Therapeutic Writing & Songwriting

Writing is a powerful tool for self-discovery, emotion processing, and personal growth. From poetry and creative writing to journaling, memoir, or songwriting, putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) offers a safe container for exploring our innermost thoughts and feelings. Research has consistently demonstrated the mental health benefits of expressive writing. Studies suggest that writing about personal experiences can lead to improved mood, reduced stress levels, and even physical health benefits such as enhanced immune function.* Moreover, creative practices like poetry and songwriting foster self-awareness, resilience, and a sense of agency over one’s own narrative.

Why Writing Helps:

Emotional Processing: Writing about feelings allows us to externalize and examine them from a new perspective. This experience can help us process emotions such as anxiety, sadness, or frustration, reducing the intensity of the emotions, and moving us toward a sense of calm and clarity.
Personal Insight: Whether through reflective journaling or crafting a life story, writing helps us uncover patterns, motivations, and hidden strengths. By making sense of our experiences, we gain a deeper understanding of ourselves.
Empowerment and Control: When we create poetry, songs, or personal narratives, we actively shape the stories we tell about ourselves. This sense of authorship can be profoundly empowering—particularly for those working through trauma or life transitions. Writing about a painful experience can help us feel a sense of control, and it can help us create meaning out of hardship.
Connection and Sharing: Sharing written work can foster meaningful connections with others. Whether in a writing circle, workshop, or online forum, we can find empathy, validation, and support from like-minded individuals who relate to our words.

Below you’ll find the range of offerings designed to help you discover—or deepen—your healing writing practice. Each opportunity is tailored to meet you where you are, whether you’re new to writing or an experienced author seeking fresh inspiration.

Workshops

Join me for interactive sessions in a supportive environment. Practice various writing (or songwriting) exercises to unlock creative flow and emotional insight. Workshops are typically short events centered around a particular topic, technique, or theme.

Interested in staying up to date on the latest workshops? Curious about hiring me to lead a workshop for your organization? Please contact me for more info or to be added to my free email list.

Online Courses

Self-paced modules including videos, writing prompts, and reflection exercises to help you use writing or songwriting as a tool for transforming your mental health. (Coming soon).

Groups & Classes

Join a small, confidential group designed to help you use expressive writing techniques (and/or songwriting) to process emotions, cope with stress, and improve overall mental well-being. Groups and classes typically meet for 6-8 weekly sessions. They may focus on a particular theme, or they may be more general. Classes and groups offered in person in Lawrence, KS or online via video call.

Interested in joining a group or class? Contact me to inquire about upcoming/current group offerings and join my email list to make sure you are notified the next time a group opens up.

Coaching + Consulting

Would you like support at the intersection of mental health and writing (or songwriting)? I offer personalized coaching designed to help you harness the creative power of words and music for transformation, processing, and self-discovery. Drawing on my background in psychology, I’ll guide you through common challenges such as writer’s block, perfectionism, and self-doubt—empowering you to move forward with clarity and confidence.

I also provide consulting services for individuals and organizations who want to integrate writing-based mental health practices into their programs, workshops, or events. Please reach out for a free consultation, and I can customize a plan that aligns with your goals.

I am also available to consult with authors, playwrights, and screenplay writers about portrayals of mental health and mental illness in their work. I would be happy to be a "sensitivity reader" or to consult early in the writing process to help you shape your characters accurately and sensitively.

If any of these offerings sound helpful to you--let’s connect.

Contact Me

*References:

King R, Neilsen P, White E. (2013) Creative writing in recovery from severe mental illness. Int J Ment Health Nurs. (5):444-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1447-0349.2012.00891.x.

Murray, B. (2002, June 1). Writing to heal. Monitor on Psychology, 33(6). https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun02/writing

Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing About Emotional Experiences as a Therapeutic Process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00403.x

Porras-Segovia A, Escobedo-Aedo PJ, Carrillo de Albornoz CM, Guerrero-Jiménez M, Lis L, Molina-Madueño R, Gutiérrez-Rojas L, Alacreu-Crespo A. (2024) Writing to Keep on Living: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Creative Writing Therapy for the Management of Depression and Suicidal Ideation. Curr Psychiatry Rep. (7):359-378. doi: 10.1007/s11920-024-01511-6.