Lapidus Events

In these troubling times it can feel hard to find any joy in life. Yet it is there – in the flowers blooming as spring arrives, the birds singing, the blue skies and clouds overhead, the laughter of a child, the gentle touch of a friend’s hand.

Join me in a simple four week series of Zoom gatherings on Wednesdays at 11.00 am UK time, beginning on Wednesday 7th May running through to Wednesday 28th May.

The fee for the four the four Zoom gatherings, plus a private recording of each one, and photos of the cards I draw for you, is £80, with payment in two instalments available if that helps, and I also have some concessionary places at £60.

If you are in the UK, payment by bank transfer is good, if you prefer or if you are overseas, there is a PayPal link on the ‘Ticket URL’ link below.

To ask any questions, to book your place or to pay by bank transfer, please contact me

The flow of each Zoom gathering will be similar to other sessions you may have attended, opening and closing with Your Compass Rose Speaks, drawing Dare to Blossom Cards for each of us, and taking us on a Magic Carpet Ride guided visualisation. The circle is a quiet safe space to hear yourself think, and to share as litte or as much as you would like – we are all here to witness for each other and be companions along the way for a while, walking our way home together.

There will be no Facebook group for this programme so could be ideal for you if you prefer not to interact there. I will send photos of the cards, and a private link to the recordings of each Zoom to you by email or via Messenger, whichever you prefer.

An online reflective journal programme to support connection, creativity, insight and expression.

Four monthly small-group workshops designed to help you:
– Pause and reflect in a supportive, trauma-informed space.
– Reconnect with your voice, creativity, and inner wisdom.
– Gain clarity and feel better equipped to tackle life’s challenges.
– Discover tools to develop a sustainable and rewarding journal practice.

Workshop Dates:
Friday 14th February, 10am–12noon
Friday 21st March, 10am–12noon
Friday 25th April, 10am–12noon
Friday 16th May, 10am–12noon

Each session offers a nurturing environment where you’ll explore creative prompts, share insights with a small group (if you choose), and build confidence in your writing practice.

Programme Details
Duration: Four 2-hour live online workshops.
Cost: £160 for the full programme (or pay a £60 deposit to secure your spot then two subsequent monthly payments of £50).
Includes:
– PDF handouts with writing prompts and resources.
– A supportive, closed group with no pre-recorded content.
– Encouragement to write with weekly journal prompts emailed to you
– Ongoing support and encouragement through Voxer between sessions

Spaces are limited to 8 participants.

Focusing is an experiential, embodied and evidence-based practice of self-reflection. Led by Bethany Rivers, a certified Focusing Practitioner, this two hour workshop will give a taster of Focusing and how to use it alongside the poem ‘The Layers’ by Stanley Kunitz.

Many of us may have used this poem as a container, guide and prompt in writing for wellbeing sessions at some point with a group. It takes two years to train as a Focusing Practitioner, so this will very much be a taster session that will begin to look at a couple of aspects of Focusing.

Mostly, we will be looking at resonance. Resonance in the body, resonance of words, resonance of feelings and memories. Focusing is about accessing the body-wisdom, coming into compassionate relationship with all the parts of ourselves and helping us find the next step forward, however small that might be. It’s a healing space to have the time to really slow down, express what you need to without interruptions or judgements, whilst being witnessed and companioned on that journey.

A Focusing session can bring fresh perspective and insight by enabling the process of hovering on the edge of what you don’t know, as the body (actually meaning our whole being) knows more than the head does.

Focusing and writing for wellbeing dovetail really well and can help take you deeper into the journey  with the presence of a compassionate listener, and learning to be your own compassionate listener.

About Bethany

Bethany Rivers is a certified Focusing Practitioner with the British Focusing Association and teaches Focusing one to one and in groups. She has an MA in the Teaching and Practice of Creative Writing, has two poetry chapbooks published, a novel and a book on the creative writing process. Bethany has taught creative writing and writing for wellbeing since 2007. She has worked with a diverse range of populations including the bereaved, school pupils, prisoners, young people excluded from the mainstream, families, those with mental health difficulties, post-doctorate students, the homeless and elders.

About the event

This event is open to Lapidus members and non-members. Tickets can be purchased at the following links:

• Lapidus standard member ticket: £15
• Lapidus student/low-income member ticket: £10
• Non-member ticket: £20

Please note that there is a limited capacity for this event, and we recommend booking your space as soon as possible.

For enquiries before and on the day of the event, please contact membership@lapidus.org.uk.

Header photo by Thanhy Nguyen on Unsplash

Writing for Wellbeing Workshops for Women are held every few weeks in a conservatory within the beautiful grounds of Scampston Hall. Teas/coffees provided and a cafe is available for lunches.

Booking is essential as numbers are limited to 10. For further information visit essenceofwriting.com

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.

Facilitated by Charmaine Pollard

Practices that connect our mind and bodies, like yoga and yoga nidra (a type of relaxing meditation) can help to support our wellbeing – but could they also help us tune into our sense of play and creativity?

Join us for an intimate (10 participants max) playful workshop, designed to connect body, mind and creativity. We’ll use a mixture of yoga practices and fully guided writing exercises to open up to new possibilities. Our ambition is for you to leave with a renewed sense of freedom and confidence to keep exploring your creative life.

Come as you are, whether that’s writer or non-writer, beginner or experienced yogi.

What the workshop includes
A chance to practise three kinds of yoga (physical practice, guided meditation designed to boost creativity, and restorative relaxation)
Practices designed to open up your body and get ‘unstuck’
Simple, playful writing exercises to reconnect with your own creativity (e.g. writing in response to image prompts)
A chance to connect with likeminded others
Tea and nibbles, including specially selected writing enhancement snacks
A goodie bag, with a book, a notebook, a pen, a room spray to support relaxation

Who is it for?
Anyone who wants to reconnect with and develop their playfulness and creativity in a safe and collaborative space.

In this session, we turn our attention to the inner awareness of mental activity.
In yoga and meditation, we aim to develop the capacity to observe or witness the mind’s activities, recognising that we are not defined by our thoughts or feelings. This practice of witnessing is a lifelong journey. Yet, as anyone who practices mindfulness or meditation knows, it often feels like an endless return to the breath, accompanied by the chatter of the “monkey mind” and the commentary of the inner critic.
Freewriting, integrated with yoga and meditation, offers a powerful tool for navigating this mental chatter. It helps us make sense of what arises, allowing us to notice and gradually loosen the grip of unhelpful thought patterns. This combination of practices helps us make steady progress in taming the monkey mind and the inner critic, creating more ease and clarity in daily life while also freeing us for creative expression.
What to Expect
The yoga and meditation practice is suitable for all, including beginners. You will be encouraged to move at your own pace and comfort. Chairs are available for seated practice. The writing requires no prior experience and serves as a personal tool for self-expression. Writing takes place in short, guided bursts of about five minutes, using prompts to get started. This writing is purely for you – unfettered by grammar, spelling, or any inner critic. You are free to follow the prompts or let your pen flow wherever it leads you.
There will be opportunities to share your experiences if you wish, but sharing your written work is entirely optional. Any feedback focuses on emotional resonance rather than craft. The workshop also includes a tea/coffee and cake break, where you chat with each other. The venue is beautiful, spacious with a garden we can use for our break if the weather is good enough!
Typical Morning Schedule (may vary slightly)
9:30–10:40 – Slow, mindful yoga movements and breathing
10:40–11:10 – Writing prompts, writing, and discussion
11:10–11:30 – Tea/coffee break with cake
11:30–11:50 – Meditation
11:50–12:10 – Writing prompts, writing, and discussion
12:10–13:00 – Yoga Nidra and final writing session

Note
This is a therapeutic practice for personal wellbeing, not therapy or a creative writing course. The focus is on self-exploration and expression, not critique. My role is not that of a therapist or writing critic. While your writing may inspire ideas for future development, the emphasis is on personal reflection and discovery.

Details
• Date: Saturday,31st May 2025
• Time: 9:30 AM – 1:00 PM
• Location: Whirlow Hall, Sheffield

Long, slow, hot days. Deckchairs, ice cream, sandcastles, splashing in the waves. What do you remember about the summers of your past?
Maybe there’s a particular summer you always return to in your mind or maybe your summers have merged into a golden glow.

In this 2-part creative writing course, we take a nostalgic look at summer memories and explore how to turn them into a piece of writing.

Workshop 1 (Friday 6 June 2025): Fun activities to come up with lots of memories and ideas. Then, you’ll get a chance to work on your writing at home.

Workshop 2 (Friday 20 June 2025): Learn writing techniques to bring your memories alive on the page, whether you want to write fiction, memoir or a journal. Then, there’ll be a chance to get supportive, encouraging feedback on work you’ve brought in from home if you would like that.

Welcome to Words in the Wood!

What?
A day of guided creative writing, in a beautiful woodland, shared with like-minded professionals. We have use of stunning indoor and outdoor spaces, fire circle, walks in the wood, time to be alone and together.

Who for?

Anyone in the caring professions, including:
· Counsellors
· Psychotherapists
· Medical professionals
· Wellbeing practitioners
· Coaches

Why?
· Experience therapeutic writing for self-care, giving us the resources to help our patients and clients, in a welcoming and supportive environment.
· Learn tools for reflective practice.
· Build rich connections learning with and from others in similar fields.
· Enjoy the peace and tranquillity of a beautiful 70-acre mixed woodland.

With whom?
The day is led by Caroline Hukins, a qualified counsellor and therapeutic writing practitioner. She works in private practice, counselling individuals and couples, and runs Writing for Wellbeing groups and training events.

Photo credit: Jeremy Parkinson

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.

Mitigating Stress and Enhancing Creativity among Teachers in Croatia

Presenter: Emica Calogjera

Saturday 2nd August, 16:00pm-17:15pm.

Event details coming soon

About the Presenter

Presenter details coming soon.

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.

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.

Harnessing creativity to deliver rich, enjoyable and meaningful evaluation.
Tuesday 16th September, 23rd September and 30th September 2025, from 10am – 12.30pm.

Are you frustrated with traditional evaluation methods?
Do you feel your evaluation tools don’t reflect the creative nature of your work?
Are you finding it hard to engage participants in evaluation?
Do you get poor response rates from questionnaires?

Over the course of three interactive workshops, we will look at ways in which we can better harness creativity to generate appropriate, relevant, meaningful evaluations.

You will discover how to evaluate in ways that are enjoyable and rewarding for participants; that generate improved response rates; and deliver richer and more meaningful data.

Working collaboratively, we will co-produce creative solutions to real-world scenarios. Sharing ideas and practice, we will explore ways in which creativity can reinvigorate existing evaluation methods including questionnaires, focus groups, feedback and monitoring.

The full cost is £225 for three workshops and all handouts.

A £75 discount is available for freelancers and self-funding individuals. Please email support@janewillis.co.uk for a coupon code.

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.

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