Welcome to Lapidus International
The Words and Writing For Wellbeing Community
Lapidus International is a membership organisation open to everyone with an interest in words for wellbeing.
We support and champion words and writing for wellbeing through development opportunities, exclusive member events, access to the latest research, and more.
We offer a supportive network to enhance both personal and professional wellbeing practice.
What Is Words and Writing For Wellbeing?
Words and 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. Find out more in our handy guide to writing for wellbeing.
Upcoming Events
About Fiona
Joining the event
Please note the later start time of 4pm for this event.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84269597268
Meeting ID: 842 6959 7268
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be available for a limited time after the live event. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process and upload the recording after the live event.
For questions before or after the day of the event, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays). For queries on the day of the event, please contact mel@write4word.org.
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. LLRC events are free and no tickets are required. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
Want to help shape the future of the Lapidus Magazine?
We’re hosting a friendly, informal open meeting for anyone curious about becoming a co-editor. This is an opportunity to find out what the role involves, how the editorial process works, and how you might contribute your skills, ideas, and perspective.
Whether you’re an experienced editor, a regular reader, or simply someone who cares about the magazine and the community it represents, you’re very welcome to join. We’ll share an overview of the role, what support is available, and the level of commitment involved, as well as hearing from those who have already expressed interest. There will be plenty of time to ask questions, explore possibilities, and decide whether this could be a good fit for you.
This is a no-pressure space to learn more, connect with others, and consider how you might get involved in shaping the next chapter of the magazine.
About the Lapidus Magazine
The Lapidus Magazine is our members’ publication, and showcases writing, ideas, and reflections from across the Lapidus community. It provides a space for thoughtful exploration of writing for wellbeing, creativity, and personal development, highlighting the diverse voices, experiences, and practices of its members.
As well as sharing articles, creative work, and insights, the Magazine helps foster connection within the community and supports the organisation’s wider mission. It offers contributors an opportunity to be published and heard, while giving readers access to rich, engaging content that reflects the breadth of work happening across Lapidus.
Co-editors play a key role in shaping each issue—working collaboratively to commission and select pieces, support contributors, and bring the publication together. It’s a chance to influence the direction of the magazine, nurture emerging voices, and contribute to a meaningful, creative project at the heart of the community.
Join the event
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83771100467
Meeting ID: 837 7110 0467
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be made available for a limited time to those who can’t attend live. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process the recording. To access the recording, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk.
For queries before the event, please contact Flo on the address above (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays).
For queries on the day of the event, please contact the Magazine team on magazine@lapidus.org.uk.
What is writing now?
In this session, we will explore different forms of writing and what we think writing is ‘for’ in today’s conditions. We are in a ‘digital age’ (some would say) and an era of change, challenge and climate crisis. How do these environmental factors influence what and how we write, and what we understand to be ‘writing’? Fiona will show a poem-film touching on these themes to stimulate our conversation.
About Fiona Hamilton
Fiona Hamilton recently co-translated a novella by Emma Santos who published in French on themes of feminism, mental health and living outside societal norms. Fiona was a co-founder of the Climate Choir Movement and is involved in various arts for health initiatives. She is Head of Programmes for Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes at Metanoia Institute/Middlesex University. Her writing includes a play about the power of dance and music, a poetry collaboration entitled Fractures and a chapter in the book Cornerstones (Little Toller Press, 2018) on land and landscapes, poems in Project Boast (Triarchy Press, 2018), a story in verse Bite Sized (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2014) and articles in many journals. Her website is www.fionahamilton.org
Join the event
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86431180121
Meeting ID: 864 3118 0121
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be available for a limited time after the live event. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process and upload the recording after the live event.
For questions before or after the day of the event, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays). For queries on the day of the event, please contact mel@write4word.org.
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. LLRC events are free and no tickets are required. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
In this 60-minute reflective writing workshop, we explore how personal experience — especially experiences of loss, transition, and emotional strain — can be approached through metaphor.
Rather than writing directly about “what happened,” participants will experiment with writing around their experience: through objects, spaces, textures, and embodied imagery.”
This is a reflective group workshop facilitated by Dr. Ananya Mahapatra (M.D Psychiatry).
Event details:
Online Via GoogleMeet
Date: June 7th 2026
Time: 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm (BST) / 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm (IST)
Ananya is a psychiatrist from New Delhi and a writer. Her interest lies in exploration of the inner life through therapeutic reading and writing practices. Her short fiction and creative non-fiction have appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines, including Readomania, Kitaab International, USAWA Literary Magazine, Quillmark Magazine, The Best Asian Short Stories 2018, the Bristol Short Story Prize 2022, The Deodar Literary Prize 2024, and The Hemlock Magazine.
Join us in this haiku-centered workshop to take a meditative and art-inspired journey through sight, taste, touch, smell, and sound!
Sunday 26 April
11am EST / 4pm GMT+1
40€ / 30€ student
a 2 hr virtual workshop
with Julie Sutherland
sign up: wearebibliomuses@gmail.com or instagram: Bibliomuses
Reflecting on Research with Mel Perry and Victoria Field
This session is for all Lapidus members, whether or not you consider yourself to be a ‘researcher.’ All of us in our everyday lives ask questions and evaluate evidence informally, and if we are working with words for wellbeing, in a more structured way as well. Mel Perry, Chair Lapidus, and Victoria Field will offer creative ways of reflecting on the place of research in our lives. We will then use breakout rooms giving a chance to get know fellow members, our work and our practical and theoretical approaches to research. Mel and Vicky will also talk about the forthcoming 3rd European Biblio/Poetry Therapy Conference taking place in Canterbury this year.
About the presenters
Victoria Field is a writer, researcher and poetry therapist based in Canterbury. She has published poetry, fiction, memoir, prize-winning translation, and has had two plays professionally produced. She is a sessional academic at Canterbury Christ Church University where her doctoral studies examined narratives of transformation in pilgrimage.
Mel Perry is a poet, spoken word performer and therapeutic writing facilitator from Wales. Her third poetry collection, Mineral Wealth, explores the influence of her maternal grandmother and will be published by Broken Sleep Books in 2026. She is Chair of Lapidus International, the UK words and writing for wellbeing organisation, and co-director of write4word CIC.
Watch the recording
Video recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Ehiud6u1XhCXd4pywHqekC5vicbk7YX9ZeOVrKUMYxqhXsZNkAzFT7rpIRUoSp-R.4Dnp_QVtP8IauSV3
Passcode: G2Q+h=km
Please note that this event will be recorded. The recording will be available for a limited time after the live event. Please allow a couple of working days for us to process and upload the recording after the live event.
For questions before or after the day of the event, please contact Flo on membership@lapidus.org.uk (responses on Tuesdays and Fridays). For queries on the day of the event, please contact mel@write4word.org.
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. LLRC events are free and no tickets are required. Use the Zoom link above to access the event.
Join Lapidus International...
…from as little as £3.50 per month.
As a Lapidus Member, you are part of a supportive, international 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 £3.50 per month!
Lapidus News
Our vision
In these times of global upheaval, where words can be debased, Lapidus International will not compromise.
We know that writing endures as a way to express suffering and joy, healing and belonging in the intersection of personal circumstances and social conditions.
Through practice, research, publishing, and partnerships, we recognise words and writing as an accessible force for wellbeing, activism and therapy.
Our membership reflects the voices of all communities, including those who have been discounted, prohibited, displaced and under-served.