APPENDIX B

Therapeutic Emotional Expression

RESOURCES FOR EMOTIONALLY EXPRESSIVE WRITING

James W. Pennebaker: http://homepage.psy.utexas.edu/homepage/Faculty/Pennebaker/Home2000/JWPhome.htm

This website of one of the key researchers in the field includes relevant publications, research tools, and links.

Dr. Howard Schubiner’s Mind Body Program: http://www.unlearnyourpain.com/index.php

This program uses expressive writing to help provide healthy expression of emotions to reduce pain and tension.

Center for Journal Therapy: www.journaltherapy.com/

The Center for Journal Therapy offers classes and instruction on using journaling for health.

My Therapy Journal: https://www.mytherapyjournal.com/

This online journal with secure entries provides multiple ways to express oneself. A fee is required.

HOW TO JOURNAL¹

When working with stressful events:

1.  Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

2.  Write about an upsetting or troubling experience in your life, something that has affected you deeply and that you have not discussed at length with others.

3.  First describe the event in detail. Write about the situation, surroundings, and sensations that you remember.

4.  Then describe your deepest feeling about the event. Let go and allow your emotions to run freely in your writing. Describe how you felt about the event then and how you feel about it now.

5.  Write continuously. Don’t worry about grammar, spelling, or sentence structure. If you come to a “block,” simply repeat what you have already written.

6.  Before finishing, write about what you may have learned or how you may have grown from the event.

7.  Write for twenty minutes for at least four days. You can write about different events or reflect on the same one each day.

8.  If the process proves helpful, consider keeping a journal regularly and/or sharing your feelings with someone you trust through a compassionate connection.