Dr Michael Smith and Professor Mark Wetherell are academic psychologists at Northumbria University, with expertise and several years’ experience researching the causes and consequences of stress. As part of this research programme, we have been investigating whether expressive writing is a useful tool for helping people to manage stress and improve their wellbeing. In this session, we will share some of our research which has investigated why people feel stressed and how stress ‘gets inside the body’. We will explore different types of expressive writing which can be helpful for managing stress and enhancing wellbeing. You will have lots of opportunity to try these activities our for yourself, and to contribute to the discussion.