30 Journal Prompts for Therapy

Before your session

1. 1.What is the main thing you want to talk about this week?
2. 2.What happened since your last session that stuck with you?
3. 3.What feeling came up most often this week?
4. 4.What are you nervous to bring up, and why?
5. 5.Is there anything from last session you want to revisit or clarify?
6. 6.What would make this session feel worthwhile?

After your session

1. 7.What is one thing you want to remember from today's session?
2. 8.What surprised you about what you said or felt?
3. 9.What question from your therapist is still on your mind?
4. 10.How do you feel right now, compared to before the session?
5. 11.What did you not say that you wish you had?
6. 12.Is there something you would like to try before next time?

Between sessions

1. 13.When did you notice an old pattern show up this week?
2. 14.What situation did you handle differently because of something you have learned?
3. 15.What thought kept repeating this week, and what was it trying to tell you?
4. 16.When did you feel triggered, and what happened right before?
5. 17.What coping tool did you use this week, and how well did it work?
6. 18.What is one moment you felt proud of your progress?

Understanding yourself

1. 19.What do you hope to get out of therapy overall?
2. 20.What belief about yourself are you starting to question?
3. 21.Which relationships come up most in your sessions, and why do you think that is?
4. 22.What part of your past do you keep circling back to?
5. 23.What do you find hardest to be honest about, even with your therapist?
6. 24.How would you describe yourself today compared to when you started therapy?

Your relationship with therapy

1. 25.How comfortable do you feel with your therapist right now, and is there anything you want to tell them about that?
2. 26.What is working well in therapy, and what feels stuck?
3. 27.Is there a different approach or topic you would like to try?
4. 28.What is one goal you would like to set for the next few months?
5. 29.What has therapy helped you see that you could not see before?
6. 30.What would you like to tell your future self about this stage of your therapy?

Tips that make it stick

• •Journaling is a great companion to therapy, but it does not replace it. If something urgent comes up between sessions, contact your therapist or a crisis line rather than waiting.
• •Try naming feelings as specifically as you can before sessions, like ashamed, resentful, or unsettled. Precise words help you and your therapist get to the heart of things faster.
• •You do not have to share everything you write. Your journal is still private.
• •If you are not in therapy yet, these prompts can help you figure out what you would want to talk about.

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