Ethical Will Circle: a group writing workshop intervention to promote older adults’ well-being

Objectives: There is a scarcity of mental health promotion interventions tailored to older adults. This study describes a pilot test of Ethical Will Circle, a novel five-session digitally delivered group intervention in which participants create, revise, and share legacy-focused ethical wills to facilitate the developmental tasks of life review and self-acceptance. Methods: This mixed methods, single-arm study tested preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and mental health benefits of the Ethical Will Circle. Two cohorts (N = 30) of community-dwelling adults were 60–87 years old (M = 69.83, SD = 6.19), 80% cisgender women, 76.7% White, 16.7% Black or Black Multiracial, and 40% disabled. Well-being and social connectedness outcomes were assessed through study engagement, semi-structured interviews, and pre-, post- and follow-up self-report measures. Results: Study retention was 83.33%; 100% of interviewed participants would recommend the intervention. Participants’ depression decreased (r = −0.60), generativity increased (g = 0.48), and psychological well-being increased (g = 0.34) at post-test. Participants reported that writing ethical wills was challenging yet gratifying and described themes of peer validation and enhanced self-understanding, self-acceptance, social connectedness, and narrative coherence. Conclusions: Findings support the feasibility and acceptability of the Ethical Will Circle intervention among community-dwelling older adults. Evidence of potential mental health benefits suggests further rigorous investigation with diverse samples is warranted.