Transformation: Journaling is Hot Again

Mankind has known for over 2000 years they can use the power of writing to renew themselves.  Now with the release of Thinking Anew: Harnessing the Power of Belief, a book within a composition book and the expected May release of E L James new book Fifty Sha des of Grey: Inner Goddess (A Journal), there are multiple ways to become what you are meant to be.   Like Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, you have to die . . . let your old self go . . . before you can become anew.  If you have stayed true to your New Year’s resolution,  today is the day to let your old self pass away and to acknowledge your resurrection  . . . you have become the new you in the new year with all the opportunities this will afford you.  Quis & Moynihan believe by writing down your aspirations each day and recording the raw creative thoughts that well up from within during a daily expressive writing exercise, you will surely change within 90 days.    This year, that would have been New Year’s Day to Easter Sunday.   And the best part of journaling for change is the cycle can begin whatever day you decide to renew yourself.

Learn more at www.helpthinkinganew.com .  To schedule an interview with Dick Quis call 714-992-2150 or  Gene Moynihan call 917-416-3448.

Eugene F. (Gene) Moynihan, Jr. is a street-wise psychotherapist in private practice.  He had the contract with the New York City Police Department for ten years helping cops deal with the dark side of their profession, as well as 9/11 first responders. Richard F. (Dick) Quis is a writer, fine artist and an investment banker. After a near death experience where Dick was asked by his surgeon to help with his survival, he became intrigued with Gene’s uncanny ability to help people get through rough times. He helped document Gene’s highly successful written self-improvement methodology.

Also available for coaching for journaling and dreamwork is Julia Widdop, MA. see more about her programs at: www.JuliaWiddop.com.

Journal Writing to Aid the Therapeutic Process

Journal Writing CE Courses

Using journal writing as an aid to the therapeutic process is not an unfamiliar idea. Keeping a journal has been practiced by patients of cognitive therapists in an attempt to help identify and correct negative thought patterns, by Jungians to record dreams, and in the Japanese Morita therapy for the treatment of neurosis; Sigmund Freud professed his belief in the diary as “a key to the psyche” in his preface to Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl (Rainer, 1978).

One of the most well-reputed journal therapists is Ira Progoff, a psychotherapist trained in Jungian analysis and depth psychology, who developed the concept of “The Intensive Journal,” a complete, specific journaling format to be used in working toward the goal of bringing depth to the inner self (Progoff, 1992).

In 1990, James W. Pennebaker, professor of psychology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, published “Opening Up: The Healing Power of Confiding in Others.” Pennebaker describes carefully controlled experiments and ten years of scientific research that caused him to conclude, “writing can be an avenue to that interior place where . . . we can confront traumas and put them to rest – and heal both body and mind.”

Dr. Edward J. Murray (1991), professor of psychology at the University Miami, claimed that although he initially questioned Pennebaker’s findings, his own later findings proved that “writing seems to produce as much therapeutic benefit as sessions with a psychotherapist.”

Writing it Out: Journaling as an Adjunct to Therapy is a 2-hour online continuing education course that provides a brief monograph on the use of journal writing as an aid to the therapeutic process. While most psychotherapy is conducted through traditional “talking therapy,” having a client express himself through the written word offers another way to let him vent his thoughts and feelings, and to gain information about his internal and external experiences of life. This course includes descriptions of the various uses of journaling as well as detail on seven journal-writing techniques. 2003 | 21 pages | 12 posttest questions | Course #20-13 | http://www.pdresources.org/CourseDetail.aspx?Category=All...

Writing in a journal can be an effective aid to traditional psychotherapy. It allows clients to vent and explore their personal thoughts and feelings even when the therapist is not available. The process of writing helps to bring obscure or overwhelming abstract concepts into concrete form, thereby making them more manageable and empowering the writer. Writing can act as a soothing behavior, a safe place to express affect, and a vehicle for tapping unconscious material, fostering the development of self-awareness. When used in a more structured form, such as a behavior log, writing can help to interrupt unwanted behaviors and provide insight into behavior patterns.

Journaling II: Directed Exercises in Journaling is the follow-up course to Writing it Out. This is a 4-hour continuing education course designed for the practitioner who would like to use journal-writing exercises with clients as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy, and would like some topic ideas to suggest, rather than limiting writing only to the technique of “freewriting.” It is suggested, although not mandatory, that the practitioner has already completed the course, “Writing It Out: Journaling as an Adjunct to Therapy.” That course lays the basic foundation for understanding the benefits of journaling and how it can best be used with clients. It also teaches a number of basic writing techniques. Journaling II presents a brief overview of “freewriting,” as well as 36 directed exercises divided into three phases. It also offers interpretive questions coordinating with each exercise and an explanation of the use of a behavior log as a journaling exercise. 2005 | 41 pages | 20 posttest questions | Course #40-03 | http://www.pdresources.org/CourseDetail.aspx?Category=All...

About the Author:

Lisa M. Schab, MSW, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice in Libertyville, Illinois. A graduate of Loyola University School of Social Work, Ms. Schab has specialized in anxiety and depression, blended families, and the treatment and prevention of eating problems and disorders. She has presented a number of professional training seminars on the use of journaling and is the author of several books, among them Writing it Out: Self Awareness and Self-Help through Journaling (Wainsley Press, 1996).

Professional Development Resources is recognized as a provider of continuing education by the following:

AOTA: American Occupational Therapy Association (#3159)
APA: American Psychological Association
ASWB: Association of Social Work Boards (#1046)
CDR: Commission on Dietetic Registration (#PR001)
NBCC: National Board for Certified Counselors (#5590)
NAADAC: National Association of Alcohol & Drug Abuse Counselors (#00279)
California: Board of Behavioral Sciences (#PCE1625)
Florida: Boards of SW, MFT & MHC (#BAP346); Psychology & School Psychology (#50-1635); Dietetics & Nutrition (#50-1635); Occupational Therapy Practice (#34). PDResources is CE Broker compliant.
Illinois: DPR for Social Work (#159-00531)
Ohio: Counselor, Social Worker & MFT Board (#RCST100501)
South Carolina: Board of Professional Counselors & MFTs (#193)
Texas: Board of Examiners of Marriage & Family Therapists (#114) and Board of Social Worker Examiners (#5678)

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Success Strategies by Michelle Gines

If you’re serious about creating lasting and significant change in your world – as opposed to merely thinking and talking about it for another year – there are a few things you might want to do in order to help make those intentions a reality…

1. Know what success is. If you don’t know what success is (for you), how can you possibly create it? Success is different things for different people, and one person’s success (a pregnancy for example) might be another person’s catastrophe. That’s because success (or failure) is not so much about the situation, circumstance or outcome as it is about what that “thing” means to the person in the middle of it. In order to create success, you must first define it – and far too many people haven’t. Be very clear about what you want and don’t want for your life. Clarity produces excitement. Excitement produces momentum. Momentum produces behavioral change. Behavioral change produces different results and eventually, the internal vision becomes an external reality.

2. Get comfortable being uncomfortable. Some people will live a life of second-best, of compromise and under-achievement simply because they are (1) controlled by fear (2) always looking for the magic pill or shortcut, and (3) not prepared to do the tough stuff. People who always take the easy option are destined for mediocrity. At best. Constantly avoiding the discomfort means constantly avoiding the lessons and the personal growth. Pain is a great teacher. Not always what we want, but sometimes what we need.

3. Seek to be righteous, not right. The need to be “right” speaks of arrogance, insecurity, ego and stupidity. It’s also synonymous with failure. The person who constantly needs to be right will miss out on much of what life has to teach him and alienate himself from others. Arrogance repels, humility attracts.

4. Use more of what you already have. Imagine what you could achieve if you took all the knowledge, intelligence, opportunities, time, skill and talent that you currently have and absolutely milked it. What if you already have more than enough talent to become wildly successful? Well, you do. There go the excuses. And that voice that’s telling (some of) you right now that you don’t have what it takes to become successful, that’s called fear. Not logic, fear. Not reality, fear. Unless of course, you allow that to become your reality. Be mindful that the voice in your head (the very loud, annoying and persistent one) is rarely a reflection of your potential and mostly a manifestation of your insecurity.  And no, you’re not alone in your self-doubt; it’s a universal condition. Many people fail, not because they don’t have what it takes, but because they don’t use what they already have. Successful people typically don’t have more innate potential, luck, time or opportunity than the next person, but they consistently find a way to use much more of what they have at their disposal. While the majority are rationalizing their lack of decision making and action taking, these guys are finding a way to get the job done. The question is not “how much ability do you have, but how much will you use?”.

Success is your if you put forth the effort, develop the mindset and get started!

To Your Success,
Michelle Gines

Purpose Publishing
www.purposepublishing.com
Email: michelle_gines@yahoo.com
Facebook.com/ michelle gines

Publicist Stephanie Barko Introduces us to a New Book Marketing App

Today there’s an easier way to create your author platform. Thanks to publicist Stephanie Barko and her development team, we can now say “there’s an app for that”.

 Book Platform Defined: A book platform documents a forum and following for a book in its first year of life. It’s a marketing plan that shows where a book’s readers are coming from, a useful device for attracting literary agents and publishers who accept direct submissions.

DIY Book Platform is a web-based app that guides authors of multiple genres & publishing tracks to create a unique platform for their upcoming release. Sections in the app include market analysis, reviews, audience, media, social networking, events, and competitions. Each section is color coded to help users keep their place as they navigate through the tool, answering multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. Most questions include notes to help the author understand publishing terminology and book marketing concepts.

At the end of the app, the user saves and prints out their book platform, which they can then use to help attract an agent or acquire a publisher. Authors intending to do their own book marketing can execute the platform themselves.

 DIY Book Platform was a year and a half in the making and especially crafted for debut authors. It was the brainchild of a book publicist seeking a way to help writers who could not afford her services. The user interface is patterned after Oprah’s new website.

A 45-day pass is available from the DIY Book Platform web or mobile site for $99. Follow DIY Book Platform Follow the app at:
 http://www.twitter.com/DIYBookPlatform
http://www.facebook.com/DIYBookPlatform
https://www.linkedin.com/company/diy-book-platform
https://www.pinterest.com/StephanieBarko/diy-book-platform

For Further Information www.DIYBookPlatform.com email: customercare@DIYBookPlatform.com