For many people the word ‘homework’ stirs up rather negative memories of being forced to stay in when the sun was shining, or toiling over the complexities of maths equations rather than enjoying computer gaming or other hobbies.
But in psychotherapy, engaging in relevant tasks connected with mental wellbeing during the week between sessions can be hugely beneficial in consolidating and enhancing the changes involved in the therapeutic process.
One example of this is practising mindfulness. Time spent in reducing bodily tension and the down regulation of mental processes can yield important new insights and reduce levels of anxiety. It takes only a few minutes of session time to learn simple meditation techniques and they can be practised at home on a daily basis.
A second approach is through journaling. But how can writing help us to relax and lessen mental tension and worries?
Neuroscientist and psychotherapist Louis Cozolino, whose book “Why Therapy Works: Using Our Minds to Change Our Brains” (1), brilliantly explains in accessible terms the key elements of psychotherapy, outlines the important role of narrative and writing in improving our mental health.
A key point here is that all of us develop – as a result of our upbringing and life experiences good and bad – an endlessly shifting internal narrative and dialogue about who we are, our strengths and weaknesses and things that have gone right and wrong in our lives. This translates into the daily barrage of thoughts that enter our brains, and can become a key component in neurosis, a kind of internal echo chamber that intensifies our distress.
Cozolino states (2) :
“Putting feelings into words has long served a positive function for many individuals suffering from stress or trauma. Writing about your experiences supports top-down modulation of emotion and bodily responses … Therapists hope to teach their clients that not only can they edit their present story, they can also be authors of new stories. With the aid of self-reflection, we help our clients to become aware of narrative arcs of their life story and then help them understand that alternative story lines are possible. As the writing and editing proceed, new narrative arcs emerge with the possibility of experimenting with more adaptive ways of thinking, feeling and acting.”
In this context, journaling – broadly writing down what has happened to us and why – can be pivotal in both understanding the events in our lives and the possibilities for change. My recommendation to clients in this domain is to buy a simple hardback A4 sized ruled notebook and then to experiment. There are no hard and fast rules other than making the time to make entries on a loosely regular basis.
The benefits cannot be precisely quantified, but in my experience, they include (as well as those already pointed out by Cozolino):
- The availability of a vent for the expression of pent-up primary negative emotions: fear, anger, disgust and sadness, as well as – more positively – joy.
- Gradually gaining deeper insight into our internal experiences.
- Identifying patterns in thoughts, behaviours and emotions, as well as bringing into focus the triggers that contribute to distress, such as bullying or being subjected to another’s anger.
- Facilitating mood tracking and the safe processing of difficult experiences.
- Our minds generate endlessly changing thoughts; journaling allows us to check progress over time, noting changes in thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
- The writing process can continue the work done in the therapy room and allow clients to rehearse and practise the new approaches that are discussed.
Another key point is that journaling can also become relaxing – a way of unwinding – and even fun. The process of articulating and crystallising our thoughts can be challenging but it also brings its rewards. Our internal thoughts are hard to keep track of, but this is an outlet which can also become like a close friend, a place to unload and unwind.
I have personally written a journal for more than thirty years and began doing so when I first experienced therapy following a panic attack at work (in my then job in the media). It was among my then therapist’s first recommendation to me as his client. With the benefit of hindsight, it was a major turning point in my life that enabled me to build both greater self-esteem and a better sense of competence and agency – essentials in the creation of a secure base, the subject of another blog by me available on this site.
David Keighley is a BACP Accredited counsellor/psychotherapist offering short and long term therapy to individuals and couples using a variety of techniques such as EMDR, CBT and Schema Therapy. He is also a trained clinical supervisor. He is available at our Brighton & Hove Practice.
Further reading by David Keighley –
How therapy can help with anger issues
Do you have unrelenting standards?
(1) Louis Cozolino, Why Therapy Works: Using Our Minds to Change Our Brains, W W Norton & Company, 2016
(2) Ibid p.24-5
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