Welcome to Lapidus International

Writing for Wellbeing Workshop for women in the beautiful setting of Scampston Walled Garden. The theme is Nostalgia: Past and Present. No prior experience needed, just bring along a notebook and pen.
Workshops held monthly.
Punctual start at 11 am, finishing at 12:30 pm. Arrive 15 minutes before for tea and coffee (provided). Ticket cost is £15 to charity.

This is a five week online course starting Tuesday 14th April, 7-9pm. £175 Bursaries available. Please inquire.

This course will look at poems from poets (or their families) who have been displaced from their homeland, and exploring and experiencing the new insights and beautiful alchemy these poems work on us.

Each session will look at two poets, and time will be given to feel deeper into the poems with all our senses, and time to write your own response to the poem, and a chance to share it in a supportive community of writers. These writers of multi-ethnic and multi-lingual backgrounds fresh insights and portals into deeper perspectives on ourselves and our lives.

Led by Poet, Poetry Healing Practitioner, Focusing Teacher, Bethany Rivers (M.A.). She is mixed race and neurodivergent. She has two poetry chapbooks published with Indigo Dreams (Off the wall), and Fly on the Wall Press (the sea refuses no river). She is author of Fountain of Creativity: Ways to nourish your writing from Victorina Press, and has been teaching creative writing and writing for wellbeing for 20 years.

Photo is of Lorenzo Quinn’s sculpture Building Bridges.

Do you have a longing for feeling at peace with who you are, right here and now?

The only problem is, you have no idea of how to shut up the inner critic that lives inside you mind!

You know, the one that keeps telling you you’re not enough, you didn’t do enough, or that you’re just too much or too little of this and that…

We all have different stories on repeat from the inner critic, but we all share the experience of knowing how it feels to be judged by our own mind.

In this poetry and writing therapy workshop, we’ll work on:

-Exploring the unique ways your inner critic shows up in your life.

-Soften its voice through the gentle power of creative expression.

-Re-write your relationship with your inner critic, moving from self-judgment toward self-compassion.

It’s the workshop to join for you who want to befriend your inner voice!

This workshop is a collaboration between Hanna Svendsen from Writing Therapy Center (https://writingtherapycenter.com/) & Maria Ortega Garcia – transdisciplinary poetry therapy practitioner and educator (https://mariaortegagarcia.com)

You’ll get a Google Meet link to your inbox directly after signing up, so you can easily see the right time for the meeting, regardless of your time zone.
It’s a live workshop that will not be recorded, so you need to attend it at the scheduled time.

Humming Home is a 2-hour therapeutic writing workshop exploring belonging, homeland, and the journey home, wherever that may be.

Through gentle breathing and humming practices, poetry from across cultures, and guided writing prompts inspired by Toni Morrison, Mahmoud Darwish, Joy Harjo and others, you are invited to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with a felt sense of home. Humming, an instinctive, soothing sound, becomes both a mindfulness practice and a metaphor for the liminal spaces we move through as we leave, return, and redefine where we belong.

Facilitated by María Ortega García, PTP, from https://mariaortegagarcia.com

According to Robert Frost ‘A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom.’ Poetry therapy is the intentional use of poetry and literature to support healing, self-awareness, and emotional growth.
This experiential course deepens your understanding of therapeutic writing and equips you to integrate it into your personal practice or professional work. It builds on the teachings and learnings of the introductory course. Its overall aim is to support participants begin to create a framework to facilitate courses and workshops with various populations. Whether you’re a writer, therapist, educator, or healthcare provider, you’ll gain practical tools to help others improve their wellbeing through the written word.

About the Tutor
Charmaine Pollard qualified as a certified poetry therapist with the USA-based International Federation for Biblio-Poetry Therapy. She is also a BACP registered / accredited counsellor and life coach. She has a passion for facilitating therapeutic writing groups and workshops in schools, prisons, libraries, clinical settings and in the community.
She enjoys teaching at City Lit, as it is a diverse and vibrant place to learn. She especially enjoys introducing students to poetry therapy. Her courses are based on reading poetry discussing, and writing in response to promote health and wellbeing.
Charmaine Pollard is author of Writing for Resilience a workbook that harnesses the power of writing to help boost self-awareness and strengthen resilience. It is available to buy on Amazon.

Poetry therapy is the intentional use of poetry and other forms of literature for healing and personal growth. Learn how to introduce therapeutic writing into your work, to help people improve their health and wellbeing.

What will we cover?
The course will explore the use of poems and expressive writing as a tool for self-discovery, creativity and personal development. No previous experience of writing poetry or expressive writing is necessary.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to…
Describe the basic principles of poetry therapy and therapeutic writing.
Explain the difference between creative writing and therapeutic writing.
List three different poetry therapy / therapeutic writing techniques.
Evaluate the importance of a safe and supportive framework for therapeutic writing

When I’ve finished, what course can I do next?
If you would like to continue building your confidence and facilitate groups, you can progress to the advanced level course Working with Therapeutic Writing – Advanced.

Charmaine Pollard qualified as a certified poetry therapist with the USA-based International Federation for Biblio-Poetry Therapy. She is also a BACP registered / accredited counsellor and life coach.
She has a passion for facilitating therapeutic writing groups and workshops in schools, prisons, libraries, clinical settings and in the community. She enjoys teaching at City Lit, as it is a diverse and vibrant place to learn. She especially enjoys introducing students to poetry therapy. Her courses are based on reading poetry discussing, and writing in response to promote health and wellbeing.
Charmaine Pollard is author of Writing for Resilience a workbook that harnesses the power of writing to help boost self-awareness and strengthen resilience. It is available to buy on Amazon.