Psychotherapist and founder of the Center for Journal Therapy, Kathleen Adams, joined us at Journaling.com to talk about journaling techniques we can use to facilitate self-discovery. Kathleen is as knowledgeable as she is passionate about the benefits of therapeutic journaling. Our conversation was a delight, and we are so pleased to have the chance to share her important work with you.
Kathleen is the New York Times bestselling author of Journal to the Self and eleven other books on therapeutic writing. Kathleen is well known in the therapeutic journaling community and is a pioneer in writing for growth, healing, and change. She is also founder of The Therapeutic Writing Institute (TWI), a distance-learning training institute for facilitators of therapeutic writing.
You can listen to Kathleen’s podcast interview on our podcast, or continue reading for the highlights of that conversation.
If you’d like to listen to the full audio interview, look for The Power of Journaling wherever you find your podcasts!
Journal Therapy Inspires Deep Growth and Understanding
In 1985, Kathleen taught her first journaling class and knew immediately that the healing art and science of journal writing would be her life’s work.
Kathleen explains that therapeutic journal writing is a versatile technique that helps manage the same issues other forms of therapy address, including:
- personal growth
- life management
- problem solving
- mood management
Journal therapy is the use of life-based writing for healing, growth, and change.
Kathleen Adams
Kathleen’s “List of 100 Thingsâ€
Kathleen’s methodology relies on a wide-range of original techniques to address a variety of needs. One of our favorite suggestions is Kathleen’s “List of 100 Things.†This technique is so straightforward and effective you’ll wonder why you’ve never tried it before.
Here’s how it works:
- Jot down one question that’s on your mind. What are 100 things I want to try? What are 100 things I want to write about? What are 100 ways to communicate better?
- Number your paper from 1 to 100.
- Write the first responses that spring into your mind. Keep it simple. Use bullets, phrases, and abbreviations.
- Throughout this exercise, it’s okay, even helpful, if your responses repeat themselves.
- Keep your pen flying. Kathleen recommends getting ideas onto paper within twenty minutes.
- Take a look at your responses and synthesize them into themes such as wellness, professional goals, family life, and creative pursuits.
- Calculate how many items appear under each theme to discover what percentage each idea represents. Kathleen notes that sometimes what we think will be a dominant category turns out to be less significant, and new unconscious desires can come into the foreground.
- Process this information and then act on those discoveries. If 50% of your statements are about a need to be in nature and your home is in an urban area, it’s time to act! You might decide to make time to play in a wild setting one weekend each month or after work if that’s feasible.
Actualize Abstract Feelings
Kathleen points out that journaling is an opportunity to make our abstract ideas and emotions concrete. By letting our ideas exist outside of ourselves, they become actualized, and we have a record we can return to and learn from.
“Writing lets us read our own minds and hearts,†Kathleen explains. Don’t you love that?
Tips from Kathleen
Kathleen’s advice is simple and true. With a smile in her voice she says, “There’s no wrong, just write.â€
On a practical level, she suggests recording the year and date of every entry. Another thoughtful tip is to make an index that enables you to follow major themes in your writing with ease.
Your Action Plan
Learn more about Kathleen’s work. Visit her online at her Center For Journal Therapy.
- For more information, listen to the podcast interview with Kathleen.
- Write your own “100 Things†list today!
- Explore Kathleen’s latest endeavor, Journalversity, a learning community for journal writers and facilitators worldwide that provides professional development (CE courses for therapists) and personal growth online classes.