Thoughts on Our Writing Retreat

The act of putting pen to paper for persons with mental illness is cathartic. It is true that clients who attend our writing retreats sometimes struggle to find their writing voices, many of whom have been told that they are not good writers or who have not been encouraged to write. But once they set fear and reluctance aside, they produce wonderfully descriptive and powerfully-written pieces.

The process of appearing for the retreat, preparing to write and settling into their physical writing spaces appears to embolden them, even more so time after time. They often proudly share their thoughts and plans for writing during the class. They offer one another suggestions for writing topics in keeping with the theme of the class. It is delightful to experience their growing confidence with the writing craft.

Although ours is a space in which clients can write about painful and terrible experiences, our clients appear not to either need or wish to do so. Perhaps these kinds of writings are saved for the confines of their private rooms and apartments, but in our writing space, clients tend to write about positive experiences. It is curious why this should be so, but perhaps our clients are a happier lot. Or, then again, maybe it is the space that we’ve created that enables them to feel hopeful about their craft and hopeful for their futures.