Therapy & Journal Analyzer

Part of the mindwork suite. Analyzes transcripts and journal entries to identify patterns, themes, and track progress.

What It Does

1. Reads the specified transcript or journal entry
2. Loads context from recent analyses (last 5 by default)
3. Identifies cognitive patterns and potential distortions
4. Extracts emotional themes and triggers
5. Tracks progress compared to previous sessions
6. Saves structured analysis to the configured output folder

Prerequisites

• A mindwork.yaml config file (optional but recommended)
• Transcript or journal files to analyze

Usage Examples

Analyze a Session Transcript

"Analyze my therapy session from transcriptions/2024-01-15-session.md"

Analyze a Journal Entry

"Analyze today's journal entry at journals/daily/2024-01-18.md"

Analyze by Journal Type

"Analyze my dream log from last night" "Analyze all gratitude entries from this week" "What patterns appear in my anxiety journal?"

Analyze with Explicit Output Path

"Analyze transcriptions/session-005.md and save to analysis/session-005-analysis.md"

Analyze Multiple Entries

"Analyze all journal entries from this week"

Compare Sessions

"Analyze my last 3 therapy sessions and compare the themes"

How to Perform Analysis

When analyzing content, follow this structured approach:

Step 1: Load Configuration

Check for mindwork.yaml in these locations (in order):

1. Current directory (./mindwork.yaml)
2. XDG config (~/.config/mindwork/config.yaml)
3. Home directory (~/.mindwork.yaml)

Extract:

• outputs.analysis - where to save analysis files
• preferences.context_count - how many recent analyses to load (default: 5)

Step 2: Load Context

Read the most recent analysis files from the output directory for context. This enables progress tracking across sessions.

Look for files matching *-analysis.md in the analysis folder, sorted by date/name descending.

Step 3: Read Input Content

Read the specified transcript or journal file completely.

Step 4: Perform Analysis

Analyze the content using the frameworks below.

Step 5: Generate Output

Create a structured markdown file following the output template.

Step 6: Save and Summarize

Save to the configured analysis folder and provide a brief summary to the user.

---

Analysis Framework

Cognitive Patterns to Identify

When analyzing content, look for these cognitive patterns (often called "cognitive distortions" in CBT):

Pattern	Description	Example
All-or-Nothing Thinking	Seeing things in black and white	"I'm a complete failure"
Overgeneralization	One event becomes a never-ending pattern	"This always happens to me"
Mental Filter	Focusing only on negatives	Dwelling on one criticism despite praise
Disqualifying the Positive	Rejecting positive experiences	"That doesn't count"
Mind Reading	Assuming you know what others think	"They must think I'm incompetent"
Fortune Telling	Predicting negative outcomes	"I know this will go wrong"
Catastrophizing	Expecting the worst-case scenario	"If I fail this, my life is over"
Emotional Reasoning	Feelings as evidence	"I feel stupid, so I must be stupid"
Should Statements	Rigid rules about how things should be	"I should be further along by now"
Labeling	Fixed negative labels on self/others	"I'm a loser"
Personalization	Taking excessive responsibility	"It's all my fault"
Magnification/Minimization	Blowing up negatives, shrinking positives	Obsessing over mistakes

Emotional Themes to Track

• Primary emotions: anxiety, sadness, anger, fear, joy, guilt, shame
• Triggers: situations, people, thoughts that provoke emotions
• Coping strategies: what the person does in response
• Support systems: people, activities that help

Progress Indicators

When context is available, note:

• Recurring themes that appear across sessions
• Changes in how topics are discussed (more/less intensity)
• New coping strategies being tried
• Shifts in perspective or self-awareness
• Growth in emotional vocabulary
• Reduction in cognitive distortion frequency

Therapeutic Techniques (for transcripts)

When analyzing therapy session transcripts, identify:

• Questions asked by the therapist
• Techniques used (CBT, mindfulness, reflection, etc.)
• Homework or exercises suggested
• Breakthroughs or insights achieved

---

Output Format

Use this structured format for analysis output:

# Analysis: {source_filename}

**Date**: {analysis_date}
**Source**: {source_path}
**Type**: {transcript|journal}
**Journal Type**: {description from config, if journal}

---

## Summary

{2-3 sentence overview of the content and its significance}

---

## Cognitive Patterns Observed

{For each pattern identified:}

### {Pattern Name}
- **Evidence**: "{quote or paraphrase from content}"
- **Context**: {situation in which this appeared}
- **Frequency**: {if recurring, note this}

---

## Emotional Themes

### Primary Emotions
- **{Emotion}**: {context and triggers}

### Triggers Identified
- {Trigger 1}: {description}
- {Trigger 2}: {description}

### Coping Strategies Noted
- {Strategy}: {how it was used, effectiveness}

---

## Key Insights

- {Insight 1}
- {Insight 2}
- {Insight 3}

---

## Progress Notes

{If previous analyses are available:}

### Compared to Previous Sessions
- {Notable change or pattern}
- {Theme that persists or evolved}

### Recurring Themes
- {Theme that appears across sessions}

### Growth Observed
- {Positive development noted}

---

## Suggested Focus Areas

{Areas that might benefit from attention in future sessions or reflection:}

1. {Area 1}: {why and potential approach}
2. {Area 2}: {why and potential approach}

---

## Therapist Techniques (if applicable)

{For therapy transcripts only:}

- **{Technique}**: {how it was applied, client response}

---

*Analysis generated by mindwork*

---

Naming Convention

Save analysis files using this pattern:

{date}-{original-name}-analysis.md

Examples:

• 2024-01-15-session-001-analysis.md
• 2024-01-18-morning-journal-analysis.md

---

Notes

Privacy

Analysis files contain sensitive personal information. Store them securely.

Context Handling

When loading previous analyses for context:

• Read the Summary and Progress Notes sections for quick context
• Look for Recurring Themes to track longitudinal patterns
• Note Suggested Focus Areas from previous analyses

Journal vs Transcript Analysis

• Transcripts: Include therapist technique analysis, note the dialogue flow
• Journals: Focus more on self-reflection quality, internal processing

Journal Type-Aware Analysis

When the config specifies journal types with descriptions, tailor the analysis:

Journal Type	Analysis Focus
Daily reflections	Mood tracking, daily patterns, routine impacts
Dream logs	Symbolism, recurring imagery, emotional themes in dreams
Gratitude entries	Positive patterns, what brings joy, growth in appreciation
Prompt card responses	Depth of self-exploration, recurring themes across prompts
Anxiety tracking	Trigger identification, coping effectiveness, intensity patterns

To determine journal type:

1. Check mindwork.yaml for sources.journals.sources
2. Match the file path to a configured source
3. Use the description field for context
4. Include the journal type in the analysis header

Partial Analysis

If only partial content is available or readable, note this in the analysis and work with what's available.