One of the privileges of my life was to help create what The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology calls “The Allender Center for Trauma and Abuse.” Their work has shown again and again how writing your story for healing can bring clarity, insight, and transformation for those who carry pain or untold stories.
It is a ministry that highlights the work of my colleague and predecessor, Dan Allender, a seminal thinker and student of trauma and abuse, who served as president of the school. The focus includes one of the most transformative processes for those who deal with trauma (probably all of us in some way or another) called The Story Workshop. I invite you to visit The Allender Center online to see what they offer.
Recently, The Allender Center shared a resource called Engaging Your Story, which offers practical ways to begin writing your story as a path toward healing and transformation.
Have you ever noticed that writing something down can bring clarity, even to the most tangled thoughts?
There’s something deeply transformative about putting pen to paper, especially when it comes to our own stories.
We write our stories because they are significant. Every twist, turn, and detail is part of a greater narrative woven by God. No one else in history has lived your exact story–your experiences, your heartaches, your victories. You are called to be a co-author, shaping the plot that God has laid before you, and through your story, God has revealed in a way no one else can replicate.
Why Writing Changes Us
While telling our stories aloud is powerful and necessary, there’s something uniquely profound about first writing them down.
As Dan Allender says, “By writing your stories, you begin to see them in a different way. Details that you almost forgot suddenly stand out, and you begin to make connections that eluded you when you spoke the tale.”[1]
Science confirms what many of us have experienced: writing our stories can help us process and heal. Studies show that expressive writing helps us make sense of our past, reducing anxiety, depression, and even physical stress…” [2]When you put pen to paper, you’re not just recording events —You’re actively participating in your own healing. Every word you write opens up new pathways for growth and wholeness. Writing about trauma creates a more coherent narrative, allowing the brain to integrate experiences and lessen their emotional burden.”[3]
Healing Beyond Ourselves
And here’s a beautiful thing. Your story is not just for you. The healing that comes through writing also has the potential to impact others. We are invited into this process, common not only for our own healing, but for the sake of others who need to know the truth of our journeys.
Just as we believe deeply in the mentored life and Journey groups, we understand that writing is indeed a source of healing.
Practice:
I encourage you to listen, download, and connect to three resources at theallendercenter.org.
- Listen: “The Role of Story” on the Allender Center Podcast.
- Download: “Engaging Your Story” PDF to deepen and further your engagement with your story through writing exercises and guided audio from Dan Allender.
- Connect: Engage your story on a deeper level at one of our upcoming Story Workshops
Mentor’s Practice: Listening for the Story Beneath the Story
As you engage your own story through these resources, invite someone you mentor to do the same. Ask them to listen to “The Role of Story” podcast or work through a section of the “Engaging Your Story” guide.
When you meet, don’t focus on fixing or interpreting their story. Instead, help them notice what surfaces—moments of beauty, pain, or confusion—and listen together for where God’s presence may have been quietly at work.
Ask gentle, open questions like:
- What surprised you as you wrote?
- Where do you sense God’s compassion showing up in this story?
- What part of your story still feels unfinished or tender?
Over time, your mutual attentiveness to God’s work in each other’s stories can become a place of deep healing and renewed purpose.
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Keith Anderson, D.Min., is a Faculty Associate for Spirituality and Vocation at VantagePoint3 and President Emeritus of Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. He is the author of several books, including his most recent: On Holy Ground: Your Story of Identity, Belonging and Sacred Purpose (Wipf & Stock, 2024). His other works include Reading Your Life’s Story (IVP, 2016), A Spirituality of Listening (IVP, 2016), and Spiritual Mentoring (IVP, 1999). In his writing, teaching, and mentoring, Keith seeks to set a table for people looking to enter the “amazing inner sanctuary of the soul” in the most ordinary and extraordinary moments of life.
[1] Dan Allender and Lisa Fann, To Be Told Workbook, 2000.
[2] Lepore, S.J., & Smyth, J.M., The Writing Cure: How Expressive Writing Promotes Health and Emotional Well-being, American Psychological Association, 2002.
[3] Vrana, S.R., Bono, R.S., Konig, A. & Scalzo, G.C., Assessing The Coherence of narratives of traumatic events with latent semantic analysis. 11(5), 521-522. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000415.