A journal therapy practice is the tool your wellness kit needs.
What is Journal Therapy?
The idea of therapeutic journal writing originated in the 1960's with Dr. Ira Progoff's Intensive Journal Method. This diverse approach to healing has now become a stand-alone supplement to healing like art therapy or music therapy, with specialized practitioners and therapists alike using this tool with their clients.
The major difference between keeping a regular journal and journal therapy is that the writing isn't about creating a narrative or tracking an agenda, it's more intentional and introspective and challenges the writer to delve deeper into their emotion and experience with their writing.
In a typical journal therapy workshop or private session, thoughts are articulated on paper, and then discoveries are examined and a dialogue emerges between the client and the therapeutic writing practitioner.
How It Works:
Reflective writing promotes a deeper awareness of your story, a stronger sense of self, a clear articulation of your beliefs and values and of the self-talk and thought patterns which inform the way you move through the world. Intentional writing also relieves stress and tension. For studies and articles on the benefits of therapeutic writing, please visit my resources page.
Where Can Journal Therapy Help?
Journal therapy has been shown to help with the following:
Post Traumatic stress
Anxiety
Depression
Grief and loss
Chronic illness issues
Substance abuse
Eating disorders
Interpersonal relationship issues
Marriage and relationship challenges
Communication skill issues
Low self-esteem
Creative blocks
Defining new career paths
Developing a self-care practice
"Cat is a wonderfully magical guide and facilitator. Her approach is warm, open, and truly creates a safe space that makes it easier to open up what was previously bottled in."
— TENISHA S.W., SACRED PEN CLIENT
My Techniques
These are some examples of the ways I work with my clients in workshops, retreats, and one-on-one sessions.
Timed Writing: A timer is used to challenge the client to fill the allotted time with their thoughts. Specific writing prompts create direction, and the timer aids in helping to overcome writer's blocks.
Sentence Stems: The beginning of a sentence is offered, and the client completes the thought in their own words.
Writing with Photos or Images: Personal photographs or images from my own collection of curated photos, art and illustrations are used to inspire prompts, themes or create dialogues between the client and someone in their life.
List Making: A variety of lists are used to unlock imagination and help define goals, desires, and values.
Letter Writing: I guide clients to write letters to specific people from their work, personal or family lives, to their past or future selves, to their loved ones, to their ancestors, to their spirit or animal guides, to help access deeper connection, to release old hurt and pain, to ask for guidance, and to offer self-compassion.
Perspective Shifting: This process involves the use of creative writing tools to shift perspective. Clients are asked to tell a story of personal significance from a third-person (bird's eye view) perspective, where they become a character. Or, they tell a personal story from the perspective of someone else who is tied to the story.
Creating Dialogue: Scenes with two people (the client and someone significant to them) are written both from real-life and imaginary perspective to examine memory, challenge perspective, and re-frame context. Imagine writing a role-playing script about a moment of personal significance, or to help move through a challenging dynamic
Crafting Ritual: Clients are guided in creating personal rituals to mark milestones and significant personal achievements and breakthroughs, connect to nature, release, manifest, follow the lunar cycles and more. These rituals are secular in nature.
Prayer Writing: Personal prayer is crafted from both conscious and unconscious desire, honouring all systems of belief and suitable to secular mindfulness practices too.
Free Writing: Inspired by the idea of Morning Pages (The Artist's Way), this process creates a container for anything preoccupying the mind, and allows for deeper access to personal connection.
Mind-Mapping: A simple, visual representation of how thoughts and values are connected, or how relationship dynamics are unfolding. Mind-mapping is also an excellent tool for unlocking desire and setting goals.
Poetry: Creativity, pathos and play come alive as we use poetic convention to explore our inner work.
"Outside of the brilliant ways Cat got us to be vulnerable through expression, my favourite thing about the workshop was that I left with the feeling that I understood myself a bit better - a genuinely empowering feeling."
— SHANNON M., SACRED PEN CLIENT
What Clients Need to Know
Uninterrupted privacy is essential for the journal therapy process. It's important that you create space and time for your thoughts and feelings to emerge without interruptions pulling at your attention. I ask that all devices and notifications be turned off, and that clients refrain from attending online workshops, private sessions, or couples sessions in public spaces where they may feel too self-conscious to share their discoveries.
Pen to paper is ideal, unless you have a physical limitation that prevents this. The intimacy of pen to paper writing offers deeper connection, and a slower approach to writing that allows emotion and truth to emerge.
Choose a journal that makes you want to write in it, and have writing tools in several colours available. Have fun with selecting your writing supplies.
Journal therapy is intended to support other forms of treatment for mental health issues, and journaling for mental health is not intended as a substitute to comprehensive healthcare.
With reflective writing, the focus is on accessing truth rather than producing clever or poetic writing. Our goal is to silence the inner writing critic and connect deeply to self.
Sharing within a workshop or private session is meant to discuss the thoughts, feelings and connections that emerge. You'll only read what you've written if you want to.
“Cat assisted us with prompts that allowed us to break through past blocks and connect to deeper emotions. This process gave me the opportunity to reflect and release on an issue that was holding me back."
— SARAH R., SACRED PEN CLIENT
Get Started Today
Private Sessions
One-on-one journal therapy sessions which include personalized prompts created to help clients articulate and align with their core values. Private sessions include a free consultation to determine where to focus the writing.
Workshops
Journal therapy workshops are intimate, online experiences that bring together a small group to write on a theme. Writing prompts help access emotion and connection and sharing is led within the safe container of the circle.
FAQs
Do I have to be a good writer?
Not at all. Journal therapy works for all levels of writing experience and skill. The focus isn’t on crafting clever or poetic words, it’s about connecting to your truth. A solid grasp of English, and comfort with writing is all that’s required to experience the benefits of a journal therapy session.
How do I know what to write about?
I’ll tell you exactly what to write about. Each solo session consists of open-ended questions based on what you reveal to me in your consultation. Couple’s sessions feature both open-ended questions and observations to share with each other as I act as mediator. In my workshops and courses, we deep-dive into the theme I’ve chosen with writing prompts, list-making, and some creative writing exercises that have been fine-tuned to dig deeper and reveal more about your personal experience and inner landscape.
Does this actually work?
There are several studies and articles published on the benefits of therapeutic writing. I’ve curated a collection of these here, if you’d like to see the research.
Let’s chat about how journal therapy can help you.
Join My Circle
Join my circle and get exclusive monthly journal therapy prompts, plus be the first to know about special events and offers. I’ll also send you my FREE mini journal with prompts designed to get your personal journaling practice started.