In harmony of voices: (re)construction of self in therapeutic creative writing

The article focuses on psychological and psychotherapeutic aspects of (re)construction of self in therapeutic creative writing: both generally and especially among authors with mental illnesses. In particular, postmodern models of illness in which the patient (client) is not expected only to recover but to attribute the meaning to suffering and to self-reflect who he is and who he is becoming because of (or in spite of) illness are described. Firstly, genre of narrative known as autopathography will be discussed in which negative (physical, mental and social) effects of illness lead to creating stories about author´s own experiences and how these stories become means for self. Secondly, characteristics of creative writing process and its contribution to enhance of self-knowledge, self-acceptance and self-realisation are addressed. Then, the article focuses on the different ways of self-expression and self-construction in autopathographies by psychiatric clients (patients). Finally, the attention is paid to social meaning of narrative and therapeutic creative writing: it is suggested that the story of illness becomes the mean of learning through identification and the moral imperative (also called ethics of voice) to listen to the painful stories of others, to be able to express empathy and to self-reflect about the painful aspects of listeners own life.

Zuzana Kucharová, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic e-mail: kucharova@mail.muni.cz