About this course

Learning Objectives

• List at least three evidence-based benefits of expressive writing as a therapeutic tool and clinical intervention.
• Explain the theoretical foundations and research for journaling as a therapeutic intervention.
• Identify at least three journaling techniques and their clinical applications for diverse client populations.
• Summarize Dr. Pennebaker’s model of expressive writing.

Learning Levels

• Beginner and Intermediate, all levels are welcomed

Target Audience

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Erena DiGonis, LCSW-R

  Erena DiGonis, LCSW-R, is a New York State Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Health Coach, and Certified Clinical Anxiety and Trauma Treatment Professional. She is also certified in Brainspotting and trained in EMDR. Erena has twenty-three years of practical and professional experience as an active clinician, teacher, and supervisor. She has worked in a variety of community, psychiatric, in-home, and private practice settings with hundreds of complex cases.

  Erena is a sought-after writer, speaker, and consultant and has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Psychology Today, Reader’s Digest, Women's Health, and MEL magazine. She has reviewed book proposals for the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and is an Advisory Board Member for the CPTSD Foundation. Erena serves as the Founder and Continuing Education Director of EngagedMinds, a national Continuing Education business providing training for Counselors, Social Workers, and Therapists.

Disclosure

References

• Adams, K. (2009). Journal to the self. Grand Central Publishing.
• Brown, B. (2015). Rising Strong. Vermilion.
• Caragol, J. A., Johnson, A. R., & Kwan, B. M. (2022). A gratitude intervention to improve clinician stress and professional satisfaction: A pilot and feasibility trial. International journal of psychiatry in medicine, 57(2), 103–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091217420982112
• Cunha, L. F., Pellanda, L. C., & Reppold, C. T. (2019). Positive Psychology and Gratitude Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Frontiers in psychology, 10, 584.
• Day, G., Robert, G., & Rafferty, A. M. (2020). Gratitude in Health Care: A Meta-narrative Review. Qualitative health research, 30(14), 2303–2315.
• Horton, A. G., Gibson, K. B., & Curington, A. M. (2021). Exploring reflective journaling as a learning tool: An interdisciplinary approach. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 35(2), 195–199.
• Khanna, P., & Singh, K. (2021). Stress management training and gratitude journaling in the classroom: an initial investigation in Indian context. Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 40(11), 5737–5748. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01242-w
• Kow, S., Rieger, B., Morse, K., Keens, T., & Wu, S. (2024). The positive impact of journaling on adolescents with cystic fibrosis. Pediatric Pulmonology, 59(1), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppul.26708
• Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting Feelings Into Words. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.
• Pennebaker, J.W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8, 162–166.
• Pennebaker, J.W. (2004). Writing to heal: A guided journal for recovering from trauma and emotional upheaval. Oakland CA: New Harbinger Publications.
• Pennebaker J. W. (2018). Expressive Writing in Psychological Science. Perspectives on psychological science: a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 13(2), 226–229.
• Progoff, I. (2002). At a journal workshop, 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Jeremy Tarcher.
• Ross, D., & Adams, K. (2016). Your brain on ink: A workbook on neuroplasticity and the journal Ladder. Rowman & Littlefield.
• Russell, L. N., Gregory, M. L., Warren, Z. E., & Weitlauf, A. S. (2021). Uptake and impact of journaling program on wellbeing of NICU parents. Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association, 41(8), 2057–2062. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-021-00983-1
• Sloan, D. M., & Marx, B. P. (2024). State of the Science: Written Exposure Therapy for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Behavior therapy, 55(6), 1222–1232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2024.02.004
• Smyth, J. M., Johnson, J. A., Auer, B. J., Lehman, E., Talamo, G., & Sciamanna, C. N. (2018). Online Positive Affect Journaling in the Improvement of Mental Distress and Well-Being in General Medical Patients With Elevated Anxiety Symptoms: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR mental health, 5(4), e11290.
• Sohal, M., Singh, P., Dhillon, B. S., & Gill, H. S. (2022). Efficacy of journaling in the management of mental illness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Family medicine and community health, 10(1), e001154. https://doi.org/10.1136/fmch-2021-001154
• Tan, T. T., Tan, M. P., Lam, C. L., Loh, E. C., Capelle, D. P., Zainuddin, S. I., Ang, B. T., Lim, M. A., Lai, N. Z., Tung, Y. Z., Yee, H. A., Ng, C. G., Ho, G. F., See, M. H., Teh, M. S., Lai, L. L., Pritam Singh, R. K., Chai, C. S., Ng, D. L. C., & Tan, S. B. (2023). Mindful gratitude journaling: psychological distress, quality of life and suffering in advanced cancer: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ supportive & palliative care, 13(e2), e389–e396. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003068
• Torre, J. B. & Lieberman, M. D. (2018). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling as implicit emotion regulation. Emotion Review. Emotion Review, 10, 116-124
• Travagin, G., Margola, D., & Revenson, T. A. (2015). How effective are expressive writing interventions for adolescents? A meta-analytic review. Clinical psychology review, 36, 42–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2015.01.003