- Event Date: 29/05/2026
Let This Poem Be A Hand Upon My Shoulder Workshop with Charmaine Pollard
Event Details
- 11:00
- Online
- From £25
Event Description
“In a dark time, the eye begins to see …” Theodore Roethke
Let this poem be a hand upon your shoulder, consists of workshops that can help you explore feelings, and build your resilience as you connect with others in these challenging times.
The theme for the workshops was inspired by a poem written by Deborah Cooper.
The workshops will take place online, in a closed group on Zoom.
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.
Charmaine Pollard is an experienced Certified Poetry Therapist, Counsellor and Coach with a passion for leading writing for wellbeing workshops with a particular focus on confidence and resilience. Her fusion of contemporary coaching with poetry therapy techniques have helped people from all walks of life, find self- compassion, contentment and success.
Charmaine Pollard has written an inspirational work book Writing for Resilience. You can find the book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0942FWMN8
Please Note:
Other events you may like
Tuesday evenings, 7-9 pm UK time (BST) – 2nd-23rd June
Compassion Journalling uses two-pen dialogue, visual mapping, poetry, and mindfulness to help you develop a genuine relationship with your own compassionate voice – not as a performance of self-care, but as a felt, creative resource.
Drawing from Compassion Focused Therapy and self-compassion research, this four-week course offers practical tools for responding to yourself with curiosity, care, and honesty.
What You’ll Explore
Week 1 – Foundation and attuned listening Week 2 – Developing your compassionate voice Week 3 – Fierce compassion and self-nurture Week 4 – Integration and sustaining practice
What’s Included
Four live sessions via Zoom (link sent the day before the course begins)
A 58-page Compassion Journal Companion to support your practice beyond the course
Invitation to monthly Compassion Circles for graduates
What Participants Say
“I came away feeling lighter and much more aware of the need for compassion to be present in my life – for me. I also loved writing the joint pantoum with our small and lovely group.” – Alexandra Harrington
“These sessions were the best kind of disruption I have experienced in a long time. It takes someone special to be able to hold this kind of space.” – Poonam
“The way you listen and engage with us is so warm. You’re very skilled at taking what we say, honouring our truth and adapting it to suit the rest of the group, while still honouring what each person said.” – Saskia
Not sure if this course is the right fit for you now? Get in touch – kate@self-centred.com
Join us in using creative writing to explore our relationships to local rivers, at this time of ecological crisis.
In this series of 4 online workshops, participants will be invited to focus on a river of their choice and to spend time with their river in between sessions. Using playful prompts, we will weave our riverly discoveries into our words, writing to and from the perspective of our chosen rivers.
We will meet weekly on zoom, between 6 and 8 pm, on the following evenings:
Monday 8th June
Monday 15th June
Monday 22nd June
Monday 29th June
All writing levels are very welcome. There will be opportunities to share your work in the group but there is no obligation to do so. The emphasis in these workshops is not to perfect our writing practice but to use writing as a tool for expression and curiosity.
Places are limited to 8 participants. To ensure group cohesion, please be clear you are able to make all 4 session dates before purchasing a ticket.
Tickets are offered on a donation basis at a suggested value of £30 in total for all sessions. All donations will go directly to the Totnes Climate Hub.
If you have any questions please email Tamzin at hello@apple-barn.com
Tamzin is a writer and gentle activist, and she holds an MSc in Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes. She is passionate about using writing as a way of being present to our ecosphere.
‘The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and the realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction’ – Rachel Carson
A friendly and supportive online space to explore, create and express yourself through words.
This is a pressure-free creative space where we use poetry, prose and images to explore, create and express the self through writing, sharing (always optional) and reflecting. No experience of writing or poetry is needed.