The Art and Science of Journaling in Therapy
Evidence-based insights on how reflective writing can regulate emotion, reduce stress, and foster resilience
Journaling is a powerful way to give shape to our inner world – our thoughts, emotions, and experiences – by putting pen to paper. There are many styles and approaches to journaling, but two of the more common are expressive writing, which focuses on processing emotions or making sense of experiences, and gratitude journaling, which focuses on identifying and appreciating meaningful or positive aspects of life.
Journaling can serve many purposes: to “think something out,” process a difficult event, check in with yourself emotionally, or externalize swirling thoughts into a contained space. It can be a grounding, clarifying, and deeply connective practice. Gratitude journaling, in particular, can cultivate presence and gently shift perspective toward authentic appreciation without bypassing the harder emotions that may coexist.
In my practice, I often introduce therapeutic journaling as a tool for self-expression and reflection. It allows clients to tangibly extend their therapeutic work beyond the 45-minute session, deepen insight, and strengthen self-awareness.
How Journaling Can Support Your Therapy Process
In therapy, journaling can serve as both an integrative tool and a coping skill, helping you deepen insight, process emotions, and stay connected to your inner world between sessions.
Journaling as an Integrative Tool
After sessions, I often provide clients with tailored prompts to continue processing material we explored that day. While some topics only need a session’s time, more often we’re engaging in deeper emotional work or longstanding patterns that benefit from continued reflection and attention. In these moments, journaling can serve as a bridge between sessions and a space to stay connected to our unfolding therapeutic work.
It can also offer a gentler point of entry for experiences that a client doesn’t feel ready to speak about aloud. Writing privately allows clients to put language to what may initially feel amorphous or overwhelming. It can help transform diffuse emotions and thoughts into more tangible and workable ones. In doing so, it can create more openness to share experiences that have been protected for good reason in the therapy space.
Journaling as a Coping Skill
For clients experiencing anxiety, depression, or emotional dysregulation, journaling can become a valuable part of their coping toolkit when used appropriately. Together, we examine when journaling might serve as a supportive intervention vs. when it can unintentionally heighten symptoms and deepen rumination. This exercise itself invites self-observation, and helps clients build awareness of how they respond to different interventions.
Above all, what I hear most often from clients is that journaling becomes a portable, empowering strategy. They can turn to outside of session and foster a sense of agency in how they navigate distress.
The Benefits of Journaling
The psychological and physiological benefits of journaling are well-supported by research. Here are some of the key ways journaling can enhance mental and emotional well-being:
1. Reduces Stress and Anxiety: Expressive writing has been shown to decrease stress and anxiety levels, particularly when individuals write about emotional experiences in a structured way. A study by Pennebaker & Beall (1986) found that participants who wrote about traumatic experiences for just 15–20 minutes over four consecutive days showed improved immune function and reduced stress-related symptoms compared to those who wrote about neutral topics.
2. Supports Emotional Regulation: Journaling can be a powerful tool for healthy emotion regulation, allowing individuals to name and organize their emotions, which is a key step in managing them. Neuroimaging studies have shown that labeling emotions through writing activates the prefrontal cortex and decreases amygdala activity, suggesting that journaling may help regulate emotional responses at a neurological level (Lieberman, et al. 2007).
3. Enhances Self-Reflection and Insight: Regular journaling can increase self-awareness by helping individuals understand their behavioral patterns, emotional triggers, and inner dialogue. This enhanced insight can lead to more intentional decision-making and increased self-compassion.
4. Improves Mindfulness and Present-Moment Awareness: Gratitude journaling, in particular, fosters a mindful awareness of the present, helping clients notice and savor positive moments, however small. Studies show that practicing gratitude can increase well-being, improve mood, and even improve sleep quality (Emmons & McCollough, 2003).
5. Aids in Goal Setting and Creative Thinking: Journaling can help clarify goals, track progress, and stimulate creative thinking. Writing helps to externalize vague intentions, turning them into tangible goals and plans. This can increase motivation, especially for clients working on life transitions, career goals, or habit changes.
Can Journaling Be Harmful? (Sometimes)
While journaling is generally beneficial, it’s not without potential pitfalls. Without awareness or guidance, some individuals may find that journaling exacerbates certain distressing patterns, such as:
1. Reinforcing Negative Thought Loops: If journaling becomes a space for unchallenged self-criticism or spiraling thoughts, it can reinforce harmful inner narratives rather than resolve them. Writing alone won’t necessarily shift negative core beliefs; it often needs to be paired with therapeutic exploration and practices.
2. Encouraging Rumination: Some clients may use journaling to dwell repeatedly on distressing thoughts or situations, essentially externalizing rumination without resolution. If journaling becomes a repetitive loop rather than a tool for insight, it may amplify distress instead of reducing it.
3. Skewing One’s Memory or Self-Narrative: When journaling only focuses on negative experiences, over time it can create a distorted sense of one’s life, making past days, months, or years seem overwhelmingly difficult. A more balanced approach includes not just struggles but neutral or positive reflections, even small ones. (Some individuals benefit from symbolic acts of release, such as writing and then disposing of distressing entries. This can be an intentional ritual for letting go, but should be done mindfully, not as avoidance.)
How to Get Started with Journaling
If you’re new to journaling or hoping to revisit it in a more intentional way, here are a few simple steps to ease into the practice:
1. Set an Intention
Before you begin, ask yourself: What do I want journaling to support in my life? This could include:
Processing emotions
Reflecting on daily events
Tracking patterns or moods
Finding gratitude or grounding
Clarifying goals or values
2. Start Small
You don’t need to journal for an hour to make it worthwhile. I often encourage clients to start with just a few minutes. Set a timer, and give yourself permission to sit with the page. You may not even write the entire time. With practice, you may build up to 15–30 minutes or a couple of pages a day, or you may find a different rhythm that feels right for you.
3. Remember: There’s No “Right” Way: Some people write long paragraphs, others make lists. The beauty of journaling is its individuality and flexibility; it’s your space and process.
In summary…
Journaling can be a profoundly healing practice, but like any tool, its power lies in how it’s used. Whether you’re exploring difficult emotions, trying to understand yourself more deeply, or simply creating space to reflect, journaling can help you connect more intentionally with your inner world. It’s important, though, to pause and notice whether the practice is genuinely supporting you.
While writing can be a wonderful complement to therapy, it’s not meant to replace the therapeutic process. Journaling is an intrapersonal practice – a dialogue with yourself. What deepens the work is the interpersonal experience of exploring those thoughts and feelings with a trusted therapist. In that shared space, you’re no longer alone with what arises; instead, you can experience new ways of relating to your inner world within the safety of a co-created, healing relationship.
If you’re interested in journaling as part of your therapeutic journey or if you’re noticing that it is increasing distress or reinforcing negative thought patterns, bring it into your therapy. Talking about what’s coming up can be profoundly illuminating, and your therapist can help guide you in using journaling more effectively and compassionately.
Journal Prompts to Get You Started
Expressive Journaling Prompts
These prompts invite emotional awareness, self-compassion, and curiosity about your internal experience
- Today, I’m feeling ________ . How is that showing up in my body right now?
- Something from this week that really stood out to me was…
- I notice I’ve been thinking a lot about ________. What might be drawing my attention there?
- When I think about [a challenge], I feel ________. What does that tell me?
- What do I need more (or less) of in my life right now? What might that feeling be trying to show or protect?
Goal Setting Journaling prompts:
These prompts support clarity, purpose, and mindful direction without pressure for perfection or productivity
- Three things I’d like to focus on today are…
- An intention I’d like to bring into my day (or week) is…
- Something that feels important for me to make progress on right now is…
- What does true “success” look or feel like for me in the next (week, month, year)?
Gratitude Journaling Prompts:
- Three things I’m grateful for today are…
- A small moment that brought me peace today was…
- Someone I appreciate in my life right now is…
- I felt joy today when…
- Something I can overlook but appreciate about my life is…
Juliette Lackow, LMSW
Juliette helps her clients reconnect - to themselves and to those they love. Her work with couples and individuals fosters understanding, communication, and emotional growth through warmth, curiosity, and collaboration.
References:
Pennebaker, J. W., & Beall, S. K. (1986). Confronting a traumatic event: Toward an understanding of inhibition and disease. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(3), 274–281.
Lieberman, M. D. et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.
Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.
