This study set out to explore the affects of gratitude writing along with psychotherapy. 293 student participants took part, all seeking psychotherapy. They were divided into three groups :(a) control group (psychotherapy only), (b) psychotherapy plus expressive writing, (c) psychotherapy plus gratitude writing. Those in the expressive writing group wrote about their thoughts and feelings around stressful events. The gratitude group wrote letters expressing their gratitude to others.
Up to twelve weeks after the writings the people in the gratitude group reported significant improvement in their mental health compared to the other two groups. So be thankful and feel better !



Y. Joel Wong, Jesse Owen, Nicole T. Gabana, Joshua W. Brown, Sydney McInnis, Paul Toth & Lynn Gilman show less
Pages 192-202 | Received 31 Jul 2015, Accepted 01 Mar 2016, Published online: 03 May 2016.