Therapeutic writing: An exploratory speech-language pathology counseling technique

This exploratory qualitative study investigated the use of therapeutic writing for counseling longterm caregivers of spouses with brain injury and neurogenic communication disorders. Three participants wrote an average of six single-spaced pages of text. After analysis of the written text, the common themes of onset of diagnosis, anger, grief, and similarities in coping mechanisms were identified. Additional information about the value of therapeutic writing was obtained. Therapeutic writing appears to be a promising technique to use for counseling caregivers. On the basis of the caregiver's written text, the counseling needs related to neurogenic communication disorders can be addressed more efficiently.