Reflective Writing in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Book excerpt: Have you been asked to keep a personal development portfolio or reflective journal? Are you struggling to know where to start, how to write or what to include? If the answer is ′yes′, this book will provide you with a straightforward route in, telling you all you need to know about writing reflectively for your own personal and professional development. Offering staged exercises, case-studies, examples and ideas for self-directed learning, this book will lead the reader along an exciting journey of written self-awareness, covering: - the background - what exactly is reflective writing and why is it important - the decisions - when and how to start - the practicalities - the essentials of writing reflectively - the stumbling blocks - dealing with obstacles and difficulties - the long haul - maintaining reflective enquiry as a lifelong habit This book is an essential how-to guide appropriate for all undergraduate and postgraduate trainees, whether they are approaching the topic from a psychodynamic, person-centred or CBT perspective. It will give trainees all the tools they need to become mature reflective practitioners. Jeannie Wright Director of Counselling and Psychotherapy Programmes at Warwick University. Gillie Bolton is a Freelance consultant in therapeutic & reflective practice writing and author of the bestselling Reflective Writing, 3rd Edition, SAGE 2010.