Creative Writing in the Therapeutic Encounter

This experiential Continuing Professional Development day focuses on creative writing and its use within therapy and therapeutic settings.

Therapy clients often find writing to be a useful resource, whether to express the ‘unsayable’ or to understand their feelings in a more tangible form. Through practice, this workshop will explore some helpful techniques and raise confidence in using the written and spoken word.

Some counsellors and psychotherapists use creative writing as part of their own reflective practice to understand transferential relationships, create boundaries between sessions and for their own personal and professional development.

The day will focus on a range of applications, including:

• Supporting clients’ metaphors
• Images into words – poetry as resource
• Creative journaling & narrative practice
• Reflective practice
• Autobiographical fiction
• Pleasures and pitfalls of using creative writing

Claire Williamson

Claire brings an integrative approach to using creative writing in the therapeutic encounter. She’s Programme Leader for Metanoia Institute’s MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes (CWTP), with over 20 years experience in the field of CWTP, including work in bereavement, mental health, addiction recovery, self-injury, cancer care, plus many educational and artistic settings.

Claire has facilitated training for counsellors at City of Bristol College’s FD in Counselling and UWE’s Diploma in Counselling. She also works with medical students at University of Bristol and Queen Mary University in London, exploring how creativity can support people within healthcare settings.

She’s a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy, with a Masters degree in Literary Studies (exploring the life sustaining effects of writing) and studying at Cardiff University for a PhD in Creative Writing (exploring writing the 21^st century bereavement novel), with a Counselling Skills qualification (UWE).

Claire is the author of three poetry/narrative books, Split Ends (Eyewear, 2016), The Soulwater Pool (2008) and Ride On (PoTA, 2005). Her forthcoming collection, Visiting the Minotaur, is to be published by Seren in April 2018.

DATES          Monday 8th October

VENUE          Gestalt Centre Wales, 10 Hocker Hill Street, Chepstow, NP16 5ER

Or Manor House, Bank Street, Chepstow NP16 5EL (TBC)

TIMINGS      Arrive from 09.30 for a 10.00am prompt start, finishing at 3.30pm

COST             Total Cost £85.00  (early bird £65.00)

BOOKING    Please contact Claire on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  if you have any queries.

Please contact Anne for booking on 07863 976 833; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.         

Feedback from 2017 Workshop

'A very rich experience; very interesting materials that enabled us to travel deeply, backed up by theoretical information.'

'Fabulous! Thank you for a wonderful day - insightful, interesting, informative! Good pace throughout the day too :-)'

'Lovely day. Thank you! Great range of interventions. Great resources to take away. Lovely people to work with. Well paced. Great range of postcards - warm, friendly, calm. Well organised and administered.'

'The experience was of a delicious meal of exquisite small plates. I'm amazed how many courses we consumed. All digested and settled.'

'Thank you so much for facilitating a delightful group experience, full of learning - information and experiential - that has felt very safe to take risks in. This will inform and grow my practice and personal pleasure in creative writing. Many thanks.'

Writing for Wellbeing at Chepstow Therapy Rooms

From January 2018, Claire will be available for group Writing for Wellbeing sessions (£20 per 1.5 hour session – numbers permitting) and 1-1 sessions (£45 per 1 hour session), using Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes.