Health psychology and writing: an introduction.

There has been substantial empirical research on the health benefits of expressive writing. However, there has been less psychological research on the broader nature of writing and its relationship with health. The aim of this special section is to promote a more extensive engagement between health psychology and writing. It includes three articles on the value of investigating more established forms of writing, the nature of creative writing and the value of an intensive analysis of written accounts of illness. This article introduces this special section.