Lisa M. Schab

This journal (and its predecessor by the same author, "Put Your Worries Here") is a fantastic outlet for tweens and teens to explore their feelings. The guided activities are brief enough to not feel burdensome or overwhelming, and the whole book has a fun, creative, friendly vibe. At over 200 pages, the book is thick enough to be substantive and includes a nice variety of prompt types (drawing, writing, coloring, checklists, listening to music, etc). I think this kind of emotional show more self-reflection could be helpful for pretty much any young person, not just those with "intense emotions" as the cover states; or to put it differently, I think that ALL teens have sufficiently intense emotions to benefit from this journal!

As someone familiar with Dialectical Behavior Therapy, I do see the principles of DBT reflected in its pages, but I almost wonder if marketing it specifically as a DBT journal may cause it to be overlooked by some families. I see this book as being useful both in a clinical setting as well as in the hands of many typical moody teenagers - and in fact having this positive outlet for emotional expression, learning the coping skills it presents, and reframing emotions in the ways discussed here (e.g. "All feelings are okay") may proactively help teens avoid more significant issues in the future. show less

When I selected this creative workbook, the online description didn't include the sub-title: A Creative DBT Journal for Teens with Intense Emotions. While that description doesn't really fit me, I still pursued the exercises as a creative journey in self-discovery. The timing also coincided with Lent, so it felt like a fitting time for self reflection. This book has two hundred pages of journaling, free-association exercises and other activity prompts to help someone reveal and deal with show more their emotions. I can see how it would be especially useful to a younger person discovering how to realize and process what they are feeling. For similar reasons, the exercises can be useful to anyone, in much the same way meditation and dialogue with a friend can help us. show less

Not just for teens!

(Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this journal for review through Library Thing's Early Reviewers program.)

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a form of psychotherapy that "combines standard cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion regulation and reality-testing with concepts of distress tolerance, acceptance, and mindful awareness largely derived from contemplative meditative practice." While it originated with efforts to treat borderline personality show more disorder, evidence suggests "that DBT can be useful in treating mood disorders, suicidal ideation, and for change in behavioral patterns such as self-harm, and substance abuse."

In Put Your Feelings Here, social worker Lisa M. Schab distills DBT concepts into a guided journal. The exercises help users identify unhelpful or distressing thoughts and emotions, work through them, changing what they can - and accepting what they cannot. The result feels a lot like a fusion of CBT and mindfulness, and not in a bad way.

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I'm not a therapist, or a teen with intense emotions, so I can't really say how well Put Your Feelings Here works as DIY DBT. However, it is a pretty thoughtful and stimulating journal, with exercises like "What beliefs about nature/religion/spirituality/the purpose of life/a higher power give you comfort?" and "Intense emotions can hurt. You don't need more pain. List 10 things you could do to be kind to yourself instead of hurting yourself more."

Though it's directed at teens (and obviously so, what with prompts like 'turn your OMG into LOL' and instructions to design your emotions like an app) my 41-year-old self found many of the prompts stimulating.

The journal features a moderate amount of artwork, which is is cute, complements the exercises nicely, and definitely gets the creative juices flowing. Most of the prompts have ample room to record your responses, though a handful of the pages could benefit from more white space.

Also, this might seem like a minor thing, but as a lifetime journaler: I loooove the lay-flat binding, which makes it so much easier to actually write in journals, as intended. It's the small details, okay.

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Caveat: Not a teen, but definitely have intense emotions

The prompts in this journal are mostly engaging and helpful to kick yourself out of a cycle of strong emotions, helping to initiate thought and logic behind most of the whirlwinds I have gotten caught up in. This was an interesting experience, as someone who has worries about "ruining" any journal. I wanted to copy it all before writing it it.