Write before you disappear.
SutterWriters is the name for the writing groups that Dr. Spann started at Sutter General Hospital. There are two groups that remain "SutterWriters," however, there are many other groups, in the Sacramento area that once were part of SutterWriters, but are now part of AWA Sacramento as is SutterWriters. If you have any questions regarding AWA Sacramento or SutterWriters, please do use my contact information.
-john
We are rebuilding the site, please be patient.
If you have questions, please contact me john@crandallwriters.com.
Sutterwriters
Sutterwriters is an expressive writing program intended to help people use writing as a means to heal. Almost every Tuesday evening, (at 6:30) you can find a group of Sutterwriters in the Sutter Resource Library bent over paper or laptops writing. John Crandall provides prompts and people who once never considered themselves writers create stories, poetry and bits of memoir, often surprising themselves by what appears on the page.
In these writing workshops, healing happens. Writing images from your memory and imagination is a healing act. That which was broken or only dimly understood comes clear as you write. Many famous writers have said that they discover what they mean as they form it into words. The essential act of making art recreates the artist as it reforms the world.
Several years ago, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) revealed that asthma and arthritis patients showed a significant reduction of symptoms when they wrote about stressful experiences. The growing fields of both journal and poetry therapy hold much promise in the areas of personal development, healing, and growth. Researchers continue to validate the positive, healing aspects of writing alone but more importantly with others.
When we can translate an experience into language, we make the experience graspable. We may see improvements in what is called "working memory," essentially our ability to think about more than one thing at a time. We may also find we are better able to sleep. Our social connections may improve, partly because we have a greater ability to focus on someone other than ourselves. Standing back every now and then and evaluating where we are in life is paramount.
When we can share our experiences in a safe, supportive environment, we realize even deeper benefits. We no longer endure in a vacuum, we become part of a community, supporting and being supported by others.
For more information about Sutterwriters or other Writing as Healing groups, please contact John Crandall at CrandallWriters.com or 916-708-9708.