Therapeutic Value
Many people are aware that writing can be therapeutic for veterans dealing with mental health and social issues like trauma, isolation, substance abuse, and homelessness.
While writing can be a way for veterans to express difficult experiences and emotions, the actual benefits of writing for veterans dealing with these issues are much greater.
Writing skills = Life skills
Writing is much more than “self-expression”––it’s also about being organized, setting goals, tracking one’s progress, following a task through to completion, as well as giving and receiving feedback, all valuable skills for working toward one’s life-goals.
Positively altering self-image
Participation in an intensive creative writing workshop also allows people to see themselves as not limited or defined by their diagnosis––instead, they begin to see themselves as more than “homeless,” more than their diagnosis.
Participation in a creative writing workshop may also allow people to transcend social stigma or labels––people who have accepted an image of themselves as “not good in school,” or “bad at writing” begin to see themselves as being more capable and no longer limited by those labels.
Recognizing and reinforcing accomplishment
A vital part of the intensive writing workshop experience is the recognition of the group members’ accomplishment with the publication of a high-quality printed anthology of their writing and a public reading and celebration.
The publication of a printed anthology of the group’s writing provides the workshop members with a “group goal” to work towards together, as well as providing each individual member with a component “individual goal” (the completion of one or more pieces of writing for publication).
Raising awareness
The printed anthology and public reading/celebration not only provide the group members with a strong sense of accomplishment and recognition––they are also powerful tools for generating interest in future programs among the workshop members’ immediate community, and for raising public awareness of the creativity and humanity of these underserved populations whose voices deserve to be heard.
While writing can be a way for veterans to express difficult experiences and emotions, the actual benefits of writing for veterans dealing with these issues are much greater.
Writing skills = Life skills
Writing is much more than “self-expression”––it’s also about being organized, setting goals, tracking one’s progress, following a task through to completion, as well as giving and receiving feedback, all valuable skills for working toward one’s life-goals.
Positively altering self-image
Participation in an intensive creative writing workshop also allows people to see themselves as not limited or defined by their diagnosis––instead, they begin to see themselves as more than “homeless,” more than their diagnosis.
Participation in a creative writing workshop may also allow people to transcend social stigma or labels––people who have accepted an image of themselves as “not good in school,” or “bad at writing” begin to see themselves as being more capable and no longer limited by those labels.
Recognizing and reinforcing accomplishment
A vital part of the intensive writing workshop experience is the recognition of the group members’ accomplishment with the publication of a high-quality printed anthology of their writing and a public reading and celebration.
The publication of a printed anthology of the group’s writing provides the workshop members with a “group goal” to work towards together, as well as providing each individual member with a component “individual goal” (the completion of one or more pieces of writing for publication).
Raising awareness
The printed anthology and public reading/celebration not only provide the group members with a strong sense of accomplishment and recognition––they are also powerful tools for generating interest in future programs among the workshop members’ immediate community, and for raising public awareness of the creativity and humanity of these underserved populations whose voices deserve to be heard.