The field of the therapeutic use of creative writing is here explored on two levels. In part one representative practitioners provide an overview of current work in the field, including the uses of the various genres of creative writing from poetry to autobiography and literary fiction. This section also contains many practical suggestions for writing techniques which can be used for personal development, whether working with writers' groups of with the client groups in health care and social services. The second part of the book explores the theoretical background to the therapeutic uses of creative writing. Representing a wide range of different approaches, the contributors provide an introduction to thinking about the practice of creative writing in a personal development context as well as including suggestions for further reading.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Current practice of creative writing in personal development: Writing and the self - the role of the emotion in the finding of a writing voice, Celia Hunt; The self as source - creative generated from personal reflection, Cheryl Moskowitz; Metaphor and metamorphosis - creative writing and mental health , Graham Hartill; Using creative writing with people with learning disability, Fiona Sampson; Writing or pills? therapeutic writing in primary health care, Gillie Bolton; Final fiction? creative writing and terminally ill people, Colin Archer; Creative writing and dementia sufferers, John Killicks. Part 2 Theoretical contexts for creative writing in personal development: Thinking about language as our way through the world - ideas of self and symbol in psychoanalysis and philosophy, Fiona Sampson; The empty word and the full word - a psychoanalytic discussion of the notion of 'finding a voice', Trevor Pateman; writing, the self and the social process, Mary Stuart; The creative word and the created life - the educational context for deep autobiography, Peter Abbs; Creative writing and the psychotherapeutic process, Celia Hunt; The transformative effect of reading, Janet Campbell; Towards a writing therapy? future developments in theory and practice, Fiona Sampson, Celia Hunt.