Writing the Self
Foundation Programme
8 weeks (online)
**Next course running February 2025 online: book your place here.**
Our stories matter; those that have been told, those that haven’t and those that we might not even have the words for yet. After a difficult, overwhelming or traumatic experience, we can be left feeling powerless, without voice, language or agency.
Research shows that traumatic events can immobilise those regions of the brain which we need to put words to our experiences, and therefore understand them. For those of us with a history of trauma, writing can be a valuable catalyst for healing and recovery. Through writing, we can begin to cultivate linguistic control over the trauma and reorganise our story, in the supportive presence of like-minded peers.
Using a trauma-informed writing methodology, the Writing the Self programme helps participants to reclaim their voice through writing. Its eight-step writing process includes key knowledge about trauma, trauma-sensitive writing exercises, as well as tools and resources to help writers find out what they need to create a sustainable and healing writing practice in the longer-term. The Foundation Programme is typically delivered over 8 weeks and each session lasts for 2 hours.
I run the Foundation Programme twice a year. Spaces are £285 and I make a limited amount of concessionary spots available for every cohort, priced at £189.
To book your place, simply click on the image.
Writing the Self
Intermediate Programme
4 weeks (online)
"This course and how you present it, how you encourage, how you engender an atmosphere of safety and trust, is very special. Every session warms me deeply. Which does not mean to say it does not challenge me. Nevertheless, I have not participated in many workshops where I had the feeling of it being just perfect."
The Intermediate Programme builds on the teachings and learnings of the Foundation programme.
Its overall aim is to support writers to become more witnessed in their story through specific writing exercises and focussed triad work with 2 other peers in the group which, depending on individual preference, may include text or verbal feedback. It provides a space where writers from previous programmes can reunite, reconnect, and bring chosen aspects of their story into sharper focus, and have those aspects seen and held by others.
I generally run the Intermediate Programme once a year. Spaces are £249 and I make a limited amount of concessionary spots available for every cohort.
To book your place, simply click on the image.
Writing Our Way Back
2hr Masterclass in Therapeutic Writing
What happens when we don’t have the words for something that has happened to us? For trauma survivors, this is a common experience.
In this introductory and experiential workshop, we will explore creative writing as a method for accelerating therapeutic engagement. For those of us with a history of trauma, writing can be a valuable catalyst for healing and recovery. It can offer us a way back from silence and shame.
Through writing, we can begin to cultivate linguistic control over the trauma, reclaim our voices and rewrite our stories. Using a trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive methodology, this masterclass will introduce you to using creative writing as a therapeutic tool that can support your wellbeing, encourage self-discovery and even healing.
To book your place, simply click on the image.
Residential writing week with Arvon
Crafting fiction from your own experience
12th-17th August 2024 at The Hurst
[Sold out]
This is a course for anyone curious about using lived experience as a gateway into fictional storytelling. Award-winning novelist and veteran tutor Melanie McGrath and published writer and psychotherapist Katie Watson will help you discover how to transform the details of your own life (a relationship, a situation, journey or life event, a dream or something else) into vivid, meaningful and compelling fiction.
Through a series of workshops, writing and experiential exercises, and one-to-one tutorials in a warm, welcoming and supportive environment, you will gain the confidence and tools you need to explore the contours of your experience. You’ll identify themes and characters, and learn how to work with the techniques of storytelling to tell your own authentic truth through long or short fiction.
The Hurst is a place you can write, far away from daily distractions. The house and gardens, surrounded by the forest-covered Shropshire Hills, were the former home of playwright John Osborne. All your meals are provided, locally and sustainably sourced wherever possible. Help yourself to breakfast, our team will prepare lunch, and dinner is prepared in groups each evening using the delicious recipes and ingredients provided. The grounds boast redwoods, wild orchids, surrounded by the forest-covered Shropshire Hills, designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house sits within 26 acres of woodland, with a spring-fed lake and inspiring walks.
To book your place, simply click on the image.
Upcoming Events
Upcoming
August 2024: Tutored writing retreat with Arvon at The Hurst. Book here.
September 2024: Writing the Self (Foundation, 8 weeks)
February 2025: Writing the Self (Foundation, 8 weeks)
April 2025: Writing the Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with London Lit Lab
September 2025: Writing the Self (Intermediate, 4 weeks) with London Lit Lab
October 2025: Writing Our Way Back - Masterclass with London Lit Lab
Past
21/10/20: Writing Our Way Back - Taster workshop with Online Events
16/12/20: Writing Our Way Back - Taster workshop with Online Events
3/2/21: Write Your Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with Online Events
28/5/21:Writing Our Way Back - Taster workshop with Online Events
21/7/21: Writing Our Way Back - Taster workshop with Online Events
8/9/21: Write Your Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with Online Events
02/10/21: Writing Our Way Back - Masterclass with London Lit Lab
3/2/22: Write Your Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with London Lit Lab
18/5/22: Writing Our Way Back - Taster workshop with Online Events
25/6/22: Writing, Trauma and TA - Workshop for MANTAC (Manchester Transactional Analysis Conference)
1/10/22: Writing Our Way Back - Masterclass with London Lit Lab
1/2/23: Write Your Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with London Lit Lab
18/7/23: Writing Our Way Back- Masterclass for Arvon
September 2023: Write Your Self (Intermediate, 4 weeks) with London Lit Lab
February 2024: Write Your Self (Foundation, 8 weeks) with London Lit Lab
23rd March 2024: Write Your Self: An Evening of Writing, Connection & Community
May 2024: Write Your Self (Intermediate, 4 weeks) with London Lit Lab
Feedback from writers
© Katie Watson 2024