Initially used as part of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT), keeping a diary in which to record your thoughts, emotions, events, or exercises with your therapist is very useful for many pathologies. Whether supervised or not, individually or in a group, no predisposition is necessary, just get started.
What should you write in your journal?
The practice of journal therapy must be personal and adapt as necessary. It can be writing, but also drawing or creating your own medium. Whether in a paper notebook or a file on their computer, everyone should be able to feel comfortable expressing themselves.
To be useful, the diary must gather thoughts, events, reflections and personal emotions that allow you to know yourself better and understand what is going on in your life. The goal is both to solve personal problems but also to have certain points of reference in his psychological journey.
Several techniques are available
Writing gives free rein to your creativity and self-expression. For some, it is about forgetting the problems by asking them on paper to better free your mind. This way of relieving stress and tension, called catharsis, allows you to exorcise your suffering but can also lead to a painful rereading.
For others, it is about being aware of the difficulties and finding solutions. Proofreading then identifies recurring thoughts or problems that appear more clearly. Writing in groups or with the help of a therapist can speed up psychotherapy and help you find your way more easily.
To help you, you can for example:
– Freely write feelings and emotions without censorship or judgment;
– Pretending to write a letter to someone without any limit or apprehension of the reaction of the other;
– Associate writing with meditation with the expression of one’s questioning;
– Write a dialogue with one or more people to confront different points of view.
Find out more: “My therapy writing journal – I become the hero of my life”, by Emma Scali, Hugo Doc editions.
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