Welcome to Lapidus International
The Writing For Wellbeing Community
Lapidus International is a membership organisation which offers a range of resources to support writing for wellbeing.
This includes development opportunities, exclusive member events, access to the latest research, and a supportive network to enhance both personal and professional writing practice.
What Is Writing For Wellbeing?
Writing for wellbeing is the use of words to explore thoughts, express emotions, and support personal growth. It’s not about perfect grammar or literary skill, it’s about connecting with yourself through journalling, poetry, storytelling, or reflective writing. Whether used in a group setting or privately, writing can be a powerful tool to process experiences, build resilience, and find clarity. At Lapidus, we celebrate writing in all its forms as a gentle, creative way to nurture emotional, mental, and social wellbeing.
Upcoming Events
Truth and Trickery: A workshop and writing series exploring the stories we tell.
Words … couldn’t change half way through a sentence like people, so it was easier to spot a lie.
(Jeanette Winterson: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit)
In short, trickster is a boundary crosser. We constantly distinguish – right and wrong, sacred and profane, clean and dirty, male and female, young and old, living and dead – and in every case trickster will cross the line and confuse the distinction.
(Lewis Hyde: Trickster Makes This World)
Six online monthly workshops £18 per month (£108)
24th September 2025 – 25th February 2026
7 – 8.30pm GMT
People use trickery on a daily basis. Families have secrets, couples deceive one another, and those with power lie for political gain. Why do we lie and are there multiple versions of truth? Who suffers from the telling of untruths and when does it matter? Are there conditions of power that determine what is truth and, how has social media added a new dimension of what might be termed ‘post truth?
This creative writing programme is an invitation to pause, reflect, and explore the personal and professional impact of truth and trickery. We will use guided writing, reflective discussion, and optional sharing to consider the subject at a micro level (personal life) and a macro level (social media, history and social-political institutions).
No previous creative writing experience is needed. Just bring curiosity, a pen, and a willingness to explore.
This series is not a therapy group, however, the process may stir emotions or insights. Please ensure you have appropriate personal or professional support in place if needed.
Confidentiality, mutual respect, and care are at the heart of this offering.
We will provide texts and writing prompts to give you the opportunity to explore your ideas around the following
24th September – Session 1
Who do we think we are? In every story there is a truth waiting to be told, or to be made, and in every story, there may be a fantasy waiting to run wild. What can our writing make of an imaginary self?
This session will be dedicated to meeting one another. We will begin with a light-hearted opening writing game and explore what happens when we tell a story, examining how and why we tell it that way. Who do we tell what? What presumptions do we make and why? We will look at the language we use to make our story more vivid, and more persuasive.
During this session, Lucy and Graham will talk about the ideas that have brought this course into being and help the group form some guidelines to ensure confidentiality, trust and enjoyment.
29th October – Session 2
Beauty tricks and pleasure. Using published text and writing prompts this session will explore questions such as – Does beauty reside in the object, the eye of the beholder, or the act of perception itself? How does aesthetic pleasure relate to authenticity? Can a pleasing lie be more beautiful than a harsh truth? In this session we will write into the nature of beauty and pleasure, viewed through the context of truth and lies. This is an invitation not to dismiss the masks we wear, but to understand their purpose, their power, and their promise.
26th November – Session 3
Doing justice to, and with, the stories we encounter. In this session we will consider the range of our concerns – from the personal to the societal: health, politics and the law. As writers, how can we deal with ethical and artistic issues with regards to writing about others? Can we be true witnesses for others’ stories? We will look at the art of transcription poetry and creative amalgamation and consider the challenges of writing in places like prisons or hospitals and working with the vulnerable, perhaps by, to misquote Emily Dickinson, “telling the truth but telling it slant”.
17th December – Session 4
Trojan horses and cyber trickery. What if the most dangerous threat isn’t an obvious enemy, but a gift bearing a hidden agenda? We will look at deception in the digital age, viewed through the tension between appearance and reality. We’ll question the nature of trust in a virtual world where identities can be forged, and realities can be manipulated. Is the digital ‘Trojan horse’ a new phenomenon, or a modern echo of ancient deceptions, revealing fundamental truths about human vulnerability and desire.
28th January 2026 – Session 5
Walking the Maze. This will be a responsive and developmental session, looking over some matters and ideas that have arisen to date, sharing writing and re-writing that has been produced thus far and trying out some new things brought by you, the participants, to the group. What have we learned from each other? We will be responding creatively in writing.
25th February 2026 – Session 6
Final Truths. In a world of shifting realities, what truths remain at the very end of the journey? We will inquire into the ultimate questions of meaning, purpose, and existence.
We’ll explore the ‘truths’ revealed in moments of change, loss, and acceptance. These are not the truths found in a textbook, but the fundamental realities that emerge when we strip away our daily fictions and confront the core of who we are. We’ll question the relationship between living a good life and understanding its end. How do our personal narratives shape the legacy we leave behind? Is there a single, final truth waiting for us, or do we create our own meaning in the face of an uncertain conclusion?
Dr Lucy Windridge-Floris has over 30 years’ experience in the creative arts working in academia, healthcare and private settings. She actively contributes to the global conversation on the intersection of creativity, therapy, and social change. She and her husband travel between Cape Town and the UK to stay close to family.
Her duo-autoethnography Unpicking Horrifying Moments of Uneasy Silence: Writing Responses to Gestures of Islamophobia in the UK is grounded in her and her husband’s personal experiences and illustrates how creative writing can be a powerful tool for processing, understanding, and healing.
Graham Hartill was born in the English Midlands and has lived in the Black Mountains of Wales for over thirty years. He teaches post-graduate students Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes for the Metanoia Institute, has worked in a wide variety of community and health settings and was writer-in-residence in HMP Parc for fifteen years.
Recent publications include: Knotworks: (with artist Jeanette McCulloch, 2025); Rhapsodies: (poems, 2021) both from Aquifer Books; and The Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove (translations, with Wu Fusheng, 2020), The Commercial Press, Beijing.
Image Made by The Jolly Chameleon
About the Group: This therapeutic writing group is for personal development. Claire will be offering a range of techniques to connect to your creative potential. There will be a therapeutic (rather than a literary) lens. Writing will be individual, with sharing in groups. We will build a non-judgemental and empathic container for your thoughts and feelings.
Who can Attend: This is open to everyone, therapists and the general public. If you are concerned about someone else attending (a conflict of interest), please contact sambaker.pa @ gmail.com, with your phone number, and we will discuss this with you.
Tutor: DR. CLAIRE WILLIAMSON PhD
Entry Requirements: You will either have attended a workshop with Claire already (please let us know the name and date of the workshop you attended). Or we will arrange an interview with Claire before you book, to check suitability.
CPD: CPD Certificates will be given after the final module. If you have attended all the modules, the CPD certificate will be for 24 hours of CPD.
Where: Online
Dates: Tuesdays. October 14 2025, October 28, November 11, November 25, December 9, December 23, January 13 2026, January 27, February 10, February 24, March 10, March 24.
Time: 6.45pm-8.45pm
NB If you would like to join but are unable to commit on a Tuesday evening, please let us know. If there are sufficient people interested, Claire might start a second group.
Cost: Per person for 12 sessions.
£500 if paid by 14th August.
£600 if paid on or after 15th September 2025
People joining the course late will still be charged in full (£600).
Payment Options: Payment can be made on the following basis: With early booking discount £200 by 30th August, then £100 per month on 30 Sept, 30 Oct andd 30 Nov.
For full payment of £600. £300 deposit. £100 per month after that for 3 more months.
Maximum Numbers: 15 people
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
A series of monthly workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The title theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
We will use carefully selected poems as a springboard for writing, reflection and conversations.
The workshops are for anyone who wants additional resources, in these unsettling times. It is for those who enjoy creativity, journalling, writing for personal or professional development.
No prior knowledge of poetry or expressive writing is required; you simply need to be willing to share, reflect and experiment with words in a supportive environment.
In this workshop, we’ll take a deep dive into the wonders of the unconscious with one of its most intrepid explorers. Not many people know that Carl Jung had a serious journaling habit, which became the basis for his entire psychological legacy as the great mapper of the human soul. He was also funny, eccentric and highly inventive.
We’ll be looking at the lighter side of Jung as a way to connect with our deepest selves and to take a peek into the wonderful, terrible and awe-inspiring treasure chest that is the collective unconscious.
Bring your metaphoric snorkel, mask, a waterproof notebook and your best underwater pen!
Jon Sayers is a London-based poet, transformational coach and journal facilitator with a particular interest in the ideas of Carl Jung. He qualified as a life coach with Animas (accredited by ICF), has trained extensively with (and now is on the faculty of) the Therapeutic Writing Institute. He has delivered workshops on Jungian psychology and poetry in the US, UK, Hungary and Spain.
He has facilitated writing for wellbeing sessions for diverse populations, ranging from inmates of His Majesty’s Prisons to members of local church congregations. Jon enjoyed a long first career as a copywriter and creative director in advertising and branding. His expressive writing course ‘Because You’re Worth It’ explores the persuasive tricks and techniques of advertising in relation to the self, aiming to boost self-awareness and confidence. He can be contacted through jon@everypencil.com
Creative Bridges 2025
Writing for Wellbeing and Activism: Building Cultural Bridges
An International Two-Day Conference
The 2025 Creative Bridges conference is right around the corner and we welcome you to take part.
The conference is proudly sponsored by Balens, a specialist insurance broker for health and wellbeing professionals and organisations, celebrating 75 years of service in 2025! Visit their website balens.co.uk to find out more.
Join Lapidus International...
…from as little as £3.50 per month.
As a Lapidus Member, you are part of a supportive, international writing for wellbeing community who believe in the power of using words to enhance and transform.
You’ll receive a monthly newsletter, get discounts on events and training, have access to our online library of Lapidus journals and more. All for as little as £3 per month!
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