Why Journaling?

Journaling is a way of deepening your reflective practice and is also a powerful tool for self-care, self‐awareness, mindfulness, and renewal as a helping professional. I will offer you guided journaling exercises throughout this course to support you to go to the page to reflect, learn, and grow. There are numerous references regarding the proven health benefits of expressive writing in the course bibliography.

You are welcome to journal in a notebook or online. There is no prior journaling exercise required to benefit from this exercise.

Please respond to the following journaling prompts and share your responses in Discussion Board. Please note you are always in choice with what you share. Feel welcome to share your actual journal entry or you may offer what it was like to do the exercise. We learn from one another’s stories and experiences. Thank you for sharing whatever you feel comfortable sharing from this exercise.

Journaling Prompts:

Remember why you entered this field. Back then, what motivated you to become a helping or healthcare professional? What did you hope to accomplish?
What negative outcomes did you anticipate, if any?
What motivates you now?

Source: Modified activity from Transforming the Pain: A Workbook in Vicarious Traumatization – for helping professionals who work with traumatized clients by Karen Saakvitne and Laurie Anne Pearlman.

For your interest, I have included numerous writing to heal resources in the Course References & Bibliography.