The Paper Mirror: Understanding Reflective Journaling

Although pervasive throughout counseling psychology and other training programs that incorporate experiential activities, reflective journals have sparse, fragmented and disparate theoretical bases to support their use. Coming from the fields of counseling and professional education, the authors use counselor education as a template to explore the use of reflective journaling in higher education. This article reviews literature supporting the use of reflective journaling, presents descriptions of various types of reflective journals, and proposes a method that allows instructors and students to critique journal entries collaboratively. (Contains 1 figure.)