Consult Yourself: Journaling for Emotional First Aid

Consult Yourself: Journaling for Emotional First Aid is a four week course to learn the basics of reflective journaling using evidence based techniques. Access the wisdom of your inner mind in the moments of time you can find each week. As little as 45 minutes a week of journaling can make a real difference.

Reflective writing has become a staple practice in post graduate degrees and is widely used in  medical training  to increase insight around blind spots, biases and gaps in knowledge. Importantly it improves critical thinking under pressure.

Furthermore, journaling has been shown to reduce burn out and compassion fatigue. (Dimitroff et al, 2016)

For those suffering acute stress disorder and PTSD journaling resulted in ‘significant and substantial … reductions in post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms.’ (Emmerik, Reijntyes and Kamphuis, 2012)

‘There was no difference in efficacy between writing therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy’.

A review of published studies found ‘the effects of written emotional expression are substantial and similar in magnitude to the effects of other psychological interventions, many of which can be time-consuming and expensive’. (Smyth, 1998)

Psychotherapist Liz Macnamara will lead you through a set of exercises designed to instil the journaling habit over four weeks so you have the skills to meet life with wisdom, humour, insight and self compassion.