Writing is one of the main challenges doctoral students face in their process of becoming researchers. Nonetheless, institutional initiatives to support writing processes are relatively recent and not necessarily research-grounded. This systematic literature review aims to address this gap by answering the questions: What obstacles and facilitators in the writing process do doctoral students encounter in the areas of SS&H? And what clues do these offer about students' needs for institutional support? To do so, we focus on empirical student-centred research. Systematizing the evidence may strengthen pedagogical decisions and programmatic orientations focused on the students' experiences and writing processes. We analysed a total of 38 studies on these topics collected from mainstream databases and identified patterns of recurring results that illustrate obstacles and facilitators from which the needs arise. Negative self-perceptions and low self-regulation are among the main obstacles of the writing process, while shared writing experiences foster affective dimensions self-regulation, and improve familiarisation with the discursive community. Lastly, institutional spaces specifically dedicated to writing as well as sustained positive and constructive feedback emerged as needs.