"The Way of the Journal"

by Kathleen Adams ... subtitle: A Journal Therapy Workbook for Healing....(this is the ref in the prior post re: morning pages...)

Review: A lot of recovering people use writing as a tool but find it depressing or overwhelming. This book offers a place to practice new journaling techniques. There is a ten-day program, very carefully planned to lead from very structured to unstructured writing. I found it extremely helpful and I've been journaling for years. Designed specifically for trauma survivors, this book is so full of wise suggestions that I can't praise it too highly. it is addressed to both survivor and therapist, and I (family member) also found it very useful. -- Post-Traumatic Gazette, May-June 1995I sincerely doubted the journal-keeping skills and writing exercises that Adams presents would do much for me. Well, I was mistaken. . . . [The] workbook "teaches ten different journal techniques helpful to people in treatment for a wide variety of emotional difficulties. . . . [it] teaches vital tools for creating a positive journal relationship, including balance, permission, and choicemaking." True to its description, the book is structure, contained, paced, quick, and easy. "The workbook can be completed in less than 30 minutes a day over about a two-week period." No lie! And it's exciting. The best part of doing the journal is seeing the outcome of each exercise. . . . The Way of the Journal will mean different things to different users, depending on the person working the exercises. The workbook is designed to have unique outcomes, since to two people are alike. The possibilities are endless. -- Write to Heal, July/August 1993In an easy-to-use format, The Way of the Journal teaches journal writing in a way that maximizes structure, pacing, and containment while minimizing the risk of boredom or overstimulation. Adams's ten-step "quick and easy" method of writing teaches a progressive developmental continuum of journal interventions that are of use to anyone, but particularly to people in pain who wish to gain greater self-understanding. In addition, this workbook is structured to help therapists in their work with clients who are resistant or reluctant to write. The Way of the Journal begins with exercises for short, contained journal entries and gradually proceeds to demonstrate looser, open-ended journal writing techniques-an approach that provides immediate and practical results. -- Survivorship, vol. 5, issue 5, 1993The Way of the Journal is a user-friendly workbook that gives permission-permission to think (or not), permission to be creative (or not), permission to express one's deepest needs and fears (or not). Kathleen Adams explores the dichotomy of writing: how we write for ourselves, and yet for others, and how emptying our minds of troubled thoughts actually records them for posterity. Through using the techniques explained in this workbook, writing can transform mundane, random thoughts into a valuable therapeutic experience. . . . This reader especially liked the format of the workbook, with all print being only on the right side of the page, allowing more than ample room to jot notes and record thoughts. Therapists may also find "Ten Reasons Why Journal Writing is a Powerful Adjunct to Therapy" quite persuasive, and helpful in providing rationale to clients about how valuable journal writing can be. -- Coalition Commentary, Summer 1998Though many have attested to the healing benefits of journaling, few have made note of the difficulties involved in self-examination through writing. Kathleen Adams has observed in her practice that writer's block and hyperarousal often result when one attempts to write a journal without direction, structure, or time limits. Such symptoms can negate the potentially therapeutic effects of journal writing. Adams's new book, The Way of the Journal, offers a method to avoid such pitfalls. . . . The clear and concise hands-on format is easy to follow, and Adams offers suggestions throughout to help the writer keep the process safe and easy. She also offers suggestions for the therapist. Adams's perspective is fresh and encouraging. Her book is well worth the attention of anyone needing guidance using writing as a processing tool. -- Family Violence & Sexual Assault Bulletin, vol. 10, no. 1-2, 1994 Product DescriptionIn 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.