Abstract
Depression is one of the most common and disabling psychiatric disorders. Systematic psychotherapy for treatment of depression is often unavailable or its application is limited, not only abroad, but also in the Czech Republic.
In this review, we present a simple therapeutic intervention, Expressive Writing, which has been proved to have positive effects in the treatment of depression and which can be used as a tool to intensify ongoing psychotherapy or as a form of a self-help. In addition to the studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the Expressive Writing, the present article also provides theories of its underlying mechanisms in the treatment of depression, recommendations for clinical practice, and possible limitations of this intervention.