Book here for online courses and workshops. As always we aim to host the country’s best poets and workshop leaders, with a strong emphasis on good mental health and wellbeing, and hope our new online offering will be accessible to those who can’t make it to the Poetry Pharmacy itself. We are working on putting together an exciting program of innovative course leaders and content!
Subsidised places on our online courses and workshops are available – please email emergencypoet@gmail.com for details.
Discover the transformative benefits of a daily therapeutic journalling practice in this new online workshop series run by the Tanya Lynch therapeutic journalling coach and founder of Ease Retreats.
Four Wednesdays, 16 April - 7 May 2025
18.30 - 20.30 GMT on Zoom
£95.00
Therapeutic journalling isn’t about perfect prose or beautiful handwriting. It’s about a space for your thoughts, emotions and dreams to unfold.
Research consistently shows that regular journalling can reduce stress and anxiety, improve emotional regulation, enhance self-awareness, boost immune function, strengthen resilience and provide clarity during difficult transitions.
Tanya’s approach focuses on accessibility, making journalling work for even the busiest lives or the most reluctant writers. During each session Tanya will encourage you to start small, with manageable techniques that take just minutes but yield profound benefits when practiced consistently. It will benefit those navigating life transitions, anyone managing stress, anxiety and overwhelm, and anyone feeling disconnected from thier authentic voice.
The course runs on Zoom over four Wednesday evenings (18.30-20.30 GMT).
Before each session you will be emailed with instructions for accessing the meeting.
During each workshop Tanya gently guides the group through her popular journalling techniques, providing prompts, top tips, resources and encourages group interaction.
Tickets are valid for the full course even if you cannot attend all dates. No partial course ticket is available.
Workshop Series Itinerary
This workshop series is designed to progressively introduce participants to therapeutic journalling techniques over four weeks. Starting with foundational techniques and progressively exploring deeper practices. Each 2-hour session is divided into two 50-minute blocks with a 20-minute break in between.
Week 1: Foundations
Introduction to therapeutic journalling benefits
Basic techniques: including micro-movements and sentence stems
Focus on establishing a comfortable, sustainable practice
Week 2: Expanding the Toolkit
Developing prompts and mind mapping techniques
Introduction to a list of 100
Adding visual elements to journalling
Week 3: Deeper Emotional Processing
Unsent letters and dialogue techniques
Framing of the day techniques
Stream of consciousness writing
Week 4: Keeping a Consistent Journalling Practice
Combining techniques for deeper insights
Creating personalised journalling plans
Ideas to adopt a consistent journalling practice
The cost for the series is £95. Please contact Tanya directly using the link above if you would like to discuss concession rates.
Tanya Lynch is a vibrant force in the wellness space, masterfully weaving together the therapeutic powers of literature, journalling, and retreat experiences. As the founder of Ease Retreats, she has created a sanctuary for those seeking respite from the relentless pace of modern life, collaborating with renowned authors and creatives to host transformative getaways in stunning venues across the UK. At the heart of Tanya's work is her gift for helping people access their own inner wisdom through the written word.
Sunday 1 June, 15.00-17.30 BST, via Zoom
£25
How do we stay awake to the small things that bring us joy when there's so much suffering and uncertainty in our world? Join Sophie Howarth, editor of Everyday Wonder, and James Crews, editor of The Wonder of Small Things, as they explore the power of poetry, photography, meditation and creative writing to reveal the daily awe that's always available to us, even during difficult times.
Sophie Howarth is an artist, author and activist. Her most recent book is Everyday Wonder: How To Find Beauty In The Ordinary.
James Crews is the author of four prize-winning books of poetry and editor of many bestselling anthologies including The Wonder of Small Things, The Path To Kindness and How To Love The World.
Bespoke Coaching on Zoom with fully-qualified coach Julia Forster of Write Within
Writing a full-length work involves a long haul, and the journey to completion is rarely linear. Coaching is a powerful modality which supports and strengthens your creative practice so that you experience breakthroughs and create inner shifts in how you relate to your work-in-progress.
Book a series of five or ten online coaching sessions with our very own Poetry Pharmacy coach Julia Forster who specialises in working with poets and who has worked with hundreds writers of all genres to support and sustain their artistic practice. Explore your individual and singular gift to create.
How it works
Book an initial, free 30-minute conversation with Julia here and then decide which of the various coaching packages you’d like to book. Blocks of five sessions (£325) or ten sessions (£520) are available, with the option to add on a four-night writer retreat in the stylish Writers’ Cabin in Machynlleth, mid-Wales.
Coaching sessions are sixty minutes long, held on Zoom and at a frequency to suit you. Julia’s approach is strength-based and compassionate and is tailored individually to each client.
About Julia Forster
Julia is a fully-qualified coach, specialising in coaching authors and poets, who also hosts writers on self-lead retreats in a Writers’ Cabin near Machynlleth, mid-Wales. With a career in publishing spanning over 25 years, she works freelance in PR for independent presses and is Co-Director of Being A Writer at The Literary Consultancy where she facilitates the group coaching programme, Amplify. Poets and poetry festivals she has devised PR campaigns for include: Deborah Alma; Dean Atta; Inua Ellams; Jacqueline Saphra and BBC Contains Strong Language.
She has published a novel What a Way to Go (Atlantic Books) and a book of non- fiction Muses (Oldcastle Books), while her poetry pamphlet is currently on submission.
To book a free 30-minute initial conversation with Julia and to find out more about the coaching and retreat packages available, visit: https://writewithin.wales/coaching/
“Julia has a special gift at understanding and encouraging others on the artistic path.” – previous coaching client
A rare opportunity to work one on one with a professional poet
"Rhiannon was always so positive and clear in her feedback and I have come away with a host of new ideas that I would never have attempted without her support." -Tina Cole
Writing a poem is a personal thing, but there are skills to be learnt too, especially where editing your work is concerned, and our Poetry Surgeries aim to help you through this process. They offer a rare opportunity to work one on one with a professional poet, who will address any specific difficulties you are having as well as giving in depth feedback on each poem.
Receive detailed one to one advice on up to four of your own poems from resident Poetry Pharmacy poet Rhiannon Hooson. Poetry Surgeries are by appointment and can take place either face to face at the Poetry Pharmacy, or online. There is a £60 charge for an hour long consultation.
You will submit your work in advance by email, then visit the Poetry Pharmacy where you’ll receive private and detailed feedback on your poems over coffee. If you can’t make it to Shropshire, your surgery can take place online or via email!
Our approach is constructive, supportive and positive, and you’ll go away with concrete ideas for your work as well as plenty to think about.
About Rhiannon
Rhiannon Hooson is a Welsh poet, author and editor. She has won major awards for her work, including an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors, and her first book, The Other City, was shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year award. In the last few years, she has been a Literature Wales bursary recipient, a Hay Festival Writer at Work, poetry editor of Creative Countryside magazine, and the judge of the PENfro festival poetry competition. She has a PhD in poetry from the University of Lancaster, and spent time living and working in Cumbria and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, before settling in the Welsh marches. Goliat, her second collection, is out now from Seren.
Find out more and to book rhiannonhooson.com