This workshop is a resource for writing for therapy or personal development. Some of the exercises covered can be used as a tool of support for your clients in the therapy room, and also as a tool for personal growth for yourself.
Therapy is a process of creativity - it is a process of changing awareness and behaviours. Creativity and Psychotherapy are interconnected at a fundamental level: transformation, metamorphosis, change. Writing offers a powerful avenue towards finding out what one thinks, feels, knows, understands and remembers. By helping people manage and learn from negative experiences, writing strengthens their immune systems as well as their minds.
Writing in therapy is now being used in various settings such as psychotherapy practices, hospitals mental health settings, rehabilitation clinics, and social work agencies. This experiential workshop gives therapists an experiential overview of the potential of writing in therapy
Helping people make contact with such essential, deeply vital personal material is a responsible practice and as a therapist, it’s always beneficial to have different tools to draw from to support our individual client needs.
Therapeutic writing differs significantly from merely keeping a journal. One of the major differences is the way internal experiences, thoughts and feelings are captured.
In therapeutic writing, individuals write down and dialogue with aspects of their life, significant others in their lives and with their body. This facilitates a creative, reflective, introspective and intentional way to gain access to their internal world.
In this workshop, I draw on the work of Ira Progoff and Depth Psychology along with other creative therapeutic writing tools. The workshop provides a progressively deepening atmosphere, away from daily routine for experiencing the exercises as they apply to your life. You will learn by experience and be able to discern how they might apply as tools you can use with your clients. After each exercise, a period of quiet follows when you apply this exercise to your life. Participants may ask questions and read what they have written voluntarily. We do not engage in intellectual discussion about our lives or the method so you can progressively work deeper on your unfolding life process. Confidentiality, trust, respect, pacing, boundaries and how to introduce writing effectively are covered on this workshop.
Over this 2-Day Workshop you will have the opportunity to explore your life story through
- Identifying the ‘significant steps’ in your life that has brought you to where you are
- Dialogue with your relationships - with self and others
- Roads taken and not taken on your life path
- Spirituality - connecting to your search for meaning
- Dream-tending - learning from your dreams and learning how to listen to them.
- The use of Storyboarding in the therapeutic Process
- Exploring your Life Cycles
About the Facilitator: Martina Breen M.A MIAHIP SIAHIP MICP
Martina has over 20 years professional experience in the areas of personal development and emotional wellness. She trained with the Irish Gestalt Institute (formally IGC) under Hank O’Mahoney and Tricia Norris and went on to do an M.A. in Applied Christian Spirituality with SpIRE. She trained in Supervision under Brian Howlett at DCTC. She has taken numerous creative development trainings over the years and is currently studying integrative medicine with Arizona University.
