· Ask them when and where they are most likely to experience anger, anxiety, frustration, discouragement, depression or fear. To find these details is to find things that tend to control them, things that need to be dealt with.

· Ask them about their recreational practises. What do they do for entertainment, how much, when?

· Ask them about the way they use their time.

· Ask them about the thoughts they have about God, do they deliberately think about Him during the day? What kind of thoughts do they have about Him? Are they positive or negative? Are they confused? What do they base their thoughts on—popular opinion or Scripture?

· Ask them how they use their money. What are their spending habits? What do they consider necessities that must be purchased? What are the things they can do without? What would happen to them if they had to experience a decrease in monthly income—how would it affect them logistically or emotionally?

· Ask them about the way they face their responsibilities. How do they go about doing things that they know they should do, but are afraid to do it? How do they deal with responsibilities they must deal with every day? Do their responsibilities weigh down upon them with negative pressure or do they have a positive perspective on the things they must do?

So you have asked them to keep a journal, and you have specified the areas of their lives on which they should focus. Before moving forward, here are some hints that will make your description of a journal to your counselee more useful. It is the following kind of journal that will bring the most helpful kind of information back to you.

· The journal will be broad in scope. You will not simply ask your counselee to keep this journal for one or two days. Rather, what you are looking for is habit patterns. You may find that counselees, especially when they are keeping a journal, may experience their usual problem less frequently because their attention is now on that specific issue. You will need to ask them to keep this journal over a period of weeks.

· The journal will be specific in intent. By giving your counselee a journal assignment, you are not intending to create more than necessary work for your counselee or yourself, rather, you are looking to find specific details that will help you help them with a specific problem. Try to impress this on your counselee. Specify exactly what you would like them to record in their journal so you can get exactly the answers you are looking for.

· The journal will be accurate in detail. Because we are all fallen, we like to create a better impression of ourselves in the minds of other people than is necessary true. This temptation exists in a journal-writer’s mind as well. Warn your counselee of this danger and encourage them to be honest regarding their entries.