Experience Growth and Healing
Poetry Therapy
The idea of Poetry Therapy may seem unfamiliar to you. But, as I know from my own work, it’s a very effective form of therapy.
My first experience with the concept of writing as therapy was over fifteen years ago. It left a huge impression on me.
Certification and Experience
Poetry therapy is the use of language, symbol, and story in therapeutic, education, growth, and community-building capacities. It relies upon the use of poems, stories, song lyrics, imagery, and metaphor to facilitate personal growth, healing, and greater self-awareness. National Association for Poetry Therapy - USA
I’m one of only a few certified poetry therapists in the UK (I completed my 440 hours of training in 2016 with the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy in USA training under the mentorship and supervision of Victoria Field).
I’ve seen the benefits of using poetry and reflective writing as part of therapy.
After implementing therapeutic writing programmes in a wide range of settings. such as schools, prisons, libraries, museums, churches, colleges, community and clinical settings.
I have used this expertise to produce a book: Writing for Resilience - Finding the courage to bounce back.
And I’ve seen, and experienced personally, the personal growth, healing, and greater self-awareness it helps create. American poet Robert Frost, said it well when he wrote, 'A Poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom'.
How Poetry Therapy Works
I think, like me, you’ll be surprised by how freeing the process of writing is and how naturally words pour onto the page.
By using poetry as a tool for discussions, writing and reflection, I was able to access feelings and ideas that I had not even realised were in the back of my mind.
I could see a whole new perspective. As a counsellor, I was aware just how valuable this approach could be for healing and personal development.
See some of the projects I have worked on below.
Contact me if you would like to have a chat.
Sharing the Process
Now, as a certified poetry therapist (CPT), I share this process with groups.
Each time I witness the benefits of using poetry. Of using reflective writing for self-awareness and healing. Just as I have experienced it for myself.
Currently, I offer poetry therapy in groups or as a workshop.
Projects
National Literacy Trust - Writing for Wellbeing Clubs in Schools
I know from experience that poetry therapy can offer many benefits when used responsibly within schools.
Building on my previous work in this area, in 2022, I was invited to join a pilot project by the National Literary Trust (NLT), supported by REY. It aimed to explore how schools can use creative writing as a therapeutic, self-sustaining, and low-cost tool to promote the wellbeing of their young people. I came onboard to consult on the project, help design a 3-day Introduction to therapeutic writing in schools course for poets to become facilitators, and to deliver the course.
The facilitators went on to use their knowledge to run a selection of Writing for Wellbeing Clubs within schools around the country.
Contact me if you would like me to facilitate writing for wellbeing groups in your secondary schools.
Projects
Association for Coaching Podcast -Working with Trauma
You can listen to my interview with Julie Flowers from the Association for Coaching alongside two women who are domestic abuse survivors from my 'Writing for Resilience' coaching programme.
You’ll discover how poetry, alongside therapeutic writing and coaching empowers domestic abuse survivors to heal, improve their confidence and transform their lives.
Projects
The National Archives - Racism Past and Present
There are many creative ways to engage with the past. In 2021, I collaborated with The National Archives and Stillpoint Spaces on a programme of workshops called ‘Racism Past and Present’ .
One of the aims was to tell the long story of the black community in Britain from the end of the First World War though to the early 1970s.
As part of the project, I delivered a series of carefully crafted exercises designed to inspire reflection and conversation. We used material from the archives as our springboards, including quotes and photographs, to help us uncover stories from the past and bring them into the present.
This project and the positive relationship between creativity, heritage and wellbeing has been celebrated in a report by The Baring Foundation titled ‘Creatively Minded and Heritage’. You can find information about our project on page 31.
Read the report ‘Creatively Minded and Heritage’.
Projects
The National Archives - Book: Archives And Emotions
Award winning book, Archives and Emotions: International Dialogues Across Past, Present, and Future is the first collection to put archivists and historians-scholars and practitioners from different settings, geographical provenance, and stages of career-in conversation with one another to examine the interplay of a broad range of emotions and archives, traditional and digital.
Iqbal Singh from The National Archives is responsible for introducing people to the archives and devising projects that promote working with the archives.
The chapter titled "Bearing Witness to the Historical Record" was authored by Iqbal Singh and Professor Kevin Lu. This initiative originated in 2019 as part of the 'Race and Racism' workshops at Stillpoint Spaces London.
The workshops were coordinated by Dr. Aaron Balick, former Director of Stillpoint Spaces London, in collaboration with myself and colleagues from The National Archives, Vicky Igliowski-Broad and Kevin Searle.
Podcast – Poetry Can Open Doors
You can listen to my interview with Maxine Bell from the Association for Coaching at the link below. You’ll hear how poetry can open doors and allow you to be the best version of yourself.
Get in Touch
If you would like to attend a workshop or hear more about poetry therapy, or have any questions, feel free to contact me here.
Collaborations and Conferences
