is on the work itself. “Pseudotopics” give writers the necessary freedom. Groups are small (less than a dozen people), and confidentiality keeps the process safe.

Five groups have run so far—two a year since the first session in January 2001. Most participants have reported that the sessions helped them deal better with their illness.

By “nudging personal stories into narratives,” as Peterkin puts it, experiences become more understandable—to other people and, perhaps more importantly, to the writers themselves. Stories take on a permanence and meaning when they’re written down on paper—as one participant put it, getting them “out of my head and out into the world.”

Got writer’s block? Peterkin and Hann offer up the following tips:

1. Write for yourself. Don’t even think about who might read it later.
2. Pace yourself. Go at your own speed. Something is always better than nothing.
3. Muzzle your inner critic. Forget the rules. Take risks! Writing is an exploration, so go on, explore.

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