Before a session, you find an important entry and start editing it: what if your therapist decides you have misunderstood everything? The anger and contradictions disappear, and the text no longer looks much like what you were going through that evening.
You do not need to share your entire journal. You can name the topic, recount an episode, read a single sentence, or bring a copy of a selected excerpt. The rest of your entries can remain private.
If bringing notes into the room feels awkward, see is it weird to bring a journal to therapy?. The note only needs to make the conversation easier to use.
Choose the question first, then the excerpt
If your therapist suggests keeping a mood journal or filling out a thought record, ask how you will use the entries: read them together, summarize your conclusions, or keep them entirely to yourself. An agreement about this kind of exercise does not extend to your entire personal journal.
For example, a thought record consists of seven steps: you write down the situation, your feelings, your initial interpretation, the evidence for and against it, a more accurate thought, and any change in how you feel. The NHS guide suggests saving the record so that you can return to it if you wish. It does not require you to give a professional access to any other personal entries.
Before the appointment, choose one question. Why did a short message from your manager cause such intense fear? Why did you agree even though you objected? How can you voice a thought that is hard to say without having the words in front of you? Then find an entry connected to that question.
After an argument, you might write four pages but read only one sentence in the session: “I agreed, then spent half the evening angry that once again no one had asked what I wanted.” That sentence already contains both the episode and a topic for discussion.
Decide how much of the text to share
You can recount the entry in your own words, read a line, show the screen, or give your therapist a copy of an excerpt. Choose the option that lets you discuss the relevant episode without revealing surrounding entries or other people’s names.
To avoid searching for words during the session, prepare a short note:
Episode: I canceled my plans after talking to my sister.
Sentence from my journal: “It is easier for me to agree than to tolerate her irritation.”
Question: How can I notice the moment I agree sooner?
Boundary: I am not reading the rest of the entry today.
State the boundary before you start reading:
- “I’ll read the paragraph myself. I don’t want to hand over my phone.”
- “Part of this entry is about someone else. I’m going to skip it.”
- “I can show you this screen, but I don’t want to send the file.”
For a broader system for selecting notes before and after appointments, see how to use a journal around therapy sessions.
Before sending anything, ask where the text will be stored
A file may be stored differently from a notebook you show during an appointment. Before sending it, ask:
- whether the therapist will keep a copy and whether it will become part of your client record;
- who else will be able to see the entry;
- which channel to use to send the text and how long it will be stored;
- when the professional is required to disclose information without your consent.
According to the American Psychological Association’s record-keeping guidelines, a psychologist may include a client’s journal in their record. The association recommends explaining storage practices and the limits of confidentiality. These are guidelines for practice in the United States; rules in other countries and clinics may differ.
Email requires a separate agreement as well. In the United States, HHS permits healthcare providers to communicate with patients by email when reasonable safeguards are in place and advises against including unnecessary sensitive information in unencrypted messages.
If you keep therapy notes digitally, an online therapy journal should make selective export and privacy practices clear before you send anything.
Your personal journal and your session notes can remain separate
Expecting someone to review your writing changes how you write: you begin addressing your therapist inside the entry, remove anger directed at them, or try to give the “right” answer. Sometimes journaling starts to feel like an obligation before the next appointment.
There is not enough direct research on personal journals in this context. In a study of journals used as an academic assignment, some students who knew their work would be assessed wrote for the grade and reduced their personal reflection. An educational trip is different from psychotherapy, so this finding shows only one possible effect that having an audience can have on an entry.
Keep the two kinds of writing separate: your personal journal can preserve the unfiltered material, while a session note can contain the selected episode, quotation, and question. Structured exercises from your therapist can go in a separate file.
If your journal has started to resemble a report, bring this up in the session: “I’m writing for review and editing myself. I want to reconsider this exercise.” A meta-analysis of 295 studies of adult psychotherapy found a consistent moderate association between the therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes. One conversation cannot predict the outcome of therapy, but difficulties with goals and agreements can be discussed directly.
If their response makes you want to close the journal
You can stop in the middle of reading: “I’ve changed my mind and don’t want to continue.” You can then discuss what frightened you and which response from your therapist intensified the tension.
Discomfort does not necessarily mean that a violation occurred. Your therapist may have asked a difficult question, misunderstood a boundary, or failed to explain why they wanted to see the text. After you clarify, they may acknowledge a mistake, change their approach, or explain a professional limitation.
If the professional continues to demand your entire journal, mocks your refusal, or makes help conditional on access to your entries without a clear reason, document what happened. You can discuss the situation with another qualified professional or the therapist’s professional organization.
For your next session, one episode, the relevant sentence, and a boundary are enough: “This is what I’m ready to discuss today.”
Notes
- NHS. Thought record.
- American Psychological Association. Record keeping guidelines.
- US Department of Health and Human Services. Does the HIPAA Privacy Rule permit health care providers to use e-mail?.
- Dinç, E., Wherley, M. S., and Sankey, H. Student perception of journaling as an assessment for an engagement experience.
- Flückiger, C., Del Re, A. C., Wampold, B. E., and Horvath, A. O. The alliance in adult psychotherapy: A meta-analytic synthesis.
