Narrative as Medicine: The Neuroscience & Practice of Expressive Writing

We already know that writing heals. We feel it in our bodies when we finally name what's been lodged in our throats, when we excavate the stories we've been carrying in silence. But what if I told you that the relief you feel isn't just emotional catharsis? That when you write about difficult experiences in a structured way, you're literally rewiring your nervous system, strengthening your immune function, and creating new neural pathways that lead toward integration rather than fragmentation?

For decades, researchers have been documenting what poets and mystics have always known: that language itself is medicine. Dr. James Pennebaker's groundbreaking studies show that just 15-20 minutes of expressive writing about a singular event, three to four times consecutively, can produce measurable changes in physical health, emotional regulation, and cognitive function. Writing doesn't just help us process trauma, it actually changes how our brains encode and store painful experiences, moving them from the reactive limbic system into the prefrontal cortex where we can make meaning from them and with meaning comes relief.

In this workshop, we'll explore the science behind the Pennebaker Method and learn specific protocols for harnessing narrative's healing power. You'll discover why certain kinds of writing work better than others, how to structure your practice for maximum benefit, and what it means to write not just about your experiences but through them, transforming raw emotion into integrated story, fragmented memory into coherent narrative.

This isn't journaling as venting but writing as intervention and prescription. ✨

Come ready to write, read, witness, and to understand why the pen might be the most powerful medicine we have. Please bring a writing instrument and legal pad, journal, or loose leaf paper.

📍Event Details

Sunday, February 1, 2026 · 2 - 4 pm

$25.

Additional Details:

Limited to 15. Registration required. Registration closes 72 hours prior to the event.

The registration fee is non-refundable unless the event is canceled by the facilitator.

Parking Information

Shakti in the Mountains Website

✨ Facilitated by Sarah Long

Hi! I'm Dr. Sarah Long. I've spent decades studying how language works. Then life handed me a curriculum I hadn't planned: the death of a birth mother I'd never meet, a broken engagement, a bipolar II diagnosis, and a farm I'd have to leave. Writing was the center that held. Now I bring that same practice to others: evidence-based, trauma-informed, and rooted in the belief that telling our stories changes us at the cellular level.

I hold a Ph.D in Rhetoric & Composition from the University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida); an M.A. in both Literature and Creative Writing from Mercy College (Dobbs Ferry, NY) and Lancaster University (Lancaster, United Kingdom), and an undergraduate degree in Journalism from Florida Southern (Lakeland, Florida).

I am a professor of Writing at Appalachian State University and have taught courses and workshops in Narrative Medicine, basic and advanced writing, and creative nonfiction and have spent over a decade developing innovative curricula and conducting mixed-methods research at the intersections of environmental and food justice, narrative medicine and traditional and trauma-informed writing instruction. I have over 20 scholarly and creative publications to my name, including a memoir – Uprooted – shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, which will be published by Regal House Publishing in July, 2026.

Additionally, I am finishing a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training certification accredited by the Yoga Alliance and am trained in the Arenas for Change "Seen through Story" methodology, which integrates equines and the environment into therapeutic settings. I am a member of the Narrative Mindworks, the leading international narrative practices association and an avid meditator who uses aspects of mindfulness in my work with others.

To learn more, visit: www.thewritingcure.com