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Healing from within: A randomized controlled trial of a novel expressive writing intervention among trans and gender expansive adults.

Elliot Tebbe·Amelia Zepnick·Roger Brown·Annesa Flentje
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Abstract

Transgender and gender expansive (TGE) populations in the United States experience high rates of mental health disparities. High rates of depressive and anxiety symptoms have been linked to a host of stigma-related stressors and exacerbated by decreased access to competent and affirming formalized health care supports, particularly in the face of legislation aiming to curb access. As a result, intervention strategies that can be made widely available, accessed at no cost, and address these stressors to improve mental health and well-being are needed. This study presents findings from a self-administered online mental health intervention, titled Reflections to (re)Claim an Affirmed Identity to Improve Mental Health (RECLAIM), which used an expressive writing approach to address internalized anti-TGE stigma to reduce depressive and anxiety symptoms and improve perceived community connectedness. In this randomized controlled trial, 115 TGE community adults were assigned to one of three study conditions: two RECLAIM interventions and one expressive writing active control group. Analysis of between-group effects found that all three groups experienced similar levels of improvement in mental health over time, while within-group effects of time by condition demonstrated some notable differences in the overall trajectory of treatment or control effects. Overall, results of this randomized controlled trial provide preliminary empirical support for the efficacy of RECLAIM in reducing depressive and anxiety symptoms and internalized anti-TGE stigma and improving community connectedness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

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HumansWritingDepressionMaleFemaleAdultTransgender PersonsAnxietyGender-Nonconforming PersonsSocial StigmaMiddle AgedJournal ArticleRandomized Controlled Trial

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Elliot Tebbe, Amelia Zepnick, Roger Brown, Annesa Flentje. 2026. Healing from within: A randomized controlled trial of a novel expressive writing intervention among trans and gender expansive adults.. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001639

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Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial resourceAdult subjectAnxiety subjectDepression subjectFemale subjectHumans subjectJournal Article subjectMale subjectMiddle Aged subjectRandomized controlled trials study

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