The process of Interactive Journaling® is an evidence-based practice that encourages positive behavior change. Approaches of Interactive Journaling® include expressive writing, motivational interviewing, the transtheoretical model of behavior change and cognitive-behavioral therapy. While the science behind Interactive Journaling® is compelling, nothing is so compelling as a personal story of change from someone who has benefited from the process.
Terry Liggins is one such beneficiary. Terry, the founder and CEO of the Hurdle Life Coach Foundation, was generous enough to sit down with us and share a bit about his own experience using Interactive Journals.
First encountering Interactive Journals
While serving time in a federal prison camp, Terry participated in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Here, he was first introduced to Interactive Journals from The Change Companies. Terry recalls that when he began to invest in the program and himself, the learning experience was “absolutely transformative.”
"I had went to college for eight years and got a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, and then still found myself tangled with the justice system because of beliefs I still had in place that I didn’t really recognize were driving my behavior."
"When I went to prison and went to treatment, I learned about entitlement and this mindset that rules don’t apply to me... These were things that were just so eye-opening to me because I could see the patterns of those beliefs showing up in my choices."
Once Terry decided he wanted to change, there was no going back: “I committed to not being in this situation ever again.”
In fact, Terry found RDAP so beneficial, he chose to participate for an additional 300 hours beyond the required 500. Laughing, Terry explained that he was “blessed and changed and transformed by all of these Journals. [The lessons] are wired in hard.”
"What I learned in RDAP — irrational and rational thinking, the eight positive attitudes for change, criminal thinking — that information completely reset my life. Today I am the CEO… of Hurdle Life Coach Foundation and pay that awareness forward in mentorship and coaching for ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and justice-impacted youth, adults and families.
It’s pretty fulfilling to be able to step back into the potential that was always there for me.
It’s pretty fulfilling to be able to step back into the potential that was always there for me.
Maintaining lasting change
Terry started the Hurdle Life Coach Foundation in 2020, four years after his release. He added that what he learned about the process of change stuck with him: “I could go on and on about how all of the attitudes constantly show up in everything that I do.” In fact, when he founded his nonprofit, he already had the perfect name in mind for the first mentorship program: Challenge Historically Accepted Notions for Greater Expectations — CHANGE.
"This change thread is still with me. I still have my Journals, they’re treasured."
The knowledge Terry gained about the process of change, as well as his own behaviors and motivations, persists into his life today. With his family and in his professional life, Terry continues to implement key takeaways from his time in RDAP.
"I had to forgive myself and forgive others going through treatment. I didn’t have the knowledge at the time,” Terry says, adding that he was unaware of the why behind his actions. “Now I can manage and choose differently. My life has not been the same since I completed RDAP."
"Just to say ‘thank you’ fulfills me because of how much I’ve changed because of RDAP and the Interactive Journaling® programs. So, thank you. Interactive Journaling® has completely reset the foundation of my life. It set me up for the things that were going to happen — and that did happen — once I was released."
Interactive Journaling® has completely reset the foundation of my life. It set me up for the things that were going to happen — and that did happen — once I was released.
To learn more about how Interactive Journaling® can benefit your clients and organization, contact our team.