In our fast paced society where information is being processed at a record speed through social media, television and radio, it is challenging to slow down. As technology continues to exponentially develop, with computers and software being outdated as quickly as later in the same year that they premiered, human beings are often overwhelmed and exhausted trying to keep up. We have not even mentioned our regular responsibilities such as work, relationships, children, etc. And many of us try to squeeze in play, recreation, rest and service such as volunteering or helping out in our communities and/or churches.

Counselling provides you with a time out from life. You slow down, engage in an intimate relationship, dig down and express genuine, if not often hidden feelings, to convey the “authentic you” and  be fully accepted in a non-judgmental environment. How many of us crave a simpler life? Psychotherapy and counselling provide us the time, opportunity and process to spend on ourselves. We often forget that we are our most valuable asset and that we need to take the necessary time to take care of ourselves. So often we put our career, significant other, children, elderly parents, obligations and other responsibilities first and we feel that our fuel tank is empty.

Counselling provides the perfect setting to receive support, redefine your goals, get to know your true feelings, work through personal blocks and emerge your best self. The personal investment in yourself is often multiplied in the value of the outcome when it increases your insight, belief in yourself and dreams and ability to cope with challenges.

Maritza Rodriguez-Arseneau

Journaling has become synonymous with counselling and psychotherapy. It is frequently associated with therapeutic processes and outcomes such as increased self-awareness, exploration, consideration of alternatives, problem-solving, emotional release, and an enhanced sense of self (giving voice to one’s life narrative and experiences). There are, however, a few key considerations for clients and counsellors/ psychotherapists to keep in mind when deciding whether or not journaling would be helpful.

Reflective journaling in the context of depression may not be helpful, especially at the outset of counselling when activity-based interventions are important to interrupt the cyclical nature of depression. On the one hand, researchers (Lyubomirsky & Nolen-Hoeksema, 1995; Nolen-Hoeksema, Wisco, & Lyubomirsky, 2008) have implicated reflection as an ineffective intervention for depression given its potential to invite and/or contribute to rumination. On the other hand, in the context of therapy, reflective learning has been linked to increasing active participation and motivation to seek insight into problems (Karlsson & Kermott, 2006).           

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