Introduction to Therapeutic and Reflective Writing

This course will teach you skills and techniques, together with valuable resources for both personal exploration and use with clients and groups.

You’ll be introduced to:

• Journal writing
• Biblio-poetry therapy
• Reflective writing and practice for educational/professional development
• Fiction, life-writing and memoir for personal development
• Coaching through writing and metaphor
• Writing in groups and facilitation skills

We teach this course in our online classroom, which is open 24/7 so you can fit learning around your work, family and friends. You’ll work in a small group of learners so you can discuss ideas, ask questions and share your writing as you progress through the weekly sessions.

In each session, you’ll be asked to complete reading and writing assignments to share with the group in return for feedback. You will also learn how to reflect and give feedback on others’ reflections. The assignments on this course focus on writing-as-process and the ways in which such writing can have therapeutic benefits and promote insight into our own lives.

You’ll learn from:

• Podcast and video lectures
• Written guidance from Anne and Victoria
• Reading and viewing lists from Anne and Victoria
• Practical writing exercises, designed to help you think about, practise, and reflect on the topics covered in each session
• Online discussions with writers and practitioners in your group
• The opportunity to share your practice, and reflect on the group’s contributions and process
• Optional one-to-one tutorial with a tutor at the end of the course

You’ll need:

• 5-7 hours per week to work through the course
• A notebook and pen or pencil, if you like to make notes by hand
• A laptop or computer* with:
  • A reliable broadband internet connection
  • Speakers or headphones
  • The latest version of Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge, or Safari
  • Microsoft Word. If you don’t have this you can download Open Office free
  • Adobe Reader, latest version. Download free
  • QuickTime Player, latest version. Download free
  • Adobe Flash Player 10 or higher

*You can access the course from a tablet or smartphone, but we recommend using a laptop or computer, as this makes it easier to share your work files with your writing group.

Join our alumni

After your course, you can join our online alumni where you’ll meet our growing network of past students. The alumni is a friendly group of writers who support each other as they continue to explore and develop their writing.

Within our online alumni area you can:

• Rejoin your classmates on a private forum, together with access to an archived version of your course materials and forum posts
• Meet alumni from other courses and groups and share your writing for feedback
• Join discussions about reading, writing and ideas
• Retain access to our online resources area, which we constantly update with interesting and informative links
• Chat with other people in our online alumni chatroom. We also host live chats with guest tutors here

Taking things further

If you would like to continue on to another Professional Writing Academy course, you'll receive a 15% discount.