Towards the end of I Was Just Thinking About You (the book I'm querying), my main female character speaks to the spirits of people who caused her irreparable harm while they were alive, in a chapter I named “In Spite of You.” The "In Spite of You" speech lightens a heavy burden for my main character, and it lightened a burden for me as I wrote it. When I've envisioned my book in print, I saw, and still see, a template version of my main character's “In Spite of You” speech at the end of my book. A fill in the blanks format for readers to take my fictional character's words, and make them their own. To write and speak their own truth.
Because I believed this purgative kind of speech could help people in real life, too. So, I asked myself, why wait? I immediately began creating Templates for Healing©.
Text, as well as graphics, serve as guides and prompts on each template. Of course, I removed the words specific to my main character--and her story--from the IN SPITE OF YOU template, but I kept the most emotionally impactful statements.
Soon after creating my first template, IN SPITE OF YOU, I began getting ideas for more. I carried the prototype's design into my next original template. I have many, many more topic-specific templates in the rough draft stages, which I'll drop as they are completed.
My templates are for anyone who may need help taking all that's internal and making it verbal. They're for anyone who would benefit from a supplemental tool for their own healing and recovery.
KEY FEATURES:
IDEAL FOR: Survivors (ptsd, complex ptsd, abuse, assault, self-harm, violence).
Note: I am not a licensed medical professional or clinician. These templates are not intended to replace medical/therapeutic advice, treatment, or support. This template is intended to be used as an ancillary tool during the recovery process.
Templates are the sole intellectual property of samanthagianulis.com. All sales final.
Because I believed this purgative kind of speech could help people in real life, too. So, I asked myself, why wait? I immediately began creating Templates for Healing©.
Text, as well as graphics, serve as guides and prompts on each template. Of course, I removed the words specific to my main character--and her story--from the IN SPITE OF YOU template, but I kept the most emotionally impactful statements.
Soon after creating my first template, IN SPITE OF YOU, I began getting ideas for more. I carried the prototype's design into my next original template. I have many, many more topic-specific templates in the rough draft stages, which I'll drop as they are completed.
My templates are for anyone who may need help taking all that's internal and making it verbal. They're for anyone who would benefit from a supplemental tool for their own healing and recovery.
KEY FEATURES:
- Easy to download and easy to use: Print and begin.
- Incorporated points to pause and reflect: To check in with yourself, and anyone who is listening to what you wrote.
- Graphics throughout: I wanted this template to be the furthest thing from the generic, impersonal forms required at medical offices.
- Multi-page with topic-specific sentences that serve as prompts: you'll begin and end the template in a storytelling format.
IDEAL FOR: Survivors (ptsd, complex ptsd, abuse, assault, self-harm, violence).
- Recreating timelines.
- Journaling.
- Shadow work.
- Understanding triggers.
- Discussions, journaling, letter-writing, stream-of-consciousness.
Note: I am not a licensed medical professional or clinician. These templates are not intended to replace medical/therapeutic advice, treatment, or support. This template is intended to be used as an ancillary tool during the recovery process.
Templates are the sole intellectual property of samanthagianulis.com. All sales final.
IN SPITE OF YOU Description:
Writing for healing comes in many different forms; journaling, password protected documents, your Notes app. Sometimes it comes easy--your hands write as fast as the right words come to mind. And sometimes, you stare at a blank page wondering how to articulate complex emotions, thoughts, and memories.
I can help you with that.
Do what you need to do with the pages of this template: write, channel, scribble, draw, curse, erase and start over again, open a portal. I've designed this template for use with your voice, for your unique path to healing.
This particular template, IN SPITE OF YOU, came from a place of need; the need to tell someone what they did, but that in spite of them, ________________________________.
Tell your story to my template.
Writing for healing comes in many different forms; journaling, password protected documents, your Notes app. Sometimes it comes easy--your hands write as fast as the right words come to mind. And sometimes, you stare at a blank page wondering how to articulate complex emotions, thoughts, and memories.
I can help you with that.
Do what you need to do with the pages of this template: write, channel, scribble, draw, curse, erase and start over again, open a portal. I've designed this template for use with your voice, for your unique path to healing.
This particular template, IN SPITE OF YOU, came from a place of need; the need to tell someone what they did, but that in spite of them, ________________________________.
Tell your story to my template.
TEMPLATE FOR DISCLOSURE OF TRAUMA/SOMETHING DIFFICULT Description:
Some things are too heavy to keep inside, and need to be shared. But do you ever feel stuck, frozen, afraid to tell someone that thing? When it's time to disclose what you thought you never could, and you just can't articulate yourself, I have something that can help.
This Template for Disclosure of Trauma/Something Difficult invites you to fill in the blanks of pre-formed sentences, with ample space to write and speak your truth.
To tell your story, when you're ready. To help prevent retraumatization when your story is told.
I've written this from experience; I was never able to say certain things out loud without first writing them down--and even rehearsing them. My intent with this offering is to lessen the stress, anxiety, ambivalence and apprehension when discussing something terrible and/or traumatic.
MY INNER TEENAGER NEEDS TO TALK Description:
Inner Child work, but make it teenage.
There was a time when I didn't believe in the practice of Inner Child work. Not until I had tried all other tools for trauma healing but still had work to do.
So I started writing to, talking to, engaging with younger me and I was surprised when it actually began helping me with childhood trauma.
But. My Inner Teenager...she was not cooperative. My Inner Teenager was hanging on to so much anger which, as it turned out, kept me from progressing in therapy, from processing the trauma, from recovering from all that happened to her/me.
I tried Inner Child language with my Inner Teenager, but she tore up the script. She had her own story, and demanded her own template.
And I imagined that there were others who also had an angry Inner Teenager trapped inside of them. An Inner Teenager with simmering resentment, who realizes how they normalized mistreatment, who hopes that maybe they can reconcile past, present and future and maybe live a less-triggered life.
Inner Child and Inner Teenager work can get anyone closer to peace, I believe it. I shouldn't have knocked it until I tried it.
Like my other templates, there is a central theme of trauma but trauma is not a prerequisite. It is beneficial for anyone doing Inner Child work and anyone looking to explore the impact of their younger years on the person they are now.
©SamanthaGianulis