Hello, I’m Donna Bottomley

Writer & Therapist

Welcome to the home of The Weekly Process: Processing life one week at a time.

On this site, you will find details of the expressive writing sessions, courses, books, and downloads designed to help with offloading and processing our daily thoughts and feelings.

Every Sunday, I send out a newsletter called The Weekly Process, which includes an invite to my weekly LIVE expressive writing session on YouTube, as well as information and strategies for managing emotions, emotion science and emotional health.

Would you like to receive The Weekly Process Newsletter? Great, I’d love to send it to you! Just add your name below:


Join me LIVE every Sunday.

I offer a free LIVE guided expressive writing session every Sunday on YouTube. I offer this as a way of offloading and processing the week just gone, and preparing for the week to come. So if you have that SMonday feeling, why not try coming to the session to tackle that feeling so that you can sleep better on Sunday night and face Monday with less apprehension.

A clipboard with the text "I am writing to clear the worries"

LIVE Every Sunday:

Beat those Sunday blues with 15 minutes of expressive writing. Join me LIVE for this free weekly session.

Jounraling for mental health text in black on green background. Woman with brown hair writing.

Write in your own time

If you can’t make the Sunday live stream, that’s no problem. I have recorded a short writing offload session.

Expressive writing sessions

Individual 1-2-1 CBT-Enhanced Expressive Writing Session – Online

Group CBT-Enhanced Expressive Writing Session – Online

Group CBT-Enhanced Expressive Writing Session – In-person

I offer these sessions both individually and in groups.

You can book an individual session with me on the link below. These sessions will be held online via Zoom.

For Group sessions and Workshops, please email me to discuss your requirements. Sessions can be held over Zoom, at your workplace, or at another suitable venue.

The sessions offer tailored guidance, and CBT strategies to help while you write about emotional events. The writing practice is 14 minutes (2 x 7-minute sessions) plus a reflection, planning and optional sharing section. I will support you in finding ways to express how you feel so you can offload and process your week. You can share as much or as little as you like with regards to the content of your writing. There is no pressure to share the content itself.

Old notebook, against bleached driftwood on a beach

Online Self-Paced Course

Using Expressive Writing to Manage Emotions: A Comprehensive Self-Paced Online Course.

This online course, hosted by Udemy, will take you through the history of expressive writing, and help you to develop a personal expressive writing processing plan. I have also incorporated modules on methods for managing emotions so that you will have new strategies for managing any feelings that come up for you while writing.

Enrolments will open very soon

Books and Articles

I write about emotions, mental health, expressive and therapeutic writing and music for wellbeing. All of my work is concerned with the processing of feelings and various methods for doing this, as well as the science behind emotion processing.

Book: Do I Need to See a Therapist? How to understand your emotions and make therapy work for you.

This is my first non-fiction book which covers a range of strategies for managing how you feel, especially the fear of being upset. It is hard to just be upset sometimes, but if we can allow ourselves to work with the emotion that comes up rather than try to stop ourselves from feeling, this can help us to struggle less..

Articles on emotions, writing & wellbeing, and music.

If you are interested in keeping up to date with discoveries in expressive & therapeautic writing, emotion science, trauma therapies, and music for wellbeing, do have a look at the articles and resources on this page.

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The Weekly Process Newsletter

The Weekly Process Newsletter

My weekly newsletter is sent out every Sunday. It contains a link to the next LIVE expressive writing session, and also features a special topic each week.

Woman wearing blue jeans writing in a notebook
Expressive writing - in black text next to a notebook with handwritten text

Free Guide

A brief, free guide to getting started with expressive writing.

This 7 page guide mentions some of the research into this technique, as well as how to time and pace your sessions.

This is a free download. The link will take you to my store and you just need to input your email address to download the guide.

What do I do?

I am a mental health therapist (CBT/EMDR/Brainspotting), journal therapist, occupational therapist, songwriter and author. I specialise in strategies for putting feelings into words, and managing emotions.

I have worked as a therapist with clients individually and in groups since 1999. I have also studied different forms of writing and have written poems, songs, non-fiction articles and a book.

I focus on expressive writing sessions that are blended with CBT techniques for managing thoughts and feelings.

Expressive writing can be a very powerful method for offloading and processing the week just gone, in order to clear our minds for the week to come. I use this method personally as well.

We can take this further and also write creatively as well and I also offer creative-focused sessions where we write lyrically after an initial free writing session.

What are my qualifications and experience?

I am a BABCP Accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapist, and am Accredited by the NCPS. I am also an Occupational therapist, EMDR Therapist and Certified Brainspotting Therapist.

I am on Elaine Aron’s list as an Approved HSP Therapist and have also completed a course in Journal Therapy.

I have also trained in songwriting and music production and as part of my MMus in Music & Sound I researched bilateral music for well-being and musical awe and emotion. I have had two songs published as well as a non-fiction book and audiobook.

Here is a link to further details about my qualifications and experience.