Narrative as Medicine: When Telling a Story Changes the Body

Joshua Smyth
Fri, March 6, 2026
1:30 pm - 3:15 pm
Denney 311 & via Zoom

Project Narrative is hosting a hybrid event with Joshua Smyth.

Narrative theory often views stories as interpretive structures that disclose latent meanings. Expressive writing research invites a complementary, more “biobehavioral” proposition: narrative can be instrumental. That is, a process of self-making that reorganizes emotion, attention, memory, and social connection in ways that measurably shape health. This talk explores the potential for a productive collision between narrative theory and mind–body science: the idea that narrative is not only a lens on experience but a lever that can transform it. Drawing on decades of clinic/laboratory-based expressive writing research and newer forms of guided online journaling, I will examine how narrative articulation (especially shifts in coherence, agency, and meaning) can meaningfully alter stress-related processes, well-being, and functioning. 

Join us via Zoom!

Meeting ID: 925 8218 5611

Password: 838658