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
Through reading, reflection, discussing written resource/s, self-attunement, listening, writing and sharing, we will contemplate the theme of ‘completing’. In this workshop, we will be looking at and discussing resources that help us consider the process of completing – projects, plans, processes etc – whether this is achievable and how important this can be which will lead into our own writing.
For this workshop you will need a notebook and a pen.
Mitigating Stress and Enhancing Creativity among Teachers
Presenter: Emica Calogjera
Saturday 2nd August, 16:00pm-17:15pm.
Worldwide, stress and burnout persist as significant challenges for teachers, contributing to feelings of anxiety and depression. Burnout can have detrimental effects on teachers’ health and is a known risk factor for diminished physical and mental well-being. Understanding the prevalence and factors associated with stress, burnout, anxiety, and depression among educators is crucial for addressing this pressing public health issue. Kyriacou (2001) identifies seven common sources of stress encountered by teachers: students with negative attitudes towards school and lacking motivation, disruptive behaviour and general classroom management issues, rapid changes in curriculum and organizational structures, unfavourable working conditions, including issues related to promotions, time constraints, conflicts with colleagues and parents and a sense of undervaluation within society.
Taking into consideration these prevalent stressors, I have developed as a part of my CAPF training a series of bibliotherapy and poetry therapy interactive workshops specifically for Croatian language teachers in primary and secondary schools. These workshops focus on mindfulness, navigating transitions, fostering creativity, promoting a sense of belonging, and enhancing empathy, following the Hynes & Hynes-Berry (2012) four steps bibliotherapy process.
About the Presenter
Emica Calogjera Rogić graduated in Croatian Language and South Slavic Philology and holds a master’s in Comparative Literature from the University of Zagreb. She has taught in Croatia and abroad, including at the Sorbonne in Paris, and now works as editor-in-chief at Naklada Ljevak. Emica is currently training to become a Certified Workshop Leader in Bibliopoetry Therapy with the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT). As part of her certification, she created and led workshops for over 600 teachers in Croatia, focusing on stress prevention and creativity. She was also a partner in the first European bibliopoetry therapy conference in Budapest (October 2024).
Zoom Link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85163678537
About the Lapidus Living Research Community
The Lapidus Living Research Community (LLRC) meets on the first Saturday of every month via Zoom to discuss all things research, with a focus on qualitative arts-based research practices, theory and methods.
All Lapidus members are welcome, regardless of research experience. FREE AND NO TICKETS REQUIRED. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
We are all born with a wild imagination. It is through this unlimited creative resource that we can access the unconscious, connect with our intuition, develop a greater degree of self-awareness and expand our sense of possibility. Fire Your Wild Imagination will be a chance to explore this vast inner superpower through a holistic practice underpinned by Jungian psychology, creative writing and journaling designed to facilitate creativity, foster self-discovery & facilitate transformative growth with the gentle guidance of Dr Rachel.
Fire Your Wild Imagination will include daily depth writing workshops focused on cultivating creativity through attuning to your curious inner child, your wise inner sage and the wisdom of nature. The retreat will take place at the rustic and charming historic family home of Monte da Japonica and its surrounding cork woods.
The retreat is for writers, creative & therapeutic practitioners, seekers, inner explorers and those on a journey of self-discovery who are curious about how writing & imagination can be used to support transformative growth and would like to dive deeper. The focus of the retreat will be on process, rather than outcome, and on what comes up in the writing, rather than craft and you’ll be invited to work with the material at a level that feels right for you. For those who have a writing or other creative practice, depth-writing can be used as an adjacent activity to support, deepen and expand your projects. Wherever you are at, this retreat is a chance to fire the creative, healing superpower of the wild imagination that courses through all of us.
Cost: single & shared rooms from £495 (For individual room costs, send me an email)
Deposit: £125
About Rachel
Rachel Newsome, PhD, is an independent writer, teacher and creative guide with twenty years of experience as a former lecturer in Higher Education. She holds a Jungian arts-based doctorate in Creative Writing and delivers a programme of depth writing offerings aimed at supporting transformational growth in others. She is Co-Editor of forthcoming Routledge publication ‘The Creative Psyche: Between Matter & Spirit’ and is regular speaker for the UK public education platform Seed Talks. She is author of Depth Writing with Dr Rachel on Substack and serves on the London Arts-Based Research Centre editorial team.
Writing For Wellbeing & Activism – A 2-day event
Writing has the power to uncover, heal, and transform. As we write, we shape our world and ourselves.
Inspired by this belief, Lapidus International invites you to participate in a two-day conference that explores the intersections of writing, wellbeing, and activism. This conference is an opportunity for academics, practitioners, writers, and activists from around the world to share knowledge and engage in dialogue on the role of writing in personal healing and social transformation.
This gathering aims to bring together participants from various disciplines to investigate how writing for wellbeing can also serve as a vehicle for activism. We welcome diverse perspectives that examine writing as a method of supporting mental health, fostering resilience, and creating social change.
To find out more and book tickets please click here.
Breath Write Shine
For this year’s Lapidus Summer Festival, we’re shining a spotlight on the creative side of writing for wellbeing, with a special focus on poetry and expressive writing. Whether you’re a poet, storyteller, or simply someone who finds healing through creative expression, this festival is for you.
Expect a vibrant afternoon full of inspiring workshops, thought-provoking talks, and plenty of creative connection; all celebrating the power of words to support wellbeing.
Whether you’re just beginning your journey or are already deeply immersed in the practice, there’s something here to spark your imagination.
The event is open to members and non-members, to find out more about the line-up, and purchase tickets, please click here. Please note that booking for this event is now closed.
This excursion-retreat weaves together the inspirational power of strikingly beautiful locations with literary pilgrimage, lively literary discussions, and expressive writing for wellbeing.
During this 12-day UK adventure, participants will be invited to respond to stirring poems and prose pieces of English, Welsh and Scottish authors within sites associated with their life and creative work. In this program, we will travel through varied landscapes, savor restful stays in delightfully scenic surroundings, and visit historically significant places within the Cotswolds, southeast Wales, Liverpool, the Lake District, and Edinburgh. As we savor the charms and literary vibe of these places, we will enjoy numerous opportunities to amplify our sensory perceptions, experience playful creativity, gather rejuvenating memories, and gain personal insight, as we respond to stimulating writing prompts.
Registration for this trip is now open, and the final date to pay your deposit and register is December 5, 2025, but you are encouraged to register as soon as possible to hold your place in the tour. Contact Geri Chavis at ggchavis@stkate.edu to receive a detailed brochure and for answers to any questions you have. Arrangements for this trip are made by Sovereign Tourism, based in London.
Program Leadership by Geri Chavis, Founder/Convener of MN Poetry Therapy Network, Professor Emerita, St. Catherine University

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!