School of Narrative Bibliotherapy

You will be introduced to the basic concepts and techniques underpinning the  practices of Bibliotherapy -which uses literary texts to promote and support emotional wellbeing and mental health; and Narrative Therapy -a form of counselling and community work from whose approach, ideas and techniques, Narrative Bobliotherapy draws.

If you are already familiar with either of those, you will still be able to focus on the combination of the two, by studying specialist texts; and also by learning specific techniques to put that knowledge into practice.

This course is designed to support you in your own personal and professional journey, whether you are just starting out; or looking to expand your knowledge and hone your skills to support your existing practice. It is ideal for those training; or already working in a helping role: teaching, social work, mental health, community support or medicine, for example. You will no doubt contribute your particular set of wisdoms to the course.

That will depend on where you are in your life.

Designing an actionable project is an essential component of the course. You will be expected to produce a bibliotherapy intervention for the context where you already work or expect to practise.  If you are just starting out, I will support you as you find a hypothetical context in which you envisage yourself practising. I can subsequently support your process through continuing   mentoring/supervision over an extended period of time once the course is over at a discounted price.

• Course materials delivered digitally via a learning hub.
• Teaching.
• 2 individual supervision sessions.
• Course leader and peer feedback.
• Discounted mentoring/supervision for 12 months after completion.
• Certificate of completion  (with 85% attendance and upon completion of project). Access to resource hub and library for 12 months.

Unlike other courses available in the field of Bibliotherapy, this one is the only one teaching it as Narrative Practice. Also, unlike most courses out there, this one is not a set of pre-recorded content, but a synchronous, collaborative, personalised learning experience. I get to know you and I work with you as an individual and as part of the group. That is the reason why the cohort is small: just 12 places are available. I hold space for the group and treat the course as a community. I offer you presence, care, safety and confidentiality.

There will be no judgement of your language skills. Your English will be perfectly fine if you have an accent or feel you don’t speak it ‘perfectly’, as long as you are comfortable reading and discussing literature and specialist critical publications in English. If you are still not sure and you would like to be reassured, just contact me for an informal chat.

A love of reading, a personal experience of literature and openness and willingness to learn more are enough: these will be unlike anyone else’s and they will inspire the people that you work with. There will be no judgement of your relationship with literature and there is no expectation of specialist literary expertise as such. One of the main traits of this course is that there will be people in the group with a variety of specialist knowledges which will enable us to learn from each other. If you are still unsure, just contact me for an informal chat.