At a Journal Workshop

Library Journal

Progoff, a psychotherapist and pioneer in the therapeutic use of journal writing, has conducted workshops on the Intensive Journal Process since 1966. His program offers more than a chronological diary; the Intensive Journal Process is a complex and systematic method for gaining self-insight by recording thoughts, dreams, and significant events, which are then used as focal points for meditation and written reflection in separate sections. This book, a condensed version of two previous works, At a Journal Workshop ( LJ 11/1/75) and The Practice of Process Meditation ( LJ 12/1/80), follows the sequence of an introductory workshop, with the reader as an active participant. The casual reader looking for a summary or overview of the process will find this approach disappointing, while those familiar with the previous works will find little new other than a rearrangement of text. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating guidebook for those seriously committed to exploring journal writing as a means of self-discovery. Recommended for academic and large public libraries that don't own copies of the earlier works.-- Lucille Boone, San Jose P.L., Cal.