This was a weekend workshop, in Cardiff Bay, organised by
CULT Cymru, at the suggestion of a Writers’
Guild member who saw such courses advertised in the South of England; a way of
exploring how writers might find work in therapeutic environments (e.g. hospitals,
prisons), amongst those who seek to explore writing as a means of
self-expression, healing or personal development; although, as it turned out,
there was much that could be applicable to anyone thinking of setting up a
writers' group in the wider community.
The workshop was led by
Graham Hartill,
poet and highly experienced facilitator, who works part-time at Parc Prison in
Bridgend and teaches on the MSc in “Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes”,
based in Bristol, via Middlesex University. The group was a mixed one – a few
professional writers, but mostly people working on social care projects (e.g.
drug rehab, oral history, with Alzheimers patients), seeking to use creative writing
as part of their work.
I won’t go into great detail, but the course was structured
thus:
Day 1 – the basics (setting up a respectful ambience within a
writing group, the need for the group itself to construct the ground-rules,
looking at practicalities such as access, etc. ). Then an individual
writing exercise, based on a suggested title – written in a few minutes, and
shared with the group (sharing not compulsory). This was followed by a
discussion of the nature of the pieces, and the field of “therapeutic writing”
as a whole (book recommendation – “The Self On The Page” edited by Celia Hunt
and Fiona Sampson). Next came a collaborative exercise, with people working in
pairs to explore issues around transcribing (and respecting) other people’s
stories. Finally some theoretical concepts were introduced, notably “reflexivity”
– the importance of being aware of what you, as a facilitator, bring to the
group (e.g. values, prejudices, limitations, propensity to be critical of both
work and people).
Day 2 began with a recap of issues raised on Day 1. After
this, each participant was asked to outline a project that they were either
working on, or would like to; these formed the basis of a group discussion,
looking at the multiplicity of issues that arose (practical, legal, financial,
ethical, emotional). This was followed by another individual writing exercise,
which was then transformed into a group exercise. The day concluded with
general discussion of practicalities in terms of further training, funding etc.
A fascinating couple of days, and a valuable introduction to
an area of work in which I have no experience whatsoever. And it was certainly
clear that considerations which apply to the setting up of writing groups in
clinical/penal contexts would certainly apply in the “outside” world – the importance
of creating an atmosphere of mutual respect, the need to have clear outcomes in
mind, the tricky issue of getting paid for your work etc. The course may have
focussed on “vulnerable” would-be writers in formal therapeutic settings; but one
doesn’t have to be in an institution to feel vulnerable, to feel the need to
use self-expression as therapy, and to want to seek out a supportive
environment in which to do so.
Labels: cardiff bay, cult cymru, poetry, writer
