Creative Writing Group
Friendly writing for beginners in Miles Platting for everyone (adults) with no experience necessary.Benefit of creative writing
Creative writing can benefit numerous aspects of an individual’s life. Creative writing can help improve literacy and communication skills across all ages. Attending writing groups can help reduce loneliness, giving participants a sense of connectedness and belonging within the group and their community. In clinical and non-clinical settings, writing has been shown to improve mental health and wellbeing, enabling individuals to express difficult emotions and experience feelings of empowerment, self-actualisation and achievement. It is often used as a form of self-help, reducing stress and thus stress-related visits to the doctor.
Location
St Georges Community Centre
Bothwell Road,
Manchester
M40 7NY
Project team
Buzz
St Georges Community Centre
Aim
Charles McDermott who is a local active citizen and poet started that group supported by buzz. Getting people together, telling and writing stories and poems in friendly and nonjudgmental environment.
Evaluation
Project was doing great, Charles had more and more people coming to attend the workshops/ we decided to give financial support to publish the book (it's postponed at the moment due to Covid-19 restrictions)
Strategic links to local/national policies
Benefit |
Policy |
Increased mental wellbeing |
|
Reduce social isolation |
|
Empowerment |
Healthy Lives, Healthy People (MH Government, 2010) Fair Society, Healthy Lives (Institute of Health Equity, 2010) Taking Charge of our Health and Social Care in Greater Manchester (GMCA, 2015) |
Prevention |
Research/evidence base
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Arts, Health and Wellbeing Inquiry Report (2017) - Creative Health: The Arts for Health and Wellbeing
Baikie, K., & Wilhelm, K. (2005) Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5).
Gillam, T. (2018) Enhancing public mental health and wellbeing through creative arts participation. (2018) Journal of Public Mental Health. Volume 17 Issue 4.
Lewis, L., Tew, J., Ecclestone, K., and Spandler, H. (2016) - Mutuality, Wellbeing and Mental Health Recovery: Exploring the roles of creative arts adult community learning and participatory arts initiatives.
Malyn, B. O., Thomas, Z., Ramsey‐Wade, C. E. (2020) Reading and writing for well‐being: A qualitative exploration of the therapeutic experience of older adult participants in a bibliotherapy and creative writing group. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research. 00: 1– 10.
Contact
Anna Jarawka - Neighbourhood Health Worker
Tel: 07342630494
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“By attending buzz's PARS exercise classes, it encouraged me to join a walking group, a gym and a gardening class at Whitworth Art Gallery.”
Local Manchester City Centre resident attending PARS exercise classes