Re-write intends to raise awareness and reduce stigma.
Duygu Balan developed her expertise in intergenerational trauma as a clinical counselor in New York City. A licensed psychotherapist, she is the co-author of the number one new release and best-selling Re-Write: A Trauma Workbook of Creative Writing and Recovery in Our New Normal (Productivity Press).
Throughout the pandemic, Balan experienced a surge in demand for her work in her private practice, with many of her clients asking for more sessions to process their turmoil. In order to extend the therapeutic process beyond the fifty-minute session, she started creating mindfulness-based writing prompts and grounding strategies for her clients to use on their own. The collection of these tools, along with theoretical, yet accessible, conceptualizations of trauma, became the foundation of Re-Write.
Balan’s work juxtaposes dark existential questions with healing and hope and is intended to raise awareness and reduce stigma: “My purpose is to make difficult concepts accessible by providing interactive tools to promote psychic growth.” Balan is working on her fiction debut, a painful love story that takes a hard look at how childhood trauma impacts adult relationships and speaks to the idea that humans are harmed in relationships yet heal in them: “My desire is to give platform to marginalized but relatable voices and to tell bold stories of how people become who they are.”
Published July 2023
