Benefits

The Intensive Journal method can help caregivers in many ways:

Maintain your Emotional Well-Being

• Work through the wide range of feelings associated with being a caregiver that you may have such as fear, worry, anger, frustration, helplessness, guilt, etc. about a situation that is evolving and difficult to control.
• Connect with your broad entire life to obtain perspective and emotional balance. Being a caregiver can be important but is not your entire life. Identify other interests and activities that are critical to your overall well-being. These steps can help you to maintain and develop other aspects of your life beyond being a caregiver.
• Describe your feelings relating to the reality of your current life situation: your role as a caregiver, the care receiver, as well as other interests and responsibilities you may have.
• Employ Progoff’s dialogue techniques to gain additional understanding and perspectives regarding your relationship with other key people in your life - care receiver, family members, physicians, therapists, and others.
• Use our writing process to gain clarity, confidence, hope, and peace of mind about your caregiver situation.
• Reduce stress and prevent burnout by using our process to work through issues as they arise.

Provide More Empathetic Care

• Describe issues in your Intensive Journal workbook to enhance your communication skills, especially on issues that are difficult to describe or discuss. You can then have better rapport with the care receiver and others with whom you interact.
• Improve your listening skills as you become more sensitive to your hunches and intuitions as you work at a deep inner level in our process. View issues from different vantage points and perspectives to understand other points of view.

Experience the Benefits of an Intensive Journal workshop

• Working in your life in privacy, yet in unison with others who are similarly working in their lives, can create a group atmosphere and energy to help propel you forward. You are learning an integrated system of exercises that you can continue to use after the workshop for your ongoing growth and self-care. Many have found it to be an uplifting experience, providing a practical way to navigate and overcome challenges in being a caregiver.