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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 1, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression

Published on: May 19, 2015

Does writing about suicidal thoughts and feelings reduce them?

Stacey H Kovac¹, Lillian M Range

¹The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-5025, USA.

Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior

|December 28, 2002

Summary

Writing interventions did not reduce depression or suicidality in at-risk students. While negative thoughts decreased, suicidal ideation appears more resistant to these writing techniques than physical health issues.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Clinical Psychology
Mental Health Interventions

Background:

Depression and suicidality are significant mental health concerns.
Writing interventions are explored as potential therapeutic tools.
Cognitive change and exposure-based writing are specific techniques investigated.

Purpose of the Study:

To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive change or exposure writing instructions in reducing depression and suicidality.
To compare these writing interventions against a control condition writing about innocuous topics.

Main Methods:

121 undergraduates screened for suicidality participated.
Participants were randomly assigned to reinterpret traumatic events, write/rewrite traumatic events, or write about neutral topics.
Writing sessions lasted 20 minutes over 4 days within a 2-week period.
Pre-, post-, and 6-week follow-up assessments were conducted.

Main Results:

No significant differences in depression or suicidality were found between the three groups at follow-up.
All participants showed a reduction in automatic negative thoughts over the 2 weeks.
Self-regard increased, but health center visits also increased at follow-up.

Conclusions:

Writing interventions, including cognitive change and exposure, may not be effective in reducing suicidal thoughts or depression in this population.
Suicidal ideation may be more resistant to writing-based interventions compared to physical health outcomes.
Further research is needed to explore effective interventions for suicidality.