Since 2013, I’ve been capturing weekly short notes on what I’ve learned as a psychotherapist. I wished I’ve started earlier in career.

In one of my first few posts on Frontiers, I talked about how to develop a Memorable Practice by Capturing Weekly Therapy Learnings

In this post, I want to provide key parameters to help you with making it a consistent practice to capture your weekly learnings, and I’d provide samples of my own weekly learnings over the years.

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Related Posts

Develop Your Own Wealth of Learnings

Therapy Learnings: A Memorable Practice

Blackbox Thinking For Psychotherapists (Part I of II)

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Parameters:

Here are the guidelines to help you capture your weekly therapy learnings:

• Look back at your caseload for the week.
  
• Write down a learning from that week that you want your future self to remember.
  
• Provide brief contextual information. Use point-forms in order to get the brief down as efficiency as possible.
  
• The learning can be something that went well or had a good outcome, or even a blunder/mistake/error.
  
• Limit the number of words (100-140).
  
• Create a title for each “therapy learning.”
  
• Number each entry and
  
• Date it.

It is worth pointing out that intentionally constraining the number of words (a strategy borrowed from Twitter) has been particularly helpful. It makes the process of note-taking more manageable and not overwhelm me.

Numbering each entry in my note-taking application has also surprisingly been a useful strategy. At this point of writing, to see that I am now in note #353 is personally gratifying, as well as being able to scroll through my past learnings and see how one entry connects with another (i.e., Synthesis) is really helpful. I found myself also connecting my weekly therapy learnings with other sources of inputs, be it in the form of books, podcasts, blogs, videos, etc.

The use of dates seems like a no-brainer, but dating each therapy learning provides a useful chronological context, coupled with the numbering of each entry. As you will see later in this entry, see an entry that was made 7-8 years ago makes you fully aware that some deep learnings are timeless.

Note: I used to swear by a note-taking app called Simplenote. Since May 2021, I have made the switch to Obsidian. I am so taken by the use of Obsidian as I didn’t expect I would. I was really resisting the change. I talked about this in a video/podcast “A Hidden Discipline to Extend Your Mind.” I will be expanding more about the use of Obsidian in coming weeks.

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Using the Deep Learner Framework

There is more than simply capturing your weekly therapy learnings. Here is the big picture of how to use the Deep Learner framework in your Weekly Therapy Learnings exercise:

Create:

• Make sure you create space to reflect back on your week’s clinical practice. 5 mins per week is better than none. ## Consistency is much more potent that “intensity” (i.e., flooded learning at one go)
• See Protect Deep Learning

Capture:

• Use either the same type of notebook or application (evernote, simplenote, Apple Notes, Obsidian. In the upcoming future posts, I will be talk about how to use one of my favorite apps for capturing your learnings in Obsidian).
• Use the Parmeters described above as intentional constrains, so as to make it “doable” for you, as you don’t want capturing your learnings to overtake your life.

Retrieve

• After the first month of doing so, make it a point to revisit them. To optimising learning, “test” yourself by looking at the header first, and then look at the entire entry . This is a form of retrieval practice, which improves deep learning.
• See ## Understanding vs. Remembering: Why It’s Important to Track (and Revisit) What You’ve Learned

Synthesis

• As you amass a few months of your weekly therapy learnings, ask yourself, “How does this learning connect with my previous learning?”
• Deep learning is not just about “collecting the dots”, but connecting the dots.

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Join the Deep Learner Course and Community

In the Deep Learner course, we take a deep dive on how to employ these four tenets of Create, Capture, Retrieve and Systhesis in a highly practical manner. The course starts the moment you sign up. 
The content is “dripped” into your inbox every 3 days for total of 72 days; learn at your own pace.
And it is not subscription-based non-time limited. It’s a LIFE-TIME ACCESS to the content and the community discussion! 
Feel free to preview the modules as a taster of what’s installed. (Click here and go to Course Curriculum Section)

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Samples of My Weekly Therapy Learnings

Below are samples of my own weekly therapy learnings extracted from my note taking, Obsidian (As mentioned, I was previously using Simplenote). For about 8 years of doing so, I’ve stuck to the parameters described earlier.

Please note that names and other possible identifiers were changed so as to protect the privacy of individuals. In addition, typos were in littered in my entries and formatting were not perfect in these entries. The idea is not to make your notes par excellent, but simply to get them down. I’ve collated them from oldest to newest entry.

Finally, these are my learnings. Some might resonate with you, and others might seem painfully obvious to you (For example, entry #156. Have My Lunch). The point of sharing these weekly therapy learnings are not specifically meant for you to learn from them, though it would be nice if they were useful, but simply to show you how it might look like and what’s possible if you do this consistently.

#11. Bring in Client’s Family Before Failing Successfully

4 Feb 2013

• eg transferred Seph to Dani due to a lack of no significant change after 11 sessions; triggered a sense of abandonment despite me pre-empting n providing a rationale abt me getting out of the way and for someone w a different perspective
• On hindsight, I shld hve asked mum to join the sessions . When i spk w her, she offered more perspectives abt his relatn w fa, hx of bullying, which was less emphasised in our prev sessions

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#29. Attend to the Person & Interaction More Than my Ideas

Date: 240613
Session #1 w Dawn
Notes:

• noticed myself eagerly trying to conjure up something imaginative w her key metaphors (evolution, imagination, growth,etc.)
• I nearly missed attending to her facial exp after i asked her abt what its like inside to be dealing w the internal isolation (onset of tears welling up), as i was trying to think 2-3steps ahead.

LEARNINGS: attend to the person and the space between us, more than to my ideas

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#32. Do not get into a Verbal Debate After More Than 2 Exchanges

Date: 02aug13
LEARNINGS: Do not get into a verbal debate after more than 2 exchanges
Eg
John Z : verbal debate abt not believing all of his tots… He ended feeling not understood…
I shld have relented after 2 exchanges since he was buching… Too far a stretch, or something he alrdy knw and had diff… I shld have paced it and communicated mre emphatically

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#60. Explore The General Emotional Themes That Treads with the Specific Presenting Concern

Date: 27th Dec’13
Learnings: Do not be afraid to explore the general themes when presented w a specific presenting concern (e.g., phobia). Explore the emotional thread that connects in relationships w others and self, and how this ties in w the presenting concern.

E.g., S#1 27Dec’13 w Andy
presented w specific phobia w taking lifts.
nearly focused solely on this.
but when explored further from his fear, this led to him sharing about how he’s afraid to die in the lift, and feels bad in making his family sad. he was able to vividly see this image.
themes of being overburdened w family responsibilty as he’s the only son. eldest sis is mild ID. (very teary)
In ref to mother, who has anxiety issues since 40 (now 55): “I don’t want to become like her”
emotional truth statement: “The truth is i’m afraid to lose my family. I fear that if i’m trapped in the lift, I’d die. And my loved ones would be sad.”

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#68. Do Not Over Infer

Learnings: do not over infer. stay close to the original metaphors.
Date: 27 Feb 14
egs

1. Monique: told me post-SRS that i made some wrong inferences
2. Anthony: told me in-session more than twice when he didnt agree w the choice of metaphor i used, when i was trying to relate w his expl of a past problem

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#112. Back to One Series: Being Personable

Date: 12jan15

One of my strengths
To cont to be less formal and more personable

Eg talked abt devlping ur own voice in therapy w a supervisee
She aked me abt my own style. I recalled about BEING PERSONABLE
EG Monique revealed in last session tt she feels inhibited to share more… Becos of me being too formal… She brought own 2 packs of snacks and we ate and talked, less formally

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#156. Have My Lunch

10th of Apr
I delayed my lunch bf seeing client. Regretted. I was less regulated, more impulsive, and made mistakes in too big a leap of “practical suggestions”

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#161. Make it Relevant

27Jun16
Kalya’s feedback
She told me about previous counsellor who told her that her talking about her horses are “irrelevant” to therapy.
She appreciated that I did. In fact, we weaved in her relationship with horses riding, saving them from slaughter houses into metaphors about how we can relate w our emotional world.
eg.
1st Session: HORSES = EMOTIONS
8th/last session: HORSES=YOU=NAN
Note: This example appeared in the book, The First Kiss

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#214. Don’t be Afraid to PUNCTUATE a Key Moment

1dec17
Punctuations can be made with

• symbolic rituals
• slowing down
• ceremony
• with-nessing

Recall EGS:
ceremony w Beatrice and Rhianna

Breaking the silence, Shawn chambers s1

See Heath brothers book the power of moments, chapter two: THINKING IN MOMENTS

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ADDITION on 5 Jan 2021 (When I revisited this note):

• see also think on your Feet: the ucb Improv guide

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#226. Beware of the Bifurcation of Either/Or vs Both/And

23 Apr 2018

Recall Juliana’s supervision on Sam’s case

• see also Decisive book by Heath brothers, MULTITRACK (AND NOT OR)

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#235. Evoke Images

26Jul18
S30 w Debbie N:

• I asked here about not what you want to do, but who do you want to become.
• Learned, knowledgeable, widely travelled.

Then I asked, “who comes to mind that fits this model?”

She thought for a while. he said,

“Watson, from Sherlock Holmes.”

Powerful imagery for her and me.

Useful template/model to have.

Tied this in with “Goals to the now”

• Weekly learning journaling
• & planning for Weekly/daily goals

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#237. Control the Initial Staging: Invite All family members into the first session

31aug18
Tim:
Came w Mom.
I asked if he preferred for me to see him alone or w Mom.
He said he didn’t mind, but chose to see alone.

Session went well. I invited Mom at the end. Mom brought up a diff though salient point (not to be so hard on himself), which confounded him. Ended on a diffent note that I have mapped out.

Learning: Unless they disagree, stick to inviting all members into the first session even if it was for the first quarter.

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#242. Justification: Get to the Why Before the How

e.g. Bill O (S6_23Nov18)

I sensed the “Yes, But” type of replies… And he hadn’t followed through on past ideas

So I asked, “What is the justification for making these changes?”

• For his daughter

# Principle: Get to the Why Before the How

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#245. Reveal Yourself… Before its too late in The first session

28dec18
Jack S S1:

• Given his “hippie” dressing, I thought I would be able to relate w him easily
• he went straight into his challenges and ambivalence of therapy. Wife wanted him to come
• I felt a disjoint. I felt like I was a corporate dude and he was the left field guy
• I was “too professional” in my interaction perhaps

Key: reveal a bit more about my self before we step into deeper conversation

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#250. Extracting the Principles from Past Examples

8Feb19

S 16 w Roy

• the problem w dealing w “angst monster” (procrastination and anxiety; not a wall)
• I shared about Ross Menzies study about how exposure therapy was not about habitation or desentissation, and that it turns out to be about a change of mental framing
• he then said, “it happened to me. I had a phobia of flying.. Mom brought me to all sorts of weird therapy… and didn’t work. What helped me was watching Aircrash investigation.”
• he got really fascinated and imptly, was doing in his own terms. no one forced him to watch it.
• So i reflected back by extracting two key principles I’m hearing.

1. Own time and Space
2. Getting Really curious

• then I asked how he could apply these principles into dealing w “Angst monster.”
• he said, “Writing about it.” Really resonated w him and I.
• He felt this was brilliant.
• I said it was like Angst monster mirroring him his deficiencies, but he was mirroring back jelly via writing. ironically, writing is also the thing that triggered jelly.
• Reminded him not to get obsessed w the method “writing” but stick w the undying principle of 1. Own time and space, and 2. Getting really curious.

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#307. It’s Not About You.

1 Oct 2020
Note: This became a blogpost for Frontiers:
http://darylchow.com/frontiers/notaboutyou/

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#315. The Secondary People Are Also Primary & Asking the Question “Is there anything else you would like me to know?”

19dec20

Adele S1

• when I asked her “is there anything else you would like me to know?”
• she paused and went on to tell me about what it was like to constantly worry if her older brother would kill himself. Would repeatedly would sneak into the bedroom to check if brother was still alive as he’s sleeping; constant panic.
• thinks got better and then got worse
• bkgrd: Fa died (of OD) shortly after she was born

Learnings: let’s not forget the reverberated trauma of others around us.

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#318. See Each person with the eyes of wonder and reverence… and Express it.

8jan21

inspired by Gill Hicks on Anh’s Brush with Fame
seen on TV

• Anh’s way of seeing people as he speaks and paints them.
• see Gill Hicks w such honor and respect… and wonder
• context : Gill Hicks was in the London bombing. lost both her legs. set up MAD for peace.
• see also this video

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I’m thinking of Steve and Nick at this point

keys:

• I need to see my clients with more eyes of wonder and reverence
• and express it to their w a deep level of regard
• but this needs to start by eliciting the heroic stories, stories of their goodness

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There you have it. Use the parameters provided at the top of this post as a guideline to help you capture your weekly therapy learnings. These learnings will become part of your treasure trove of Personalised Learning System (PLS). And hopefully the samples of my own learnings might give you an idea of what’s possible if you go on this journey.

Do let me and the community know in the comments below what you think of this idea of capturing weekly therapy learnings, and what you have found in your own process of doing so.