Therapy Journaling Archives - The Anxious Ladybug

27 Best Journaling Prompts for Inner Child Work

Beginning inner child work can be an exciting and fun step toward self healing! Journaling is one tool that helps you to get to know your inner child in an intimate way.

As a mental health therapist, I LOVE helping people discover and heal their inner child. I often give people journaling prompts at the end of session to go explore at home. This post is ALL ABOUT journaling prompts for inner child work.

What is the Inner Child?

In mental health counseling, there is often exploration of different “parts.” Meaning, that we all have different versions of ourselves in our inner world that interact inside of us, holding memories, behaviors and beliefs. These parts, when explored, can give you a lot of information about yourself and what guides you.

The inner child is the part of you that was created during early development. This part is very childlike, observing the world through feeling instead of logic. When healthy, this part allows you to be playful, curious, and connected. However, most people discover that their inner child is stuck or lost due to childhood trauma or other experiences.

Inner child work helps to reconnect you to this part, heal childhood wounds, and live more freely. Journaling is one way to begin deeper exploration.

Before you Begin

Before you begin journaling with your inner child, it’s important to get connected with him or her. Start by closing your eyes, or letting them have a soft gaze, and try identifying where your inner child lives in your body. Imagine your inner child is a separate entity that you can talk to. If you can, imagine pulling your inner child out from where he or she lies in your body and place him or her in front of you. Once you are sitting with your inner child, begin journaling.

If this feels too abstract, it is also an option to get a picture of a younger you and place this picture in front of you when you journal.

Exploration Prompts for Inner Child Work

How old are you?

What do you need?

What are you afraid of?

Where do you feel stuck?

How do you feel toward me (the adult)?

Empowering Prompts for Inner Child Work

What is your favorite memory?

If you could do anything right now, what would it be?

What makes you feel strong?

What are things you like about yourself?

Safety Prompts for Inner Child Work

What makes you feel safe?

What can you do when you feel scared?

When have you felt safe before?

Trauma Prompts for Inner Child Work

When have you felt unsafe?

What keeps you from feeling safe now?

What memories bother you the most?

Who are you afraid of? Why?

Healing Prompts for Inner Child Work

What are things you would like us (the adult and child) to do more of?

How do you want us to play more?

What are loving things that I (the adult) can do for you?

What are you proud of looking at us now?

Art Prompts for Inner Child Work

If your inner child is not very vocal or is very young, art prompts might be more helpful! Once they are drawn, you can choose to explore and make sense of the artwork.

Draw a picture of your favorite (or worst) memory.

Draw something silly that makes you laugh.

Pick colors and use them to express your feelings.

Draw what makes your feel strong.

Draw what scares you.

Draw what love looks like to you.

These are some of my favorite prompts to explore and heal your inner child. If you notice there are things that you are getting stuck on or would like to explore with a trained professional, don’t hesitate to reach out to a professional therapist who can help!

I hope this was helpful in giving you journaling prompts for inner child work! What are your favorite inner child activities? Comment below!

21 Best Journaling Ideas for Beginners

Journaling has proven benefits for mental health, mood, and self-exploration. There are so many different types of journaling, it could be helpful to see all the journaling ideas for beginners in one spot!

As a personal journal-keeper, I have tried dozens of different journaling styles, and love to share this form of expression with others that are just getting started. This post is ALL ABOUT journaling ideas for beginners.

Reflection Journal

Reflection journaling is a good way to get into the habit of writing your thoughts down on paper. It can be easy to be caught-up in the day-to-day, not pausing to reflect on your thoughts. Exploring your thoughts can help with understanding yourself better and living more intentionally.

There are different ways to keep a reflection journal. The first way would be to pick a time every day, in the morning or evening, and just free-write. Set a timer and allow yourself to write anything that comes to mind in the allotted time.

Another way to keep a reflection journal would be by using pre-set prompts. This can help if you find that you have writer’s block. Click here for a list of journaling prompts.

There are also TONS of reflection journals online. Here is a top-rated one from Amazon.

Goals Journal

Another one of my favorite journaling ideas for beginners is keeping a goals journal. Did you know that you increase your chances of completing your goals by 42%, simply by writing them down?

One way to keep you goals journal is to write down your BIG goals, like your 5-year or end-of-year goals, and then break them down into smaller steps. At the beginning of every day (or whatever timing works best for you), write down your smaller goals for the day. At the end of every day, check off the goals that you were able to complete.

This helps keep you on track toward your big picture goals, but the baby steps help make it easier to not get discouraged or overwhelmed.

Therapy Journal

A therapy journal is a type of journaling that is specific to mental health. Whenever you are in therapy, your therapist will give you goals, challenges, or follow-up thoughts on things you discover in session. However, most of the therapeutic growth happens OUTSIDE of session. Writing down key points from session, and then journaling about any follow-up thoughts throughout the week, can help you to continue improving your mental health daily.

Need more of a guide? This popular journal helps walk you through the process.

Bullet Journal

Are you looking for something with more of a creative outlet? Bullet journaling (or Bujo for short) is used like an organizational journal that also allows some creativity and art within the pages. Bullet journals can be used for goals, scheduling, favorite quotes, and even diary entries!

People will typically use a journal with gridlines and some colorful pens to begin making their organizational artwork. Pinterest has TONS of ideas to help get you started. Click here for a useful article for Bujo beginners!

Prayer Journal

One of the most popular journaling ideas for beginners that I hear about is a Prayer Journal. A prayer journal is great for people who want to spend more time with their higher power or want to dive more into their spirituality.

For a prayer journal, you simply write down what you would want to say to your higher power, similar to a prayer. You can express your gratitude, your questions, or even your thoughts from different relevant readings.

Gratitude Journal

People that give daily gratitude are more likely to experience happiness, according to this Harvard article. Keeping a gratitude journal is one way to build this habit.

To start, choose a time every day, ideally morning or night (or both), and write down three to five things you are grateful for. These can be things about yourself, your circumstances, other people. You might find yourself writing repeat statements, and that’s okay! It doesn’t hurt to be grateful for the same things every day.

Reading Journal

If you spend a lot of time in books, then a reading journal might be for you! Books have so much to offer in terms of inspiration, favorite quotes, and thought-provoking material. Whenever you read, keep a journal close by to record your thoughts and things that stand out to you.

Another option while keeping a reading journal is to write down things you’d like to follow-up on. Oftentimes, when I read, the author mentions a concept, or refers to a historical event, and I am interested in knowing more about it. Instead of pausing my book, I write it down to follow-up on later.

Quotes Journal

One of my favorite journaling ideas for beginning is keeping a quotes journal. I LOVE stumbling upon inspirational or thought-provoking quotes, and them sharing them with others. I don’t always remember the quotes when I need them, so writing them down has been super helpful.

Whenever you see a quote that someone posts or that you read in a book, write it down in your quotes journal. For extra exploration, write down a journal entry about what the quote means to you.

Project Journal

If you are someone who likes projects, or aspires to be a project person, then a project journal may be for you. A project journal is similar to a goals journal, except more detailed around your specific creation. Projects could be home improvement, artistic creations, writing a book, building a table, or anything that speaks to your passions!

To create a project journal, you start with your idea (or ideas). In the beginning, you fill your pages with what you envision for your project using words, images from magazines, printed out Pinterest blogs, or even drawings. As you work on your project, you can write down steps, or smaller goals, progress, and ultimately your completed project! This is a great way to stay motivated, as well as keep track of your progress.

Travel Journal

For avid travelers, a travel journal is a fun way to document your experience. Most of the time when I travel, I have such an amazing time, but then begin to forget details or how I felt in those moments after I arrive home. A travel journal, along with pictures, can bring me right back to those memories.

To write a travel journal, choose something that is easily portable that you carry with you while you are traveling. You can either write down a sequence of events with details of your day, or you can choose to write your emotions and thoughts during memorable moments. Or both!

Dream Journal

A dream journal can provide good insight into your subconscious thoughts. Some people believe that dreams are unconscious beliefs coming to the surface, some believe they are messages from a higher power, while others believe that they are simply random images and memories that the brain is processing. Whatever you believe about them, there can be benefit in writing them down.

People will often forget dreams quickly after their day begins, so a dream journal should be kept by the bed and written down as soon as you wake up. Once your dreams are written down, you can begin analyzing, exploring patterns, and identifying themes.

Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams is a popular book to start analyzing your dreams!

Art Journal

Unlike the other journaling ideas for beginners, an art journal does not involve writing. Art is a great way for people to express themselves, especially if writing is not preferable. Similar to a written journal, art journaling can start as free thought, where you just begin creating whatever comes to your mind, or with a prompt, such as “draw how you feel today.”

There are many different forms of expressive art, such as Zen doodles, sketching, watercolor, and magazine collages. Remember, art journaling is not about creating a perfect product, it’s about exploring your inner world. Allow yourself to create and then you can analyze what it means to you afterwards.

Food Journal

Food journaling is a good way to express your love of food. Many people who food journal like to try new recipes, restaurants, or brands and write down, similar to a food critic, what their experience of the food was. If you are someone who enjoys cooking, this can also be a great way to keep track of food you like, new cooking techniques, and future recipes you want to try.

Food journaling is not recommended for people who struggle with disordered eating or body image. Food journaling is best used when exploring a passion, not as a way to create limits or judgements around food.

Fitness Journal

A fitness journal is a fun way to keep track of fitness progress and goals. Fitness is something that is difficult for many people to get started with, because results are often delayed or slower than what they are hoping for, causing them to quit before reaching their goals. Keeping a journal can help you see where you are progressing, giving you motivation to keep going.

It can also be helpful to write down favorite or new exercises and create a miniature vision board for your fitness goals at the beginning of your journal.

Similar to a food journal, a fitness journal is not recommended for someone who struggles with body image issues or other mental health concerns that could be exacerbated by fitness. If you are unsure about whether a fitness journal is right for you, check in with your therapist to make sure it aligns with your mental health goals.

Poetry Journal

As a creative writer, I enjoy writing poetry as a form of emotional expression. Keeping a poetry journal can be a great way practice your literary skills while simultaneously exploring your inner world. Poetry doesn’t have to hold a certain form, it doesn’t have to rhyme, and there are no real rules.

Some people enjoy trying different pre-made formats, like a haiku, or using prompts, similar to reflection writing. Some examples of prompts could be: Write a poem about your work life or write a poem about your relationship.

Mood Journal

A mood journal is great for mental health or therapy journaling because it helps bring self-awareness and intention to your moods. Throughout the day, people can experience a huge range of emotions, like boredom, joy, disappointment, and anger. Keeping track of your moods can show you how much time you spend in each mood, what impacts your moods, and how you can manage your moods.

To keep a mood journal, you’ll want to check-in with yourself at consistent times during the day and mark down your mood and any relevant details around the mood. Click here for more detailed ideas on keeping a mood journal.

Health Journal

One of the more practical journaling ideas for beginners is a health journal. Many people tell themselves, “I want to be healthier,” but then struggle with follow through. A health journal is a good way to stay on top of your health habits and goals. If you struggle with chronic illness, it can be a good way to be aware of symptom management.

To keep a health journal, start by identifying a baseline, or where you are starting from, then identify your goals or things you want to track. This could be water intake, blood sugar levels, or exercise habits. Track how you feel as you improve your health habits and identify what things help and what things don’t.

Vision Journal

Similar to a vision board, a vision journal uses magazine clippings and artwork to highlight what you envision for your future. This is a fun way to keep track of things that inspire you, while also motivating you to keep working toward your goals.

To keep a vision journal, you simply need a journal with ample space, some magazines (or printed out images), some scissors and glue! When you have time, look through the magazine for images that stand out to you and begin placing them in your journal. Feel free to write about the images to add extra dynamics to your journal.

Worry Journal

Keeping a worry journal is great for mental health, especially if you have anxiety. When you have anxiety, your brain is constantly scanning for threats, from logical concerns, like a school test, to less logical concerns. If you find yourself worrying throughout the day or at night when you try to rest, try putting your worries out of your head onto paper.

When you put your worries on paper, you’re telling your brain that you acknowledge the worries, but don’t have space to think about them right now. You can go back to your list later and identify what things you can take action on and what things might not be necessary to worry about.

Pocket Journal

Always on the go? A pocket journal is exactly what it sounds like, a miniature journal for you to carry around when you’re out. A pocket journal is great for helping you put things on paper to reflect back on later. Maybe you like to write down interesting things that you see, fun words that you hear, or thoughts that you have during the day. Here is a top rated pocket journal on Amazon.

Use any of the previously mentioned journaling ideas for beginners in your pocket journal. Write down your worries, your goals, health information, or anything that would be useful when not home.

Get to Journaling!

If any of these journaling ideas for beginners stood out to you, there’s no better time to start than today! I hope this was helpful in getting you closer to beginning your journal. Which journal will you try first? Comment below!

3 Easy-to-Use Journaling Ideas for Mental Health

“Journaling ideas for mental health” is one of the top-searched terms in Google when it comes to journaling. Why? Because people seem to know that journaling can have a tremendous benefit to your mind, body and mood, but many people don’t know where to start.

As a mental health therapist, and fellow journal-keeper, I am always coming up with new journaling ideas for myself and others. This post is ALL about journaling ideas for mental health.

Keep a Mood Journal

One of the first places to start when it comes to journaling ideas for mental health is to keep a mood journal. A mood journal, or mood tracker, is a great way to reconnect to yourself, become more mindful in the moment, and become more aware how your moods shift throughout the day.

One way to use a mood journal is to sit down at the end of the day and write down the different emotions you can recall from that day. Explore what events shifted your mood and identify thoughts associated with the moods. This can help you recognize patterns and triggers and give you the power to make some adjustments.

Another way to use a mood journal is to simply track your moods. This could look like carrying a small journal around with you and writing down every time you recognize a shift in mood. Not only will you have a log at the end of the day to reflect upon, but this will make you more present to what’s happening in your body during the day.

Pro Tip: If you prefer to use an artistic approach to journaling, or have a bullet journal, you can track your moods with color. Print (or draw) a coloring page and fill out a different section every time you have a different mood. This will create a piece of art that reflects your day!

Keep a Daily Reflection Journal

A daily reflection journal is a great way to allow yourself to pause and process your day. This can be especially helpful if you are a worker bee, a stay-at-home parent, a student, or anybody else that isn’t used to pressing the pause button in life.

To keep a daily reflection journal, set aside 10 or 15 minutes at the end of your day for journaling. This should be a distraction-free time, where you can be with yourself and your thoughts. In this moment, you can either write down any thoughts that come to mind, getting the thoughts out of your head onto paper, or you can narrate the events of your day.

After you are done writing, recognize themes, interactions, emotions, and process your thoughts about what you notice. See if there is anything you’d like to keep doing because it made you feel more joy, or if there were things you would hope to change moving forward.

Begin with Journaling Prompts

One of the final easy-to-use journaling ideas for mental health is to use pre-made journaling prompts. Here is a list of journaling prompts for therapy, and there are many other journaling prompts that can find to help you get your thoughts flowing. A way to make this easier for you is to sit down at the beginning of every week, choose a list of pre-made prompts, and write down a prompt at the top of each page. This way, when you go to write, the prompt is already there for you.

In addition to finding free prompts online, there are also plenty of places that offer journals with prompts already in them, like this one from Amazon or this one from Barnes & Noble.

Use these Journaling Ideas for Mental Health Today!

Whichever idea you begin to start with, there’s no better time to start than today! Journaling, like any habit, takes time and consistency to make it stick. Once you start to see the amazing benefits of journaling, you won’t want to stop!

Do you have any journaling ideas for mental health that you love? Comment below!

19 Therapy Journaling Prompts

“You should try journaling!” We’ve all heard it before. Whether it’s your therapist, your friend, or your sister, people are ALWAYS recommending therapy journaling as a way to improve mental health. But where do you even begin?

As a mental health therapist and personal journal keeper, I am always coming up with journaling prompts to help people begin the process. This blog post is ALL ABOUT therapy journaling.

The first step is to discover what TYPE of therapy journaling you are hoping for. There are many different themes based on your needs and goals. Some of these themes include:

– Processing
– Depression Recovery
-Anxiety Recovery
– Goal/Motivation Focused

Therapy Journaling-Processing

Do you find yourself overthinking throughout the day? Do you have trouble sleeping at night because of your busy brain? Do you struggle to answer questions about yourself and who you are? Therapy journaling centered on processing typically serves the purpose of getting thoughts OUT of your head and onto the paper. This type of journaling can help you organize your thoughts and better understand how your brain works.

Prompt #1– Free write. Set a timer for 5 minutes and write the first thing that comes to your mind. Do not stop writing until the timer goes off. Do not pause to correct mistakes. Do not analyze. Just write. Afterwards, leave the thoughts on the pages OR scan through what you wrote to search for patterns.

Prompt #2– Write a narrative of your day as if you were telling a story. This can be in first person (I went to the store) or third person (She went to the store). Make note of events, characters, and feelings.

Prompt #3– What emotions did you feel today? What prompted those emotions? What beliefs are tied to those emotions?

Prompt #4- What events happened today that you didn’t properly process? What memories came up that you need to process further?

Therapy Journaling- Depression Recovery

When journaling to help with depression, the purpose is often to be aware of thinking patterns that bring you down and practice adjusting these patterns to put yourself in a different mindset. For example, when you are experiencing depression, you might view the world as negative or have beliefs that because you feel bad, everything IS bad. Journaling can be a great way to bring awareness to your thinking and actively practice thinking differently. Note: Changing thinking patterns alone is not a cure for depression, but it can create a positive impact toward recovery.

Prompt #5– What negative thinking patterns did you have today? Which of those thinking patterns could be viewed in a more positive way? (i.e. “I didn’t do ANYTHING of worth today” can be changed to “I woke up and brushed my teeth today”).

Prompt #6– What went well today? (at the end of the day) or What could go well today? (at the beginning of the day)

Prompt #7- Gratitude Journal: What are three things I’m grateful for today?

Prompt #8– Self-Worth Journal: What did I do well today? What are 3 things I like about myself today?

Therapy Journaling- Anxiety Recovery

Therapy journaling for anxiety could have different intentions based on where you are at in the healing process. Ultimately, the goals are focused on anxiety relief, whether by getting the thoughts out of your head or discovering more about what causes your anxiety.

Prompt #9– What made me anxious today? What was the perceived threat in those situations? How real is the threat? (This can be helpful to bring to therapy for trauma processing).

Prompt #10– What are anxious thoughts that I can put to rest until tomorrow? (This is good before bed to let your brain know that you will remember these concerns at a later time).

Prompt #11– What made me feel powerful today? What made me feel safe?

Therapy Journaling- Goal/Motivation Focused

Whether you are working on therapy goals, like challenging your anxiety, or self-growth goals, like exercise or daily living habits, keeping a journal can help you maintain motivation. Just writing down your goals can increase the likelihood that you will achieve those goals, and making the habit of checking in with yourself every day will increase those chances even more.

Prompt #12– (In the morning) What 3 things do I want to accomplish today? How will I feel once I’ve accomplished those things?

Prompt #13– (At night) What actions did I take toward my goals today (having this at the end of every night will motivate you during the day to complete the goals).

Prompt #14– What is my end of year goal? What are small steps I can take today to reach that goal?

Therapy Journaling- Other ideas

There are so many other idea prompts when you begin journaling, and once you get the hang of it, it can be a lot of fun! Here are some other ideas to get you started.

Prompt #15– Write as a different part of you and see what you discover. “If I’m my inner child, I think…I need…”. “If I’m my inner critic, I want…”

Prompt #16– Dream journal. Write down your dreams right when you wake up and explore themes and patterns.

Prompt #17– Empathy Journal. Practice building your empathy muscle by writing as another person. “If I am my mom, then I feel…I want…” Try and come from a non-judgmental place when practicing this.

Prompt #18– Body Love Journal- What sensations do I notice in my body today? What are those sensations telling me? What is my body doing for me today?

Prompt #19– Buy a journal with prompts already planned out for you, like this high-rated journal from Target or this exploration journal from Amazon.

Wherever you decide to start, therapy journaling can be a great tool to improve mental health, self awareness, and help to guide the therapeutic process.

What’s your favorite therapy journal prompt? Comment below!