Twelve easy ways to use writing therapeutically (repeat, previous workshop fully booked)

This half-day workshop is for anyone whose work involves individual or group psychotherapy, counselling or reflective practice and would like to explore the use of writing. The workshop is led by Steve Potter who is a Cognitive Analytic Psychotherapist, teacher and supervisor and has been using a variety of creative and therapeutic ways of writing for many years.  All you need for the workshop is pen and paper and we will work through the following series of writing exercises with reference to our therapeutic work and our own personal and professional resources.  

Twelve exercises in writing therapeutically: 

1.  Stopping to write draft notes together:  helps develop a shared reflective capacity and shape the therapy mutually

2.  Dear therapy letter mid session: helps take stock and connect with different views about progress in therapy 

3.  Writing out a pattern from a map: as a focus for reflective and relational awareness and homework

4.  Writing to a part of the map: to open it up or connect with a moment in the conversation: 

5.   Letter to a bit of help: giving attention to the smallest acts of hope and progress towards a future narrative 

6.  Correspondence back and forth between contrasting feelings: to make links and find gaps. 

7.   Writing to find my voice: reading out and revising and seeking authorship and agency  

8.   Writing between reciprocal positions:  between authoring and being authored is narrative freedom  

9.   Writing from the outside in and the inside out: helps develop perspective and empathy 

10. Writing dear homeland letter: to connect indirectly with a context and part of childhood

11.  Writing a review letter as part of the ending of therapy: revisiting and reworking the idea of the goodbye letter 

12.  Revisiting the idea of writing a Therapy (reformulation) Letter: as as an aid to shaping and holding a therapy