Bibliotherapy at Gorhambury House with Nicole Moody

‘Reading for Wellbeing’ Day Retreat 

“One sheds one’s sicknesses in books – repeats and presents again one’s emotions, to be master of them.” DH Lawrence, The Letters of DH Lawrence

During this nourishing one-day retreat, set in the beautiful and historic Gorhambury Estate, amongst a small group of supportive peers, we will explore reading as an active strategy to help with life’s transitions and challenges, looking at the wider and deeper ways in which fiction and non-fiction can ‘find’ people, emotionally and imaginatively, and help effect positive change. Each participant will receive personal attention to gain a better sense of how to curate their own reading habits, choices and processes to help develop more clarity and self-knowledge, emotional granularity and better interpersonal relationships.

9.30am      Arrival at Gorhambury House

                   Welcome, including wellbeing drink and small bite

10am         Introduction to each other and Bibliotherapy

What is Bibliotherapy?

• A potted introduction to Bibliotherapy, and its unique strengths as a resource to encourage self-knowledge and growth
• Different approaches to Bibliotherapy and how we can use them
• ‘The flourishing factor’ – how reading helps our brain and our body’s wellbeing

11am          Activities

• The Reading Menu
• You are what you read Masterclass
• Book prescriptions

12noon      Walk around the beautiful grounds of the estate /or time to read and chat

1pm          Lunch

2pm          Afternoon session on ‘the book as object’

We will learn about the role of libraries as society’s memory keepers. Drawing on the history of Gorhambury Estate and its own rich library collection, we will consider the cultural importance of key texts in collective wellbeing.

3pm           Poetry Therapy session

An exploration of Poetry Therapy and the qualities that make poems a particularly rich wellbeing tool.

Final activity

We will use poetry as a prompt for exploring therapeutic writing process

3.30pm    Hot drinks, wrap-up and final reflections

4pm         Departure

Nicole will follow up the session with an email containing a personal book prescription for everyone, based on the findings on the day. All participants will also receive a journal on the day.