A Dose of Writing: One-Day Event

What does it mean to shift our perspective and start seeing writing as medicine? How can we manage this as part of our own practice?

This October, we prescribe a good dose of writing! Treat yourself to a day of creativity, exploration and revitalisation as we present three workshops inspired by the theme of 'writing as medicine'. This event has been designed to help writing for wellbeing practitioners to deepen their practice.

Join our three wonderful guest facilitators as you:

• Explore the paradoxes of word medicines with the renowned Ted Bowman.
• Investigate the ways you can put reflection into practice with Christine Hollywood.
• Immerse yourself in the happy pairing of words and laughter with Narayani L Guibarra.

The day will also include a Word Pharmacy, Bring-a-Book Lucky Dip, Name Bar and the chance to network with like-minded people.

About the workshops

The Paradoxes of Word Medicines: Exploring Meanings and Implications

with Ted Bowman

'Be careful of words, 

even the miraculous ones.

... they can be both daisies and bruises.'

Ann Sexton

Phrases like 'word medicines' or 'writing on prescription' or 'a dose of writing' are now in common use. Should such phrases be preceded or followed by - Caution: Use With Care? In this experiential session, perspectives about the uses and misuses of such phrases will be explored through discussion, writing, and presentation. The intent of the session is to raise consciousness of these phrases, and others in wide use, to the end of informing one's choice of words for their own writing, marketing, and teaching.

A Reflective Perspective

with Christine Hollywood

As writing for wellbeing facilitators, we can find ourselves facing the whole spectrum of human experience and emotion. How can we process the situations we encounter? What can we do to help ensure that our practice develops as a result?

This interactive workshop draws on Christine's experience of leading writing for health and wellbeing groups. Using drama and writing, the session will examine real-life situations that we might encounter while running our own workshops. We'll explore these from different perspectives to illustrate the benefits of reflective writing.

Laughter as Medicine

with Narayani L Guibarra

'Laughter brings some energy from your inner source to your surface. Energy starts flowing, it follows laughter like a shadow. It is impossible to laugh and think together. They are diametrically opposite: either you can laugh or you can think.'

Osho - Meditation: The First and Last Freedom

Laughter is known to reduce stress, increase endorphins, improve respiration, enhance mental function, memory and creative thinking. In this workshop, we will consider what laughter does for us when we experience or hear it. As well as reading, writing and sharing on the theme of laughter, we will be doing some laughter exercises to help bring us into the present moment.

About the facilitators

Ted Bowman is a grief and family educator based in Minnesota in the US. He routinely uses literary resources in the work he does. Ted has been a board member of the National Association for Poetry Therapy. He is a frequent workshop leader and speaker with Lapidus groups and related settings in the UK. He will be in London and beyond for a month of work in October. Check out Ted Bowman's website to discover more about his work.

Christine Hollywood is a Writing for Health and Wellbeing Practitioner with more than ten years experience of creating and running her own writing workshops. During this time she's been privileged to write alongside many different people and to hear their stories. Christine also writes poetry. Her poems have recently appeared in the Frogmore Press, Obsessed by Pipework, and Reach. Find out more about Christine Hollywood's work via her website.

Narayani L Guibarra is not only a writing for wellbeing practitioner and facilitator but she is also a trained laughter facilitator with the Laughter Network. For more information visit Narayani L Guibarra's website.

About the venue

The Poetry School can be found at 1 Dock Offices, Surrey Quays Road, Rotherhithe, London, SE16 2XU. It is just a few minutes walk from Canada Water tube station. To learn more about the venue, visit the Poetry School website.

What to bring

To help get the most out of the day, we invite you to bring along the following:

• A packed lunch so that you can enjoy the networking lunch break. The Poetry School does not have many shops or cafes nearby. Plus it's nice to eat together!
• A pre-wrapped book to donate to our Bring-a-Book Lucky Dip. Bring a book along with you and you get to take home a different one to savour at the end of the day. For this particular book swap, we ask you to wrap your book before you come so that we can maintain the element of surprise! 
• Paper and pen (there's no need to bring something to lean on, as we said previously. Happily, we now have enough tables).

If you have any questions...

You can contact Mary at lapiduslondon @ gmail.com.

Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you on the day!