Voice and Witness: Rethinking Creative Writing Pedagogy for Recovery from Mental Illness

Creative writing interventions for mental illness are on the upsurge, and not a moment too soon: as of 2015, depression is the leading chronic condition in Europe. This paper focuses on pedagogical approaches to creative writing in recovery from mental illness, particularly “expressive writing” which has been used around the world as an intervention for PTSD, depression, anxiety disorders, and a range of other mental health problems. I propose a rethinking of the ways in which expressive writing is used, and propose a refined approach that draws upon creative writing techniques of voice and “bearing witness”