Building Resilience

The course

Learn how to boost your resilience with simple writing techniques.

Resilience isn’t just about bouncing-back; it’s about bouncing forward feeling stronger than before. Writing can help us do that, and thrive in the face of life’s uncertainties.

Writing is a scientifically proven tool that benefits mental and physical wellbeing.

Over four immersive weeks on this online course, discover the art of building resilience through writing for wellbeing. You’ll discover valuable practical tools that really help when life throws a curveball. We’ll explore the depths of resilience, and how to cultivate it in a world that tells us we need to ‘get over it’, using guided writing exercises and expert insight.

You’ll meet Kate McBarron, our expert instructor, and connect with like-minded individuals for an enriching learning experience.

By the end of the course, you’ll have constructed your own resilience toolkit, plus a personal action plan outlining the steps you intend to take to increase your resilience levels. You’ll also have tried-and-tested writing strategies to turn to every day, from list poetry and sentence stems to ways to use metaphors and preserve memories.

Book your place today to discover new ways to meet life’s challenges head-on.

Meet your course director

Kate McBarron

Kate is a writer, editor and writing for wellbeing practitioner & researcher. She is passionate about words and their ability to enhance our daily lives, from relaxation to self-discovery and workplace wellness.

Kate is cofounder of WritingForLife.co.uk and founder of WriteToRelax.com.

In partnership with WriteWell

We launched the WriteWell in 2021 as the world’s first online writing for wellbeing community. Members get access to a wealth of writing courses, live events and activities as part of a monthly subscription.

Next course

Start date: 3rd June, 2024
Duration: 4 weeks
Skill level: Beginner
Frequency: Weekly
Sessions: 4
Price: £150.00
Earlybird Price: £135.00

How it works

: We give you the theory in the form of videos, podcasts, written lectures and reading extracts. In the case of our live workshops, this includes a live online seminar.
: You put it into practice by completing the writing assignments.
: You share your work with the small group of fellow writers and the teaching team.
: Your tutor and fellow learners read your work and give professional-style feedback on your submission. Giving feedback notes helps to build your skills as an editor - a critical part of the writing process.
: You reflect on the exercises with the group and share what you’ve learned.
: You use what you learned from the feedback and discussions to review your work and improve it.

Things to know

: This course is for anyone looking to boost their resilience levels through therapeutic and reflective writing.

It’s suitable if you:

Have never written anything before

Want to explore writing for your own well-being and personal development

Would like to experience a variety of journalling and creative reflection techniques

Are looking to enhance your self-awareness

Enjoy the discipline of deadlines and peer learning

Want to join a friendly and supportive small group of learners

Can dedicate a minimum of 2 hours per week to the learning (at a time to suit you).
: This course allows you to:

Explain what resilience means to you

Preserve useful memories and experiences through captured moments

Reflect on your experiences through writing for the purpose of gaining insights

Create effective goals

Boost your resilience by assembling a personal resilience toolkit and 5-point action plan.
: Sessions become available on Monday morning each week.

While there are set deadlines for posting your work and giving feedback to fellow classmates, our 24/7 digital campus means you can work through the course materials at your own pace. This course is flexible, with no pre-recordings and just one live Zoom with the tutor. All the interaction is via our online classroom, so you can dip in and out, fitting study around your work or family commitments, making it easy to participate from anywhere in the world. See our FAQs for more information on the learning journey and how we teach.

Our teaching method is based on the science of active learning: you read/listen/watch, try out, share and reflect. It’s a social experience – you become part of a small group, feeding back on each other’s experiences and reflections to build a supportive bunch of fellow wellbeing travellers you trust. Find out more here.
: Session 1: What Does Resilience Mean to You? – Get familiar with the concept of resilience and understand how metaphors can help when dealing with complex concepts.

Session 2: What Does Resilience Look Like? – Explore what resilience can look like in practice and understand the value of preserving and reflecting on your own experiences using writing.

Session 3: What Will You Do Next? – Discover the ways in which popular models for building resilience are relevant to your life and understand how to develop effective goals as you build a writing practice.

Session 4: Bringing It All Together – Reflect on the insights, actions and qualities you have learned throughout the course and create an effective action plan that works for you.

At the end of the course, you will be well prepared to continue your writing for wellbeing journey. You’ll also have six months of free membership to WriteWell Community.
: Join our WriteWell community

After your course finishes, you’ll be in the perfect position to explore the wealth of writing for wellbeing resources in WriteWell. You’ll get free membership for six months, with the option to continue your writing with fellow students, make the most of exclusive events and access regular live sessions.

The team

Meet your course team

Kate McBarron

Tutor

Kate is cofounder of WritingForLife.co.uk and founder of WriteToRelax.com.

More about Kate McBarron

Claire Maguire

Community Guide

Start your journey

£150

Earlybird price

£135

(Including taxes)

Book your place

The Introduction to Therapeutic and Reflective Writing and Running Writing Workshops courses not only reconnected me with dormant creativity but also fostered a tangible sense of motivation and movement, ultimately leading me to a defined workshop plan and a renewed engagement with writing for personal pleasure.

As a psychotherapist I also found many of the exercises useful as potential tools to work with clients who are inclined towards reflection through the written word. These are well designed and clearly structured courses, bolstered by thoughtful contributions from its tutors. I found them highly enjoyable and rewarding both personally and professionally.

Simon

Find out about our payment plans and get in touch.

Course Alumni

Meet our writers

Laura Steen

Therapeutic & Reflective Writing Alum

I kept hearing stories about the efficacy of writing for well-being schemes and the enrichment they can provide for prisoners and those with mental health difficulties — the type of people I would one day like to work with. Over these eight weeks, I found myself learning and writing in ways that were completely unfamiliar to me, yet allowed me to process and make sense of my experiences more effectively than I ever had through talking.

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