News Archive

Tŷ Newydd Course on Creative Writing in Healthcare Settings 

Monday 16 - Friday 21 November, 2009
Fee: £495 (single)    £435 (shared)
Tŷ Newydd, Llanystumdwy, Cricieth, Gwynedd, LL52 0LW 

Tŷ Neywdd, a partner organisation of Academi, is running a course in November intended to introduce creative writing as integral to healthcare and wellbeing. Participants will experience the different ways writing can be used with patients, clients and in educational or community settings. This course will be of interest to writers and poets, medical and healthcare professionals, counsellors, therapists, social workers, librarians, academics, teachers, service users and service providers in a variety of therapeutic environments - and anyone with an interest in any these fields.

Certificates of attendance for CPD purposes can be provided for anyone using literature therapeutically, or for those working towards accreditation. 

Gwynedd Council is offering a full bursary to a Welsh speaker who lives in Gwynedd. Gwanwyn is offering a bursary to a person over the age of 50 or to a person who is interested in working creatively with older people. Tŷ Newydd has a limited bursary fund and may be able to help those on a low income to attend this course. However, bursary money is always limited and financial help cannot always be guaranteed. 
 
The course will be run jointly by Victoria Field and Graham Hartill, with Rose Flint making a guest appearance.

Victoria Field works as writer and a poetry therapist in a variety of health, education and community settings. She is a former Director of Survivors Poetry and had two periods chairing Lapidus, the UK’s organisation for reading and writing for health and well-being. She has co-edited two books on therapeutic writing: Writing Works and Prompted to Write, published two collections of poetry, and Hall for Cornwall have produced two of her plays.

Graham Hartill has worked in settings as varied as hospitals, prisons and mental health centres. His selected poems, Cennau’s Bell, was published in 2005 and his latest book, A Winged Head, by Parthian Books in 2006. He has lived in Wales from 1971 and studied at the Universities of Wales and Massachusetts. Graham is extremely experienced in running workshops, both in the UK and abroad. 

Participants will be asked to arrive between 4.30 pm and 6.00 pm in time for the evening meal at 7.00 pm on the Monday evening, and to leave by 10 am on the Saturday morning. Breakfast and lunch will be self-service, and participants will be asked to prepare one evening meal as part of a team. Vegetarians and people with special dietary needs are catered for - please let Tŷ Newydd know in advance via the booking form. Some laptops are available for use by course participants and there is free internet access.

For further details, booking forms and bursary application forms, visit their website at www.tynewydd.org, or email them at post@tynewydd.org.