The Way of the Journal: A Journal Therapy Workbook for Healing

by Kathleen Adams

In The Way of the Journal, therapist and author Kathleen Adams, M.A. teaches her trademark approach to using reflective writing as a therapeutic process. Adams' ten-step "quick and easy" method was created to provide sexual abuse survivors and dissociative clients with ways to maximize structure, balance, and permission while minimizing overstimulation and overwhelming feeling. Developed while working with dissociative disorders patients at a national treatment center, The Way of the Journal can be used by all survivors, as well as anyone in pain who wishes to gain greater self-understanding. In a well-designed workbook format, The Way of the Journal teaches 10 fundamental journalkeeping skills that are helpful for those in treatment for a variety of emotional difficulties, and that are of particular benefit to people with dissociative diagnoses. Adams begins the workbook with exercises for short, contained journal entries and proceeds to demonstrate looser, open-ended journal writing techniques. All of these exercises can be completed in less than 30 minutes a day over a two-week period, giving the writer a concrete sense of progress and accomplishment. Each section is followed by "So, how was it?," an evaluation of the specific journal technique used, assisting clients and, if desired, their therapists in identifying which techniques will work best for them in ongoing journal therapy. The Way of the Journal finishes with a "Resources" chapter (including a significant list of other books on journal writing), 10 reasons why journal writing is a powerful aid to therapy, and journal therapy interventions for common clinical situations.

Genres: Self Help, Journaling, Nonfiction

83 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 1998

About the author

Kathleen (Kay) Adams LPC is a best-selling author, speaker, psychotherapist and visionary. Her first book, Journal to the Self, is a classic that has helped define the field of journal therapy.

She has also written The Write Way to Wellness: A Workbook for Healing and Change, The Way of the Journal , Mightier Than the Sword , and Scribing the Soul.

Kay is a beloved teacher whose innovative work has helped hundreds of thousands of people heal, change and grow. Her dynamic presentation style is fluid, clinically grounded, intuitive and engaging. She is the voice of journal therapy at conferences, hospitals, mental health agencies and seminars around the world. A tireless advocate for the healing power of writing, Kay is a three-time recipient of the National Association for Poetry Therapy’s Distinguished Service Award. She was a finalist for the first Season for Nonviolence Peacemaker Award in Colorado for her work bringing journal therapy to populations as diverse as people with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer survivors, recovering addicts, and survivors of violent crime.

In an About.com poll, Kathleen Adams was listed (with Anais Nin and Anne Frank) as one of the three most significant influences on contemporary journal keeping.

Professional Profile
With more than 40,000 clinical hours in the field, Kathleen Adams is among the most experienced and respected journal therapists working today.

Clinical Experience

1985-present: Founder/Director, The Center for Journal Therapy, Wheat Ridge, CO
1992-present: Private psychotherapy practice with specialty in journal/poetry therapy, Wheat Ridge, CO
1994-2008: Contract journal therapist, Denver Health and Hospitals, HIV/AIDS team
1990-1992: Journal therapist, The National Center for the Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, Denver CO
1988-1990: Group therapist and unit counselor, West Pines Psychiatric Hospital, Wheat Ridge CO
Education and Licensure

MM/S (Master Mentor/Supervisor, designated by National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy [NFBPT] as a trainer of mentor/supervisors), 2007
M/S (Mentor/Supervisor, designated by NFBPT as a trainer/supervisor of certified applied poetry facilitators, certified poetry therapists and registered poetry therapists, 2000
PTR (Registered Poetry/Journal Therapist), 2000
LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor), 1993
MA, Psychology and Counseling, Boulder Graduate School, Boulder CO, 1988
BA, Journalism, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins CO, 1972
Awards and Achievements

Board of Directors, National Association for Poetry Therapy (NAPT), 1993-2007; pesident, 2001-2003
Board of Directors, NAPT Foundation, 1997-2001; president 1997-2001
Board of Directors, National Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, 2003-2008; president, 2005-2006
NAPT’s Distinguished Service Award, 1998, 2003, 2005
Peacemaker Award (finalist), 1998, A Season for Nonviolence

Reviews

[Marv · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK... Journals are excellent therapeutic outlets right? Every Psych says do it right? Just how, and why do I do it? This is the how, and why of it. Scarily illuminating (if you know what I mean...).

[Angie crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Workbook, especially if you have an area of your life to heal. Yet this is not for everyone.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

a professional workbook to practice and gain experience with journalling and journal therapy. Good exercises, easy instructions, a plethora of topics and interventions. This provided insight personally and helpful to clients.