Journal Writing for Life Development

Abstract

Journal writing can be a creative adjunct to psychotherapy. This article
will describe a qualitative study of the experiences of journal writers. Each participant’s narrative illustrates the integration of Winnicott’s transitional phenomena,
Freeman’s four stages of epiphanies, and Kegan’s adult developmental stages through
journal writing. The central findings of this research are that the experience of the
participants can be identified in the following three categories: therapeutic experience,meditative experience, and a transformative experience. Journal writing can be
adapted by psychotherapists, as an adjunct to therapy, to aid clients in elaborating
their stories, listening within, identifying epiphanies, and moving forward in the
change process.This article will present a case study of one of the narratives from this
research.