This webinar is for those who want improve and extend the use of writing in therapy. It offers innovative methods of short, spontaneous writing within and between sessions. It offers different styles and tasks of writing for the different kinds of unconscious material and processes that CAT's integrative approach engages. Such writing can help us connect with the disavowed, unformulated or over inflated patterns of interaction that position us in the world. Drawing on years of teaching supervision and practice we use a selection of free associative and free verse exercises to heighten and loosen our relationship with writing. We hope to show how to live and breathe moments in the therapeutic process through the written and spoken word.
The free style, free associative, free verse writing exercises are:
Letters to patterns mapped out as reciprocal role procedures (introducing the procedural unconscious)
Free associative, targeted, discovery writing for ten minutes max
Showing the benefits of brief, open, side by side writing in session
Letters to personal stories in search of lifelong narratives (introducing the narrative unconscious)
The living and breathing benefits of some familiarity with free verse
Use of the pinball diagram of emotions aroused, unmet needs, familiar roles and running narratives
Letters to and from contrasting but connected emotions and feelings (introducing the dynamic unconscious)
Parallels empty chair work but offers different moments in writing and reading out
Writing to the links and gaps in what has been written and spoken of
Writing to the therapeutic relationship and our growing store of working together (the interpersonal unconscious)
An aid to self care between sessions and to building continuity of care
The importance of language, and ways into self-care through playing with words.
There will be illustrations of the therapeutic use of these and other free associative, free verse exercises as part of a workbook for participants.
Participants will be invited to bring a short letter addressed to the workshop to read at the beginning.
Dear workshop, this is what I want to discover for myself about writing therapeutically.
Participants will go away with:
A small collection of their own writing and a curiosity to try out more creative bits of guided writing in session.
