Randomised trial of expressive writing for distressed metastatic breast cancer patients

Abstract

Women with metastatic breast cancer and significant psychological distress (N = 87) were assigned randomly to engage in four home-based sessions of expressive writing or neutral writing. Women in the expressive writing group wrote about their deepest thoughts and feelings regarding their cancer, whereas women in the neutral writing group wrote about their daily activities in a factual manner. No statistically significant group differences in existential and psychological well-being, fatigue, and sleep quality were found at 8-weeks post-writing. However, the expressive writing group reported significantly greater use of mental health services during the study than the neutral writing group (55% vs. 26%, respectively; p < .05). Findings suggest that expressive writing may improve uptake of mental health services among distressed cancer patients, but is not broadly effective as a psychotherapeutic intervention.

Does therapeutic writing help people with long-term conditions? Systematic review, realist synthesis and economic considerations

“…Almost all studies followed the patients for between 6 and 12 months, except those of Park and Yi 78 and Mosher et al, 77 for which follow-up after the writing intervention was performed at 1 and 2 months, respectively. The total sample sizes ranged from 56 in Craft et al 74 to 435 participants in Jensen-Johansen et al 76 Craft 2013 74 Gellaitry 2010 75 Henry 2010 53 ?…”

“…Four studies delivered the intervention on 1, 53 53,54,70,74 used SMC as the control arm, two studies used a non-emotional factual writing, 69,72 one study 71 used a time-management writing as control, and in the remaining two studies the control group either did not write 69 or did not receive an intervention 73 at all. Patients were financially compensated in Mosher et al 77 and Henry et al…”

“…Of the 64 included studies, 9,51-58,66-119 59 9,51,[54][55][56][57][58][66][67][68][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][79][80][81][82][83][84][85][86]88,89,91, were RCTs, and four 52,78,87,92 were non-randomised studies. The remaining study 53 was a matched case-control study.…”

“…Most of the participants were women with breast cancer at stage 0-III, who were mainly receiving curative radiation therapy, but the patients in Mosher et al 77 had stage IV breast cancer and presented with significant distress. The patients in Jensen-Johansen et al 76 had recently completed treatment with surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy.…”

“…The number of studies published by year is shown in Figure 2, and the frequency of outcomes evaluated across the included studies is shown in Figure 3. 74 Gellaitry 2010, 75 Henry 2010, 53 Hughes 2007, 54 Jensen-Johansen 2013, 76 Mosher 2012, 77 Park 2012, 78 (Golkaramnay 2007 68 ), Graf 2008, 95 Krpan 2013, 96 …”