Journaling is one self-care method counselors can recommend to their clients. Clients can use this tool on their own and incorporate these entries into a therapy session. Counselors refer to journaling in therapy as writing therapy, journal therapy or expressive art therapy.
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Do therapists recommend journaling?
Journaling is one self-care method counselors can recommend to their clients. Clients can use this tool on their own and incorporate these entries into a therapy session. Counselors refer to journaling in therapy as writing therapy, journal therapy or expressive art therapy. Keeping a therapeutic journal can help you tap into deep-set emotions, and manage your mental health. Whether you keep at it consistently, or save it for occasional use as part of your self-care arsenal, it’s a great way to strengthen your mindfulness and self-reflection abilities. Journaling might just be the thing to help you rewire your brain, whether it’s a shift in attitude you seek or you’re trying to reach other life goals. Research even points to health benefits that can result from keeping a journal, such as increased immunity and reduced stress. Journaling helps keep your brain in tip-top shape. Not only does it boost memory and comprehension, it also increases working memory capacity, which may reflect improved cognitive processing. Journaling also helps people hone their focus so that they think about only one thing at a time. When you write your thoughts by hand, you can only write one word at a time. Your thoughts slow down to match your writing speed and you’ll find that it’s easier to slip out of your overthinking mindset.
What do therapists say about journaling?
Keeping a therapeutic journal can help you tap into deep-set emotions, and manage your mental health. Whether you keep at it consistently, or save it for occasional use as part of your self-care arsenal, it’s a great way to strengthen your mindfulness and self-reflection abilities. Enhance Your Intelligence Writing has long been connected with the ability to increase your own intelligence and even to improve your IQ. By writing through a journal, you’re actively stimulating your brain, putting thoughts into written form and expanding your vocabulary.
Why do psychologists recommend journaling?
The simple act of expressing thoughts and feelings on paper about challenging and upsetting events can allow us to move forward by expressing and letting go of the feelings involved. Expressive writing also provides an opportunity to construct a meaningful personal narrative about what happened. The expressive writing protocol consists of asking someone to write about a stressful, traumatic or emotional experience for three to five sessions, over four consecutive days, for 15-20 minutes per session. Research has found it to be useful as a stand-alone tool or as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapies.
Why do therapists tell you to journal?
Therapeutic journaling is the process of writing down our thoughts and feelings about our personal experiences. This kind of private reflection allows us to sort through events that have occurred and problems that we may be struggling with. “Therapists’ process notes are to help therapists solidify memories of important details, themes to come back to, or noteworthy elements of the therapy process,” she says. “These small bits of information help us remember where we left off when we meet again and help us track the progress of therapy.”