Therapy Journal Prompts: Before, After and Between

Therapy journal prompts help you get more out of the hour you already have: what to bring in, what to remember afterward, and what to notice in the days between. Below are 44 prompts organized by when to use them, plus practical advice on bringing a journal into the room.

One thing up front: a journal is a companion to therapy, not a replacement for it. Journaling isn't a substitute for professional help. It can make your sessions more focused and help you hold onto what happens in them. The actual work of therapy happens with your therapist.

Why keep a journal alongside therapy

Therapy sessions are short and life is long. A lot happens in the week between appointments, and by the time you sit down, the sharpest details have faded. "How was your week?" gets a shrug and "fine, I guess," even though Tuesday was anything but fine.

A therapy journal helps with a few specific problems:

• Forgetting. You had a realization on Thursday. By Monday it's gone. Writing it down keeps it.
• Blanking. You get in the room and your mind goes empty. A few notes give you a starting point.
• Losing the thread. Your therapist said something that landed, and a day later you can't remember the exact words.
• Not noticing patterns. The same argument, the same Sunday-night dread, the same reaction to a certain kind of email. Patterns are easier to see across pages than in memory.

How to bring a journal to therapy

You don't need permission to bring notes, but it helps to mention it. Something like "I've been writing things down between sessions. Is it okay if I look at my notes?" Most therapists welcome it.

A few tips that make it work:

• Bring a short list, not the whole journal. Before the session, pick one to three things you want to talk about. Reading a full week of entries aloud eats the hour.
• You don't have to share everything. Your journal is yours. You decide what goes into the session.
• Ask your therapist what's useful. Some prefer you track specific things, like moods, triggers or sleep. Others want you to write freely. If they've given you homework, the journal is a good place for it.
• Write right after the session. Ten minutes in the car, on the train or on a bench outside. That's when the details are freshest.
• Keep it private. If you live with others, think about where your journal is stored. Paper or digital, choose something you trust.

Therapy journal prompts for before a session

Use these the night before or an hour before your appointment.

1. What's the one thing I most want to talk about today? If I only got to say one sentence, what would it be?
2. What happened this week that I keep thinking about?
3. What am I avoiding bringing up? Why?
4. What's one moment this week where I felt a strong reaction? What happened right before it?
5. What did I try from last session? How did it go?
6. Is there something from last session I disagreed with or felt uneasy about?
7. What's going well that I'd like to understand better, not just what's going badly?
8. How have I been sleeping, eating and moving this week? Has anything changed?
9. What do I want my therapist to know about me that I haven't said yet?
10. If this session went really well, what would be different when I leave?
11. What's one question I want to ask my therapist?
12. How am I feeling about therapy itself right now: hopeful, stuck, unsure, impatient?

Therapy journal prompts for after a session

Write these as soon as you can after you leave.

13. What's the one thing my therapist said that I want to remember? Write it as close to word for word as I can.
14. What felt hard to say today? Did I say it?
15. What did I learn about myself in this session?
16. What surprised me?
17. How do I feel right now, compared to when I walked in?
18. Is there anything I wish I'd said? Note it for next time.
19. Did my therapist suggest anything to try? What exactly, and when will I try it?
20. Did anything in the session feel off or uncomfortable? Is it worth bringing up next time?
21. What old memory or feeling came up that I didn't expect?
22. What do I need for the rest of today after doing that work?

Therapy journal prompts for between sessions

The days between sessions are where most of life happens. These prompts help you notice what's going on in real time.

23. What triggered me today, and how did I respond? How would I like to have responded?
24. Where did I notice a pattern we've talked about in therapy?
25. What's one thing I did differently this week, even slightly?
26. What thought kept repeating today? Is it a fact or a story?
27. When did I feel most at ease this week? What was I doing, and who was I with?
28. What's one boundary I held, or didn't, this week?
29. What's a conversation I'm replaying? What part of it still bothers me?
30. How did I talk to myself today? Write one actual sentence from my inner voice.
31. What did I need today that I didn't get? Did I ask for it?
32. What's one small win from this week that I want to remember?
33. What am I noticing about my mood across the week? Rate each day from 1 to 10 and write one word for why.
34. If my therapist could see one moment of my week, which moment would I want them to see?

Therapy journal prompts for when you don't know what to bring up

Sometimes you sit down and there's nothing, or too much and none of it feels "big enough." Everything is big enough. These prompts help you find a starting point.

35. What's been taking up the most space in my head lately, even if it feels silly?
36. What's something I've told nobody? Am I ready to tell my therapist even part of it?
37. What do I dread about the coming week?
38. What's a relationship in my life that feels complicated right now? What's complicated about it?
39. What did I used to enjoy that I've stopped doing? When did I stop?
40. What's a reaction I had recently that seemed bigger than the situation called for?
41. What do I keep saying "it's fine" about?
42. What's something I want but feel embarrassed to want?
43. What would I talk about if I knew there was no wrong answer?
44. How am I, really? Write one honest paragraph without editing.

If you still can't find a thread, try a quick unsorted list of everything on your mind. It often shows you what you need to talk about.

What a therapy journal isn't

A journal can make therapy more useful. It's worth being clear about what it can't do:

• It isn't therapy. It can't offer a trained outside perspective, notice what you can't see yourself, or adjust to how you're doing. That's your therapist's role.
• It isn't a crisis tool. If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, contact your therapist, call or text 988 in the US (the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call your local emergency number.
• It isn't homework you can fail. Missing a week of entries doesn't mean anything. Pick it back up whenever.

If anxiety is a big part of what you're working on, the techniques in journal prompts for anxiety pair well with therapy. For deeper self-reflection, some people bring shadow work prompts to their sessions to explore with a professional instead of alone.

Processing a session out loud

Some people find it easier to process a session out loud than in writing, especially right after an appointment when they're tired. A quick voice note on the walk home can catch the details you'd lose by evening. If that sounds like you, voice journaling is worth a try.

FAQ

Should I bring my journal to therapy?

You can, and many therapists appreciate it. Bring a short list of one to three topics rather than reading entire entries. Tell your therapist you've been journaling and ask if they'd like you to track anything specific between sessions.

What should I write in a therapy journal?

Write what you want to bring up before a session, what you want to remember after it, and what you notice in between: triggers, patterns, moods, small wins and questions. The prompts above are organized by each of those moments.

Is journaling a replacement for therapy?

No. Journaling can help you reflect, remember and prepare, but it can't replace a trained professional who can offer perspective, guidance and care. Think of a journal as something that supports the work you do in therapy.

What do I talk about in therapy when I have nothing to say?

Start with whatever's taking up the most space in your head, even if it feels small. You can also tell your therapist directly that you don't know what to talk about. That's a useful thing to explore too. The prompts in the "when you don't know what to bring up" section above can help you find a starting point.