[Writing therapy after traumatic events: therapeutic approaches and mechanisms of change]

The (written) disclosure of information, thoughts and emotions of individually significant tops is associated with positive effects on well-being and the psychological health. The applicability of expressive writing as a psychotherapeutic intervention for stress reactions after stressful/traumatic life events were also intensely discussed in the clinical context. However, structural and content-related variation of the initial writing paradigm resulted in significantly different effects on general psychological health and posttraumatic stress symptoms.This overview provides current findings to application and efficacy of expressive writing respectively writing therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder. Mechanisms of expressive writing (inhibition, habituation, construction of a coherent narrative, emotion regulation, social integration) are analyzed with regard to their relevance concerning PTSD. Finally, potentials for application in the clinical practice are discussed.