To Dr. Howard Schubiner, M.D., for introducing me to expressive writing for my own mental and physical health. 

Hello, Teachers. Wise Owl is here to teach you for a change, and the subject is Expressive Writing. Come to the forest, enjoy, and learn. 

Teachers can always use some new tools to be successful in the classroom and help their students. We have lived through some unprecedented times. Our children and youth need help navigating them. 

First, let's talk about stress. Are you stressed? Children today are experiencing stress at an unprecedented level. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) can cause children to have physical and emotional problems at greater levels. 

Whew, glad we are back in the forest. While there are many ways to deal with stress and ACEs, one way is called Expressive Writing. The person most associated with this writing is named James Pennebaker; he is a professor at the University of Texas.

Definition:

Expressive Writing (EW) is sometimes called Emotional Writing. This is writing about stressful situations which research indicates improves health, develops perspective, and decreases chronic pain. Dr. Schubiner, M.D., calls it the Write Away Process. 

So, how does it work?

No one seems to know for sure. Scientists are still trying to understand it. But, when we have a lot of ACEs in childhood, or anxiety, or chronic pain, MRI scans show that our brains change and not for the better. Studies about neuroplasticity suggest that we can change and improve our brains in childhood and throughout adulthood. EW helps with those changes.

So, we know from research that EW can work well for adults who have physical or emotional issues, but how well will it work for children and adolescents?

Researchers are doing quite a few studies on children and adolescents to see if EW works the same on this age group as it does for adults. More research is definitely needed, but let's look at what we do know.