Tracing Dialogical Repositioning in Multi-Perspective Expressive Writing: A Longitudinal Qualitative Case Study

Research on expressive writing has often focused on psychological outcomes, with less attention to how processes of self-reorganization unfold over time. Drawing on dialogical self theory, this study traces dialogical repositioning within a structured multi-perspective writing practice. Using a longitudinal qualitative single-case design, we followed a university student experiencing psychological distress across a six-week writing practice comprising 12 sessions organized around four recurring orientations: emotional disclosure, cognitive reappraisal, gratitude, and future-oriented writing. The data included 12 writing texts, three semi-structured interviews, and 12 brief post-writing reflections. I-positions were traced longitudinally across the writing texts, with interviews and reflections providing complementary accounts of the participant's writing experiences and perceived changes. Results showed a trajectory from an initially distress-dominated, relatively monologic configuration toward a more differentiated dialogical repertoire. Previously dominant positions became increasingly open to reflection and negotiation, while alternative positions and relational voices gained prominence and interacted in more complex ways. Earlier positions did not disappear but were repositioned in relation to emerging reflective, relational, and future-oriented positions. Multi-perspective expressive writing may thus provide opportunities for the articulation, negotiation, and reconfiguration of positions over time. This study conceptualizes expressive writing as a language-mediated dialogical practice and demonstrates the value of longitudinal analysis for tracing processes of narrative self-reorganization.