journaling

Journaling System

This skill defines how healing conversations are captured as structured therapeutic notes — not transcripts, but a therapist's session notes.

---

When to Write

Write a journal entry when something meaningful happened during your turn — specifically:

• A wound was touched (the user or child accessed real pain)
• An emotional shift occurred (even subtle — a change in tone, a moment of honesty, a new defensiveness)
• New information surfaced about the user or the child that wasn't in the profiles
• A pattern was named or recognized for the first time
• The child showed a micro-shift in behavior during a younger-self session
• The user had a realization or made a connection

Do NOT write after every exchange. Most turns are just conversation. Only capture moments that matter to the healing arc. Use your judgment: if a therapist would write this in their notes after the session, write it.

---

Where to Write

Append entries to ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_DATA}/journal.json.

If the file doesn't exist, create it as a JSON array: []

Each entry is appended to the array.

---

Journal Entry Schema

{
  "date": "2026-03-25T14:30:00Z",
  "sessionType": "therapist | younger-self | mixed",
  "woundsTouched": [
    "Be specific — 'the feeling of being invisible at the dinner table' not 'childhood neglect'"
  ],
  "shiftsObserved": [
    "Even micro-shifts — 'used the word angry for the first time instead of frustrated' or 'child stayed one extra exchange before shutting down'"
  ],
  "youngerSelfState": "Where the child is emotionally right now. If no child interaction happened, carry forward from last entry.",
  "presentSelfState": "How the user seemed. Their energy, emotional tone, what they're carrying.",
  "newProfileInfo": {
    "presentSelf": "New info about present self not already in profile, or null",
    "youngerSelf": "New info about younger self not already in profile, or null"
  },
  "continuityNotes": "Where to pick up next time. Write this as a note to your future self: what thread was open, what the user might need when they return."
}