Mental Health: Journaling, Storytelling & Advocacy in Sickle Cell — Lived-Experience Readings (Introduction)

Date: Sep 19, 2016

Category: Health & Wellness → Mental Health Education

Participants:

• Moderator 
  • Dr. Carolyn Rowley – Executive Director & Founder, Cayenne Wellness Center

Description: This session introduces “Journaling Through Healing,” a practical, evidence-informed approach to using writing as a tool for wellness in the sickle cell community. Dr. Carolyn Rowley outlines how daily journaling supports clarity, stress reduction, problem-solving, and communication, and how it can help track health trends (e.g., pain episodes, hospital visits) to improve clinical conversations. The talk covers left/right-brain activation during writing, mindfulness and gratitude practices, and accessible alternatives like audio journaling. A live authors’ panel (P. Allen Jones, Judy Johnson, and Sheila Copeland) models storytelling as healing and discusses turning lived experience into published work.

Key Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, learners will be able to:

• Describe at least six benefits of therapeutic journaling (e.g., clarity of thoughts/feelings, stress relief, problem-solving, empathy/emotional intelligence, memory/comprehension, communication skills, creativity, self-confidence).
  
• Set up a sustainable journaling routine (10–20 minutes/day, morning or bedtime) and choose a preferred modality (handwritten, audio/voicemail recording) that fits individual abilities.
  
• Use journaling to track health patterns (dates, symptoms, triggers, duration) and prepare concise summaries to enhance clinical visits (e.g., “On Sept 9, left hip pain; admitted 2 days”).
  
• Apply mindfulness and gratitude prompts to increase self-awareness and resilience during pain flares or stressful events.
  
• Translate goals into action steps by writing intentions and sequencing next actions (e.g., scheduling appointments, listing pros/cons for care decisions).
  
• Communicate more effectively using written reflection to organize “I-statements,” reduce reactivity, and bridge empathy during disagreements.
  
• Identify pathways from journaling to storytelling, including options to refine drafts and consider publishing personal narratives as part of healing.