Your Brain on Ink

Deborah Ross, LPC is a licensed psychotherapist in the Washington DC area. She has graduated from both the Mindsight Institute’s program in interpersonal neurobiology and the Therapeutic Writing Institute, from which she earned the Certified Journal Therapist credential.Kathleen Adams LPC is a licensed psychotherapist in Denver, Colorado. She is the founder/director of the Center for Journal Therapy and the online Therapeutic Writing Institute and is the series editor for the It’s Easy to W.R.I.T.E. expressive writing series.

• Foreword PrefaceDear Reader: An Introduction to the WorkbookSection 1: A User-Friendly Guide to Your Brain and Your Journal1. Prelude2. Welcome to Neuroplasticity3. The Art and Science of Expressive Writing4. The Journal Ladder5. Brain Maps6. The Reflection WriteSection 2: The Write Way to Positive Brain Change7. The Brain as Velcro® and Teflon® 8. Your Limbic System9. The Brain Takes the Shape the Mind Rests Upon10. Neural Darwinism11. Neurons that Fire Together, Wire Together12. For Your Olfactory Delight13. The Masking of a Negative is Not a Positive14. From Positive State to Positive Trait15. Building Neural Circuitry16. Series of Three17. And Now for Something Completely Different18. Anticipate a Blossoming of Creative Delight19. Short Bursts of Radiance20. A Radical Departure21. Overwriting the NegativeSection 3: Our Last Collective Firings22. Reprise: Your Brain Takes the Shape Your Mind Rests Upon23. Bridging Into the FutureReferencesLiterature Review: Evidence-Based Research on Expressive WritingAcknowledgmentsAbout the Authors

In this companionable and lively workbook, the complex worlds of positive psychology, neuropsychology and expressive writing weave together. The result is accessible information and practice--an amazing feat of integration and utility. Ross and Adams make this weave look simple like the Russian Ballet makes turns and leaps look easy. The workbook clearly explains the neurological context of self-improvement and the expressive writing practice that is its vehicle. The book moves gracefully between information, exercises and dialogs; the reader/writer is engaged, active and absorbed throughout. Your Brain on Ink presents state-of-the-art information and writing techniques in a fun and practical way. It is a valuable contribution to the journal writing world.