A Journaling Workbook
Barbara Stahura and Susan Schuster, M.A., CCC-SLP
This workbook has been developed specifically for survivors of brain injury and blast injury. Based on journaling workshops led by the authors for survivors of traumatic brain injury, it is filled with journaling exercises. They guide the user through examining and expressing the many ways that the brain injury has affected and altered their lives. Vignettes by individuals give it a personal touch and also serve as examples of journaling.
Breaking it down into sections, users explore…
- changing sense of self
- loss, memory and resilience
- altered relationships with family and friends
- anger and emotions
- grief and loss
- facing the future
- building hope
- moving forward
Journaling is a proven therapeutic tool used to explore one’s inner self by expressing emotions, confronting fears, relieving anxiety, coping with stress, celebrating successes, and preparing for new challenges. By writing for only a few minutes at a time, journalers can heal and cope with crises due to illness, death, or any life-altering event.
After her husband, Ken Willingham, sustained a traumatic brain injury in 2003, she created a journaling workshop for people with brain injury and began co-facilitating it with Susan B. Schuster. Those workshops were the basis for After Brain Injury: Telling Your Story.
After Brain Injury: Telling Your Story, A Journaling Workbook
By Barbara Stahura and Susan B. Schuster, M.A., CCC-SLP
This workbook guides survivors of brain injury and blast injury through the powerful healing experience of telling their own stories with simple journaling techniques. By writing short journal entries, survivors explore the challenges, losses, changes, emotions, adjustments, stresses, and milestones as they rebuild their lives.
