This article is my dissertation for my doctoral program (Th. D) and I will post it in parts as a series one by one from the abstracts to the conclusion every week.

Self-Expressive Writing Therapy for Missionary with Spiritual Direction

(Abstracts)

This study was designed for the therapeutic tool for member care of missionary. It is deeply related to socio-psychological characteristics of a missionary. So it is needed to be provided a solution for them to overcome their conflicts and crisis according to their situation for the wholistic spiritual development of them. For the missionaries having the limitation to expose themselves socio-psychologically, self-expressive writing will be a process to recognize their own feeling and find their traumatic experience in the past.  

This dissertation suggested John Wesley as a missionary and a good model who has written spiritual journals in his life time as well.

The significances of the study are followed. 

First, there is no missionary who is not interested in spiritual training and development so this kind of interest is a priming water to solve the problem which they are suffering. It is hard for them to express their difficulty with other people, especially their supporting churches and donors. So the self-expressive writing would be a way for them to show themselves without any limitation.

Second, it is useful for missionaries to know and understand themselves with psychological language. Though they are suffering from conflicts and other problems, they do not know exactly what it is and how to solve it. In other to interpret and understand themselves missionaries need to know this language. 

Third, it is a practical way of spiritual journal, not a theory. The purpose of this study is to develop the spirituality of missionaries with writing and help them to find and understand themselves before God. 

Fourth, there is a good example of a self-expressive writing written by a missionary. It shows us that spiritual journal is very important to search and understand inner self.  This kind of self-discovery through the spiritual journal is deeply connected with self-reflection providing clues of problems that have occurred in the past. It leads to experience God.