Journaling - There is no more engaging way to learn about the psychology of people than through the medium of the case study, and it is more usually novelists than psychologists who are the most skilled biographers. From within the relative safety of a written story, characters open themselves up and allow the reader to know them at a level of intimacy we rarely experience (but can) with the flesh and blood characters found in our physical world life. -The writer is an invisible participant in every story and the writer’s personal perspective becomes part of the process when a group asks questions about why a character does one thing rather than another, or why the story has a tragic ending rather than a comic one, or why a particular setting was chosen, or any other consideration as to why a story is told in the way it is rather than in another. Therapeutic storytelling
Seasoned With Story
My love of language and interest in the healing power of written communication are useful adjuncts to my clinical practice. I have direct experience, both personal and professional, with the effectiveness of story as a therapeutic medium through a number of activities, including…
- The journal is a friend with an ever-open ear and sealed lips. It can be a wonderful chronicler of progress and a vehicle for moving disappointments from the inside where they fester to the outside where they can be contemplated, learned from, and properly disposed of or stored for future perusal.
Morning Pages
- The morning pages are a specific way of journaling, formulated and popularized by Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's Way and other books about nurturing the inner Creative. Morning pages are a minimum of three pages of daily writing, in longhand, that can prime the pump for more and get that frequently experienced initial awkwardness out of the way in order to allow for a clearer channel.
The morning pages are to be written upon awakening while the edges of sleep are still pulled around us like silky sheets as we return to consciousness. Cameron sees her daily writing of morning pages as a spiritual practice, a daily exercise in giving voice to the life within.
Reading
Writing fiction, nonfiction and memoir
- Storying in any form is an exercise in making meaning of events in our inner lives and in the visible world. It enlarges us by giving voice to those parts of ourselves that might otherwise speak only through dreams and gives us a way to acknowledge what is and envision what may be. The telling and sharing of stories is a highly effective means of creating a riper, richer, juicier experience of life.
Panticipating in writers groups
A writer in a writers group, or in a therapeutic writing process such as the one offered through this web site, learns much about the self and gains writing skill in the process.
-The client's story may suggest a similar story or folktale that can suggest ways to deal with the present difficulty. Therapeutic stories encourage the narrator to have courage and serve as a reminder that others have traveled similar painful paths and emerged stronger and wiser as a result of their experiences.
Bibliotherapy
- The therapeutic practice of assigning reading material can help clients gain insight into problems and solutions. Books that depict situations that are similar to those being explored in therapy create a kind of virtual world that allows issues to be considered in depth, yet at a safe distance.
