“The $2 Therapist” By Psychotherapist Liz Macnamara

Credit: Liz Macnamara, Psychotherapist | www.theclearing.au

Many therapists in private practice I speak to are noticing clients dropping back to fortnightly visits, and even stopping altogether, as the economic situation remains tight. Sometimes with frightening results.

So, when I discovered research which found ‘There was no difference in efficacy between writing therapy and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy’ (Emmerik, Reijntyes and Kamphuis, 2012) I wanted to know more. Other reports showed this was not a one-off finding. In fact, the results are so convincing that journaling is now part of medical and nursing degrees, and has become standard practice in most postgraduate courses at university.

That blew my little therapist’s mind. Was there really an equally effective mental health intervention that required only a $2 notebook to get started?

I took the idea to the local women’s health centre and started teaching journaling to small groups. Later I expanded to other locations. The results have convinced me it is true.

And don’t think this is just for women. A study by the National Institutes of Health demonstrated that journaling significantly reduced psychological distress in individuals battling anxiety, depression, and PTSD, with men showing even greater improvement than women.

It’s easy to get started. Pick up a notebook and pen, or set yourself up on your phone or computer. You don’t need anything fancy, a google doc will do it.

Start with the date and line about where you are and what’s happening. These simple observations get your pen on the page: you have already started writing.

If you’ve already got something you want to write about, go ahead and explore it freely till you reach some new level of understanding.

Feeling stuck? Set aside ten minutes or dedicate yourself to filling two pages.

The key? Just free-write anything that comes into your mind. Don’t be afraid of nonsensical thoughts or tangents.

For example:
‘I don’t know wht to write and the all the trees at the end of the road are jiggling in the wind and look freer than me but im rooted to the page and something a though might come but what will it be? beedly dee. I wander what bees do when it’s windy. do they all hide in the hive. I cld look it up but probably wont.’

You will notice I’ve not bothered about spelling or the rules of grammar in the above example, and I encourage you to ditch all such formalities when you write in your journal. Write fast and just be interested to see what emerges.

What sets journaling apart from something like an appointment diary, or ship’s log is the very human act of reflection. Write what’s happening out there in the world and what’s happening within you. The simple practice of writing out an experience, and then what you think about it, will lift your journaling into a form of mental and emotional processing.

Therapists spend a significant portion of sessions helping clients verbalize their experiences and feelings, because then a narrative can be talked about and even interrogated if something seems ‘off’. Patterns can be identified, and all kinds of futures explored.

While the time invested in your journal is almost identical to seeing a therapist, journalers have more flexibility: as little as 45 minutes a week (usually broken down into smaller chunks) can be transformative.

If you’re looking for an affordable way to improve your mental and emotional well-being, then consult your $2 therapist. Give journaling a go and see the positive impact it can have on your life.

Credit: ConsultYourselfJournal.com

Meet Our Contributor — Liz Macnamara
Liz Macnamara is a psychotherapist who teaches journaling for emotional self-care. Learn more about her work at Consult Yourself.