Therapy Trauma Journal

[Ari]

I suggested to my therapist that we do a therapy trauma journal together, well mostly me.

I want to have a topic for the week to write about and then share it with my therapist. I'm just not sure where to start. My therapist suggest I start with what is trauma....

Does anyone have any topic suggestions? that I should be writing about.

I was sexually assaulted when I was eleven, am now sixteen. I have major depression with psychotic features, bipolar, anxiety, PTSD, and I self-harm.

 

[Deleted member 20280]

When I started with my first therapist this time last year my journal began with me listing who my abusers were and I would list them in order.

I then ticked by each one whenever I had an intrusive thought about each one and would describe how I felt thinking about them.

This for me worked really well and I have progressed that into a book I am writing now about my survival through years of abuses and traumas.

Might be a starting point.

Laurie

 

[Hashi]

I think a journal like that is a great idea.

Maybe some of the things that are good to establish in therapy would be things that you could explore with your therapist through your journal. For example, grounding techniques. Coping skills to use between sessions. How you feel about having therapy, and any worries or concerns you might have about it.

We didn't actually write it down - my therapist kept it in her head - but one of the nicest things I did with my therapist was come up with a list of soothing and calming things for her to ask me about for a few minutes at the end of a session, to make sure I was grounded before I left. I love art, so I had a lot of art-related things, also positive things about my friends, places that I like, etc.

I'm sure it will also be helpful for working on symptoms, and for processing trauma when you're ready to do that.

 

[Ari]

Thank you both Santa_Laurie and Hashi. I will take both of your suggestions and figure out how they can work for me. Thank you both!

 

[Sarah2732]

If you don't know where to start or how to start, a book or workbook might provide a structured starting point to prompt unstructured journalling. I bet your therapist could suggest a few, maybe you could even work your way through a book or workbook together in sessions.

 

[Randombits]

I would think some good journal entries to have would include what you think and feel during the times you self harm. There's a lot of different reasons people do it so identifying the unique thoughts and feelings tied to yours would be important.

Maybe also because of the nature of what you experienced you should also write about thoughts and feelings on trust, intimacy and love. Identifying now where you are on those topics means you have somewhere to go from here to work on them so in time you can seek out healthy experiences and relations with other people. I see a lot of people with or with out traumas over look those topics in life or therapy and I think they are the basis for future happiness not continued loneliness.

Hope that helps not upsets you