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The Healing Arts – Forging Alliances of Arts & Medicine

International Society for Arts and Medicine (ISfAM)
18.-20.06.2026
Berlin

Meeting Abstract

The Body as a Site of Knowledge: Somatic Micro-Practices in Creative and Autobiographical Writing

Hanna Nordqvist - KörperRaum Mitte - Body-Oriented Therapeutic Practice, Berlin; Knüpfwerk e.V., Berlin; Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences, Berlin; Medizin und Menschlichkeit e.V.

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Background: Creative and autobiographical writing is increasingly used in therapeutic and medical settings, yet many interventions remain primarily cognitive. Research in embodied cognition, somatic practices and arts-based inquiry shows that bodily awareness shapes perception, memory, emotional processing and meaning-making. Building on this foundation, Embodied Writing integrates somatic micro-practices with creative writing to support regulation, narrative clarity and self-exploration.

Objectives: This contribution aims to:

  1. introduce a body-oriented framework for therapeutic and expressive writing,
  2. show how somatic awareness enhances emotional safety and creative access, and
  3. explore embodied writing as a form of knowledge production relevant in clinical and community contexts.

Methods: The approach combines grounding, breath work, sensory orientation and subtle movement with guided freewriting, felt-sense prompts and biographical storytelling. The session draws on arts-based research, practitioner experience and case examples from work with adolescents, adults and older adults. Participants will experience brief practice sequences.

Results: Across groups, embodied writing supports:

  1. improved emotional regulation and reduced overwhelm,
  2. enhanced access to memories, inner imagery and narrative flow,
  3. increased agency, self-expression and relational presence.

Participants often report that bodily awareness helps them engage with difficult material more safely and articulate experiences not accessible through cognitive approaches alone.

Conclusion: Embodied writing provides a low-threshold, adaptable method linking somatic experience and creative expression. As an embodied research practice, it positions the body as a generator of insight and resilience, with potential for integration into psychosomatic care, trauma-informed programs, rehabilitation and lifespan-oriented arts-in-health interventions.