Guided Autobiography

Our lives are stories that we continually revise, edit, plot and reshape in response to events that are often beyond our control. Experiences of living with mental health conditions, whether directly or as a caregiver, or both, often interrupt the life stories that we have told ourselves, and leave us searching for new ways of knowing. Guided Autobiography is a form of writing practice with therapeutic effects originally developed by psychiatrist Jim Birren at the University of Southern California, and which is now practiced worldwide. It draws upon tacit narrative knowledge we all possess in order to unsettle the stories we have become part of, to begin to confront unfinished business, and to rediscover strengths and values that come from our earlier experiences that can guide us in the future.This programme will cover six sessions in a supportive and sharing environment. Each week, there will be a warm up with writing activities and sharing experiences of writing for the first hour. Each group member will write a short autobiographical fragment in response to a theme, and share what they have written by reading aloud during the second half of the session. Each group member makes a commitment to write regularly and attend each session.DetailsTime: 10am - 12.30pm (2.5 hours)Venue: The Collective, L1, The Foundry 11 Prinsep LinkWeek 1: Sat, 15 August - IntroductionsWeek 2:…