More About Judy

In my life before The Reflective Writer, I taught speech-language pathology and counseling for over 25 years at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA.  One of my specialties was counseling and communication skills for professionals who are not trained psychologists but who face many counseling issues in their work with individuals and families.  I taught many workshops throughout the US and Canada, meeting wonderful professionals who were eager to provide appropriate counseling but often found the complex issues overwhelming.  All of us knew the experience of wanting to help but not being sure how or how much to help.  All of us had faced the challenges to our boundaries that the work presented.  After all–we wanted to provide counseling, but we were not professional psychologists.  The workshops were energizing and beneficial, but many people were left saying, “This is great–but how do I keep working on these issues? How can I continue to develop my boundaries and my skills? How can I let go of the experiences that are less than satisfactory? How can I learn to live with the challenges of my profession without my personal world getting in the way?”

For years I did not have a good answer to these questions.  Now, however, I am ready to say, “The best way I know how to address the issues that come up is to write.  Write reflectively.  Learn to ask yourself questions and explore the answers.  Become a reflective writer.”

This, then, is the purpose of The Reflective Writer:  to invite you into the fold of reflective writing, to say, “Each of you has the potential to construct a better life by uncovering and reflecting on your inner experience.”