Writing Workshops For Heart Patients - The Beauty Of Shared Stories

INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 created new or exacerbated existing feelings of isolation and anxiety among heart patients. To reach and connect heart patients across Canada who were largely isolated due to social distancing protocols, the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research at University Health Network in Toronto, Canada launched virtual expressive writing workshops in 2021 and 2022, with demonstrated positive mental health impacts for participants. METHODS: Inspired by the research of James Pennebaker and adapted for virtual formats, these “Writing the Heart” workshops illustrated the benefits of expressive writing and demonstrated its practice. Facilitated by an educator who is also a heart failure patient, two workshop streams were offered: a 90-minute introductory session and a six-week intensive series. Workshop design comprised prompts, timed writing sessions, reading work aloud and group reflection on the writings. Four sessions were held, two of each type of workshop, reaching more than 70 individuals across Canada and US. RESULTS: Evaluated using a post-workshop survey, participants rated the workshop highly for its facilitation, introduction to the purposes and practice of expressive writing for heart patients, and skills development to explore and describe their experiences and feelings of living with heart disease. Participants noted the power of the experience, with intensive series participants commenting on the sense of community fostered by the workshops. Writings and reflections from workshop participants will be shared to depict the nature of the sessions and the power of writing the heart. CONCLUSIONS: The workshops afforded a safe, positive space for heart patients to explore their feelings about their condition, bridging the physical distance between participants and reinforcing self-care objectives. Critical to success is the ongoing commitment of the facilitator to direct writing and encourage mutual support.