Effectiveness of Expressive Writing in the Reduction of Psychological Distress During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Due to the wide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health, the need for scalable interventions that can effectively reduce psychological distress has been recognized. Expressive writing (EW) can be beneficial for different conditions, including depression, suicidal ideation, and coping with trauma. Therefore, we aim to assess the applicability and effectiveness of an online format of EW in the reduction of psychological distress in context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

In this parallel-group, randomized controlled trial, participants (n = 120) were randomly allocated to (1) the intervention group-who completed five EW sessions over the 2 week period-or (2) the control group-who received treatment as usual (TAU). Participants were assessed for prim

SUBMITTER: Vukcevic Markovic M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7683413 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature