I have chosen expressive writing therapy as my area of interest. Throughout my teenage years, I enjoyed writing in my journal, but I wanted to know the difference between journal writing and expressive writing. For thousands of years, writing has been a practice of communication throughout the world. Many people have been journaling their thoughts and opinions to sort through their daily life situation. Unlike traditional journal writing, where most people record daily events and happenings from an exterior standpoint; on the other hand, expressive writing focuses on the writer’s internal reactions, perceptions and experiences which assist the individual to overcome many obstacles. Writing therapy suggests that writing one's feelings will slowly …show more content…
Each client works under the direction of a therapist or counselor, or can write independently. In most cases, the therapist will provide therapeutic writing activities for the client. The client writes down their thoughts, emotions, narratives, and other experiences. Each client writing is confidential and is intended for personal consumption or sharing with a therapist, and perhaps a group. Expressive writing can be useful in some cases where the individual has a hard time communicating with others. A client who has difficulty with expressing his thoughts, for instance, might write down his feelings to share later. Expressive writing helps the client to achieve their goals and desired outcome, and work on how to approach life situations. Expressive writing therapy was designed to help people overcoming physical addictions or emotional issues. The primary focus of the therapy is to mesh the individual in a creative manner to help alter the process and to help the person to create a more positive …show more content…
It is important to attend a therapeutic writing institute or a center of journal therapy. Such a course allows the individual an opportunity to gain a certification to teach therapeutic writing courses to groups and individuals, but the individual must be a licensed therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist. In order to teach others expressive therapeutic writing, this is the route to take, as opposed to obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics | Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, to become a therapist, applicants typically need a master’s degree in psychology, social work, counseling, or a related mental health field. A bachelor’s degree in most fields is acceptable to enter into a master’s level program. Licensure requires a master’s degree and 2,000 to 4,000 hours of post degree supervised clinical experience. Each counselor or therapist must pass a state recognized exam and complete annual continuing education classes (Bureau of Labor
In this day and age, writing is being portrayed through various mediums, such as film and television. Some of those portrayals depict writing as both good and bad depending on the situation that is present. Authors such as, by E. Shelley Reid, Kevin Roozen, and Anne Lamott all write about important writing concepts that are being depicted in films, like Freedom Writers. The film Freedom Writers shows a positive and accurate portrayal of writing in the sense that the writers should have a connection to what they are writing about, writing is a form of communication, and that writing does not have to be perfect the first time.
Writing essays was never my forte, it just never came easy to me like it would to others. Since other subjects came easy to me and I had to focus more than others on writing, I had a negative attitude toward the process as a whole. During this summer semester, I was able to grow as a writer, and gain a more positive attitude toward how I write and a better feel for writing in college. Writing a paper is a process in which there are many different stages. In high school I would never write outlines or any sort of pre planning work. Other struggles I encountered in my writing were my theses, and framing quotes.
Art therapy uses media and the creative process in healing, the key word here being process. We all know how revealing the artwork of children can be of their emotions. Art therapy applies this concept across the spectrum in a multitude of situations. It functions in many of the same settings as conversational therapy: mental health or rehabilitation facilities, wellness centers, educational institutions, nursing homes, in private practices or in a client's home. An art therapist may work with an individual or group, in families or couples. While most therapy is based on conversation between the therapist and his or here client/s, art therapy integrates visual communication into th...
These different tools are useful in building and maintaining a therapeutic relationship. Paraphrasing includes repeating the content that has been expressed in a different way, this method can provide the client with a feeling of importance and recognition. Reflection of feelings/content involves identifying the feelings and/or content in what has been said (highlighting the key aspects of the story). Again, this method encourages the patients to be validated and heard. The relationship between the person seeking help and the nurse/counsellor should be appropriate for producing therapeutic change, to ensure that the patient maximizes the therapeutic relationship.
At the beginning of the semester in Eng 121, I knew that there would be much to learn and many areas to improve. In high school I was not a strong writer, so taking Eng 121, in my first semester of college, was intimidating. Yet I quickly adjusted and was able to grow as a writer. My greatest accomplishment was understanding myself as a writer, because of this I quickly learned my weaknesses and strengths. After I learned my weaknesses I was able to prevent or go back and fix my mistakes, this allowed me to improve my writing immensely. Luckily, over the past few months I was able to learn the new 8th edition of MLA and identify my weaknesses, such as writing clear and concise sentences. The papers I chose to submit are ones of which I was able to prevent or correct mistakes I knew that I struggled with as a writer because of my Eng 121 class.
The story of my history as a writer is a very long one. My writing has come full circle. I have changed very much throughout the years, both as I grew older and as I discovered more aspects of my own personality. The growth that I see when I look back is incredible, and it all seems to revolve around my emotions. I have always been a very emotional girl who feels things keenly. All of my truly memorable writing, looking back, has come from experiences that struck a chord with my developing self. This assignment has opened my eyes, despite my initial difficulty in writing it. When I was asked to write down my earliest memory of writing, at first I drew a blank. All of a sudden, it became very clear to me, probably because it had some childhood trauma associated with it.
Writing and reading can inspire people to be the influential people that they are. Literary arts can turn people’s lives around in ways they once found unimaginable. For me, Mrs. Williamson did both. Not only did she help me express myself through writing, which I now use for daily life, but she also helped me to inspire my younger siblings to write. Just as I found a way to express myself through writing, I feel my siblings can find that same passion. If my siblings can inspire others they in return can inspire more and then a chain reaction has begun. Writing provides an avenue for individuality and expression. Just based off of personal experience I understand that writing can help anyone cope with their emotions and channel them into a positive platform. Mrs. Williamson took a little boy who was acting out from frustration to a college student writing a self-expressive English paper. Anyone who desires to express themselves but can’t find the appropriate avenue should try writing because it has definitely worked for me. Writing provides a way for us to understand our dreams and desires because our emotions are displayed in our ability to express our own thoughts, use our imaginations, and expand our minds to ideas other than our own. Without Mrs. Williamson presenting to me the world of the literary arts and writing in particular I have no clue where I would be. She has served as my
For me, writing is like my 13-year-old self. That was the age where I started to really familiarize myself with hobbies I enjoyed such as a painting, playing the guitar, and making videos. It is how I feel towards writing also; it is full of so many different styles and genres, all of which give an opportunity for the writer to be creative. Writing is different for every individual, but for me, writing is a creative and thought-provoking process.
Thus, from stress people tend to get anxiety, depression, and feel unhappy with whatever situation is causing them to be despondent. Due to this Cangialosi, in “Healing Through the Written Word”, provides a solution to aid any patients in distress. By writing down your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions; potential clients and other psychiatrists reading her article get a clear understanding of what her article is about. Cangialosi targeted potential clients in by making her informative article more of a brochure in order to promote her point of view that states writing can be a tool for healing as well. She intends to persuade this audience by insinuating facts and how this could treat them at a low cost. In Cangialosi article she states “Writing is not only a salve but often a tool that opens our minds and hearts to things that are deep inside us” (Cangialosi 425). Through this process, people recognize what it is they are experiencing regarding what happened throughout their day and how it is a similar to what we do when someone goes to a friend and vents about whatever might be causing stress. As human beings, we are very emotional people, bottling things up inside is proven to be detrimental to our health. So, by writing down our feelings, and communicating our problems we can improve our lives, be happier and healthier people. In “Healing Through the Written Word” Cangialosi utilizes methods of
This semester has taught me a great deal about how to develop my rhetorical, persuasive, and reflective writing skills. In the rhetorical essay, I believe my skills revolving around analyzing evidence to support my claims were improved drastically. My rhetorical analysis introduced me to that a direct correlation between tone and what a writer is trying to prove must be present if an argument is going to be strong and effective. My persuasive essay forced me to focus on my tone and diction, as I chose to discuss a very controversial topic that is currently a major social issue within the United States as of today. Prior to writing this essay, I have never thoroughly considered how my audience might respond to my opinions and the evidence used
approach casts the writer’s ideas in a different light, inspiring individuals to reflect and re-
In The Power of Writing by Joel Swerdlow, we are introduced to the definition of the word “writing”, its history, context and evolution over time. Writing is considered to be one of the most important forms of communication we possess. From books, to newspapers, birth certificates, to healthcare records, writing provides us with vital information that can be used endlessly. Swerdlow makes a flawless connection between writing, to one’s personal identity. To his understanding what we express in a piece of paper, is part of our individuality, creativity and part of our imagination. Personally I consider myself an enthusiastic writer, who enjoys writing about my family genealogy, living experiences, plans for the future, poems and religious beliefs. Writing is one of the most important skills I possess, because it lets people understand important aspects of my persona.
Pierson, M., & Wilson, H. (2009). Expressive Writing as Emotional First Aid. In Using Expressive Arts to Work with Mind, Body, and Emotions: Theory and Practice (pp. 155-201). Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsly Publishers.
Chapter five, Writing as Healing and the Rhetorical Tradition: Sorting Out Plato, Postmodernism, Writing Pedagogy, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder written by T.R. Johnson of the University of New Orleans describes the different views of how language helps a person who has encountered a traumatic experience overcome and heal. Chapter nine, Pathography and Enabling Myths: The Process of Healing written by Anne Hunsaker Hawkins of Pennsylvania State University discusses how personal writing, such as autobiographies and biographies, promote healing in regards to illness. Both of these two chapters speak about writing in regards to healing, but chapter nine speaks about a specific writing that tends to be more effective.
The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it is usually learned or culturally transmitted as a set of practices in formal instructional settings or other environments. Writing skills must be practiced and learned through experience. Writing also involves composing, which implies the ability either to tell or retell pieces of information in the form of narratives or description, or to transform information into new texts, as in expository or argumentative writing. Perhaps it is best viewed as a continuum of activities that range from the more mechanical or formal aspects of “writing down” on the one end, to the more complex act of composing on the other end (Omaggio Hadley, 1993). It is undoubtedly the act of