Reclaiming You: A Guided Journaling Course for Chronic Illness
Reclaiming You: A Guided Journaling Course for Chronic Illness is an 8-module self-paced course designed by a registered psychotherapist and chronic illness advocate for individuals navigating the emotional, mental, and identity challenges that often accompany chronic illness. This course offers a compassionate space to explore how your illness has impacted your sense of self, process complex emotions like grief and anger, and reconnect with what matters most to you.
Each module focuses on a unique theme, from reclaiming your identity and building resilience to coping with uncertainty and fostering self-compassion. With insightful lessons, engaging content, and thoughtfully structured journaling prompts, Reclaiming You invites you to reflect on your experiences, explore your values, and create a personalized plan for moving forward with authenticity and purpose.
Whether you're new to journaling or looking for a meaningful way to process your journey with chronic illness, this self-paced course is designed to help you rediscover your voice, restore a sense of self, and cultivate tools for emotional and mental well-being. Take the next step in your healing journey and begin rewriting your story today.
Cost: $149 (cad)
Registration Now Open!
Course Includes:
8 Self-Paced Modules: Each module explores a meaningful theme—like grief, identity, boundaries, relationships, and resilience—offering a structured yet flexible framework for reflection and growth. (See a break down of each module below)
Over 16 Guided Audio Practices: Immerse yourself in mindfulness, grounding, somatic tracking, emotion processing, and self-compassion practices, designed to support both emotional and physical wellbeing.
Guided Journaling Prompts: Every lesson is paired with thoughtful prompts to help you process emotions, reconnect with your identity, and reflect on the impact of chronic illness in a safe, structured way.
6 Months Access to Paid Subscriber Section of The Health Therapist Substack: Join others in the course to share reflections on discussion posts related to each course module, as well as additional content and worksheets.
Downloadable PDF Companion Workbook
A keep-forever resource with 30+ pages printable worksheets to help you:Maintain a consistent journaling practice
Set and uphold boundaries
Cope ahead for stressful events
Communicate more clearly with healthcare providers
Explore and regulate emotions
Plan ongoing values-based actions
Build self-advocacy and self-trust
Bonus Lessons (2 Included): Explore extra content on special topics like "Coping Ahead for Special Occasions" and "Preparing for Appointments & Self-Advocacy”
Register
Reclaiming You: A Guided Journaling Course for Chronic Illness Reconnect with who you are beyond your diagnosis.
For those wanting deeper, personalized support, this bundle includes the complete Reclaiming You course plus one-on-one coaching and community access.
The Modules
Module 1: Laying The Groundwork
Begin your journey with an introduction to therapeutic journaling and how it can support your mental, emotional, and physical health while living with chronic illness. You'll reflect on your story, set intentions, and explore how writing can help process emotions and build resilience.
Lessons include:
Exploring Initial Reactions & Beliefs – Unpack your first responses to illness and how they’ve shaped your current outlook.
Impact Statement: Understanding the Full Picture – Reflect on the broader emotional, social, and identity impacts of chronic illness.
Your Emotional Landscape – Identify and make space for the emotions that often accompany long-term health challenges.
Setting Intentions – Clarify your goals for the course and reconnect with your inner voice and values.
Module 2: The Language of Emotions
This module helps you navigate the emotional ups and downs of chronic illness with compassion and clarity. You’ll learn how to better identify, express, and regulate emotions—while also exploring how feelings like anger, sadness, and grief connect to your physical experience of pain.
Lessons include:
Your Relationship with Emotions – Reflect on how you’ve learned to manage or avoid difficult emotions.
Taking the Time to Listen – Develop emotional awareness by tuning into what your body and mind are communicating.
Expressing the Unsaid – Create space for thoughts and feelings that haven’t had a voice.
The Science of Emotion – Learn how emotions affect your brain, body, and healing process.
When Emotion Meets Pain – Explore the link between emotional distress and physical symptoms.
A Tool for Your Kit: Somatic Tracking – Practice observing pain and discomfort with curiosity rather than fear.
My Pain Beliefs – Identify the stories and assumptions you hold about pain and how they influence your experience.
Module 3: Exploring Anger, Grief & Gratitude
This module invites you to explore the full spectrum of emotions that come with chronic illness—especially the ones that often go unspoken. You’ll reflect on how anger, grief, and gratitude show up in your life and body, and discover practices for expressing, grounding, and gently releasing what you carry.
Lessons include:
Honouring the Full Range of Emotions – Embrace emotional complexity without judgment.
The Quiet Weight of Grief – Explore the layered losses that chronic illness can bring.
Permission to Be Angry – Make space for anger and understand its protective role.
What Your Body Already Knows – Tune into physical cues that signal emotional truth.
Ways of Acknowledging & Releasing – Practice safe ways to move emotions through the body.
A Tool for Your Kit: Grounding – Learn simple techniques to calm your nervous system and return to the present.
Noticing What’s Good – Cultivate gratitude as a steadying force, even in difficult times.
Module 4: Reclaiming Identity
Illness may change parts of your life—but it doesn’t define all of who you are. In this module, you’ll reflect on identity, explore what’s shifted, and reconnect with your core values. You'll begin to shape a more grounded and authentic sense of self—one that honors both where you’ve been and where you’re going.
Lessons include:
Exploring Changes in Identity – Reflect on how illness has impacted your sense of self.
Creating Your Identity Map – Visualize the aspects of your identity that feel steady, lost, or in transition.
Not This, Not That – Get clear on what no longer fits and what still resonates.
Loss of Identity & Grief – Acknowledge the grief that can arise from identity shifts.
You Are Not Stuck – Challenge the belief that your identity is limited by illness.
Creating a Values-Driven Plan – Use your values to guide choices and shape meaningful direction.
A Tool for Your Kit: Values Compass – Identify and align with what matters most to you.
Module 5: Navigating Relationships & Setting Boundaries
Chronic illness can reshape how we relate to others—and to ourselves. This module helps you explore relationship shifts, clarify your support needs, and set boundaries that protect your energy. You’ll reflect on the emotional load you carry and learn tools to foster healthier, more supportive connections.
Lessons include:
Relationship with Others – Reflect on how illness has affected your personal and social connections.
Relationship with Self – Consider how your self-perception and inner dialogue have shifted.
The Value of Support & Connection – Understand the role of meaningful relationships in healing.
Your Support Circle – Map out who feels supportive, neutral, or draining in your life.
Emotion & Mental Load – Explore the invisible burdens you carry in your relationships.
Setting Boundaries – Learn to communicate your limits with clarity and confidence.
A Tool for Your Kit: Clarify, Communicate, Reflect – Use this 3-step strategy to support boundary setting and deepen connection.
Module 6: Managing Uncertainty
Living with chronic illness often means facing the unknown. This module offers tools to manage health anxiety, shift away from rumination, and build emotional flexibility. Through mindfulness and thought-based strategies, you'll learn how to face uncertainty with greater steadiness and self-trust.
Lessons include:
Coping with the Unknown – Reflect on the emotional toll of uncertainty and how it affects your daily life.
Understanding Health Anxiety – Learn what drives health-related worry and how to work with it more skillfully.
A Tool for Your Kit: Challenging Thoughts – Practice cognitive strategies to reframe anxious or limiting beliefs.
Unpacking the Patterns – Identify the cycles of thought or behavior that keep you stuck in fear or doubt.
Meeting the Moment – Use mindfulness techniques to stay grounded and present when anxiety flares.
A Tool for Your Kit: Locus of Control – Focus your energy on what’s within your influence.
Accepting What Is: Making Room for Uncertainty – Learn how to soften resistance and find space for the unknown.
Module 7: Cultivating Self-Compassion & Gratitude
This module focuses on turning inward with kindness. You’ll explore how self-compassion can help soothe self-criticism, reduce emotional distress, and support you through challenging moments. Through journaling and daily practices, you’ll also take a gentle look at gratitude—without pressure or perfection.
Lessons include:
Supporting Yourself with Kindness – Discover what it means to be a steady, caring presence for yourself.
Beating Yourself Up About It – Identify patterns of self-criticism and where they may come from.
When You Need It Most – Learn how to apply self-compassion during moments of struggle or setback.
A Tool for Your Kit: Compassion in Practice – Try simple exercises to bring more gentleness into daily life.
A Compassionate Look at Gratitude – Explore how gratitude can be a soft, grounding force—not a forced silver lining.
A Balanced Approach – Integrate compassion and gratitude in a way that honors the full truth of your experience.
Module 8: Strengths & Resilience
Chronic illness can reveal strengths you didn’t know you had. In this final module, you’ll reflect on your resilience, reframe past challenges, and identify personal qualities that have helped you along the way. You’ll leave with a clearer sense of direction—and greater confidence in who you are becoming.
Lessons include:
Strengths & Resilience – Explore how you've adapted and persevered, even in difficult times.
Your Strengths Inventory – Identify the skills, traits, and habits that support your well-being.
You’re Quite the Character – Connect with your inner strengths through a creative character-based reflection.
Getting in Alignment – Consider how to carry your insights forward and live more fully in line with your values.
Bonus: Content & Support
In addition to the core course modules, you’ll gain access to valuable bonus resources to deepen your learning, support reflection, and help you stay connected to your growth long after the course ends.
Included bonuses:
The Reclaim You Companion Workbook – A 30+ page printable resource packed with worksheets to guide journaling, emotional processing, boundary setting, and values alignment.
Essential Reads List for Chronic Illness – A curated list of recommended books and resources to support your ongoing journey.
Special-Topic Lessons:
Preparing for Appointments & Self-Advocacy – Tools to help you speak up, feel prepared, and navigate healthcare interactions with more confidence.
Coping Ahead for Holidays and Social Gatherings – Strategies to reduce stress, set expectations, and protect your energy during social events.
Plus:
6-Month Membership to The Health Therapist Substack
Access additional journaling prompts and reflection questions
Join supportive discussion threads with fellow participants
Receive exclusive subscriber-only content and bonus practices
FAQs
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Due to the nature of this course, all sales are final and non-refundable. Once you register, you’ll receive immediate access to course materials, including downloadable resources like the Reclaim You Companion Workbook and guided audio practices—materials that, once accessed, cannot be returned.
It’s very important to me that you feel confident in your decision to take this course. That’s why I’ve provided detailed information about the modules, journaling themes, bonus content, and course structure to help you make an informed choice. This course is designed to support your healing journey, but it also requires a personal commitment to show up, reflect, and engage with the process. If you’re unsure whether the course is the right fit for you, please reach out with any questions before registering.
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You’ll have full access to the course for one year from the date of registration. This includes all modules, guided audio practices, and downloadable materials. You’re welcome to revisit the lessons at your own pace during that time—and any worksheets or resources you download are yours to keep forever.
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The Reclaim You course is self-guided and self-paced, designed to give you the flexibility to move through the material in a way that suits your energy and needs. While the course does not include live support, I’m always available to answer questions by email, and there is an option for a midway check-in for those who would like one.
If you’re looking for deeper, more personalized support, you can choose to add a one-on-one coaching package. Participants who pre-book an 6-session coaching package will receive the Reclaim You course for free. Coaching must be purchased before course registration.
Learn more about coaching and package options here. -
All course materials are provided, including audio recordings, journal prompts, and a downloadable workbook. You’ll just need a notebook, pen, or your preferred digital journaling tool.
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Item descripThis course is designed for individuals living with chronic illness or chronic pain who are looking to reflect, heal, and reconnect with themselves through writing. It's especially helpful if you're navigating identity shifts, grief, relationship challenges, or emotional ups and downs related to your health.tion
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Not at all! This course isn’t about grammar or writing style—it’s about self-expression, reflection, and growth. You don’t need any writing experience, just a willingness to explore your thoughts and emotions honestly.
Want More Support While You Journal?
Combine the Reclaim You course with one-on-one health and mindset coaching for deeper support and guidance.
Learn more about coaching, package pricing, and FAQs on the Coaching page.