Keep a Therapy Journal

Journaling is a way to process what you are going through, the high points and the low ones. Tracking your emotions and the events of your life over time turns into a barometer of your habits, your strengths, and your tendencies. It gives your feelings an outlet and gives your deepest thoughts a place to sit without fear of judgment, blame, or any need to justify them — a way to travel through your own emotions with gentleness, compassion, and a bit more understanding.

After every session

On your way out, before the rest of the day takes over, jot down quick answers to these four questions. Quick is the point — a sentence each is plenty.

What am I feeling now?

e.g. Whatever is actually there, not what you think should be there.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

What did I learn about myself today?

e.g. One thing is enough.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

What do I want to notice about myself this week?

e.g. Something you can watch for, not something you have to fix.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

What behavior would I like to change today?

e.g. Today, not eventually.

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Six rules for keeping the journal going

The basics

• The journal: pick something classic and plain in form and layout. A neutral journal does not go out of style. Keep your old ones — rereading them later and seeing how far you have come is a real source of encouragement when you are facing something hard.
• Where: go somewhere private where you can be alone with your thoughts, free from distraction, at a time you can count on. Your bedroom with the phone off is enough.
• What to write: write whatever comes to mind without editing yourself. A lot of what is inside you simply needs to be said, and saying it is what brings clarity. Decide that whatever you are thinking and feeling is OK, because it is temporary. Go deep, follow the tangents as far as they go, and if you end up lost, reread where you started and see what else wants to come out.
• When: plan on a daily journaling time, and be flexible with yourself when it does not happen. Writing before bed gives you the best vantage point for tracking the day's events and feelings. Find what works for you.
• Privacy: you will only write freely if you know the journal cannot be read by someone else. If you keep it electronically, password-protect both the device and the document itself.
• Relax: do not write if you do not want to. The journal is there to help, not to add stress. You can write that you feel overwhelmed and do not feel like writing today. That is fine.

The lobby is the best desk you will get: Most of what a session opens starts closing again on the drive home. Four short answers written before you leave the building keep it open — and next week you walk back in with the thread still in your hand instead of starting over.