Journal October 2026 Special DISPUK Release_Full Version - Flipbook - Page 94
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The scene is more than 30 years old, but the feeling is so deeply ingrained in my
sense of what it means to reflect on my life through writing and correspondence.
Receiving and sending in peace and quiet. I remember my teenage diary and
recall it as a calm and safe process. I have never forgotten it, and I practice it as
often as I can—privately and in my work as a narrative psychotherapist.
Why does writing work so well? Writing my way to meaning is different from
speaking my way to meaning. I don9t feel observed while I write. I feel free. I can
delete and edit until the words match what I want to express. I have the time and
space to let memories, feelings, and thoughts emerge onto the landscape of the
narrative and slowly move through connections and differences, intentions, and
values—toward the creation of meaning.
Framing
Over the past few years, I9ve started experimenting with therapy through writing
letters. It began for practical reasons, because someone I was talking to lived on
the other side of the country, and I felt that online conversations were becoming
too technical and confrontational. That9s why I started writing to them.
Since then, I have corresponded with people when it has not been possible to
meet in person, and through this I have become interested in how therapeutic
processes can take place in ways other than face-to-face meetings.
One of the first things I9ve had to consider in my experiments with narrative letter
therapy has been the time perspective. When you go to therapy sessions, it9s at a
specific and defined time. When you correspond via email, both parties can, in
principle, be working 24/7, which I don9t think is beneficial.
So, I decided to set a framework. It goes like this: You send me a message
whenever you want; I9ll reply after a week. That way, I define the boundaries of
our working hours. I9m generally interested in the conditions we provide for
people to help them get closer to themselves, their values, and their place in the
world.
Writing Letters as Therapy
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, October 2026 Special Release, p. 92-112
www.journalcnt.com
