The Therapeutic Poet

Do you or someone you know have dyslexia? Then listen up!

In this podcast I speak to Michelle Catterson. Michelle is not only executive head at the Moonhall schools in Surrey, she is also a board trustee of the dyslexia association. Moonhall school specialises in teaching children  with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is often seen as a specific learning disorder, but what if we looked at it differently? In this podcast we explore what it is, the challenges dyslexic children have with accessing education and the far reaching consequences that this can have. 

This podcast is about seeing the child, not the condition.

For more information visit:
www.moonhallschoolreigate.co.uk
www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
www.madebydyslexia.org

Click here to go to my Substack page.

Click here to buy my book

Click here to buy my a coffee and show your support

Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:

Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.

Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’

Or buy me a coffee 🤗.

I speak to Harriet Brown about her book 'Shadow Daughter: a memoir of estrangement' which details Harriet’s own account of the destructive relationship with her mother and how this led to their estrangement.

Estrangement is often the stuff of Disney films, in which we rejoice with our hero as they struggle - and triumph - in finding their sense of belonging, having rejected their dysfunctional family.

In the real world though, estrangement is often shrouded in shame, blame, secrecy and silence. Divorce, religious,  or political differences, racism, homophobia, trauma, abuse and addiction can all be contributory factors to family alienation. It is painful for all involved and never comes as a knee-jerk reaction, but from a place where it just doesn’t appear that there is any other safe option. 

In this podcast we discuss Harriet's book and her insights into this difficult situation.

For more information visit:
www.harrietbrown.com
www.standalone.org.uk
www.adultchildren.org.

There are also support groups on Facebook.

Click here to go to my Substack page.

Click here to buy my book

Click here to buy my a coffee and show your support

Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:

Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.

Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’

Or buy me a coffee 🤗.

In this episode I talk to Miles Adcox, proprietor of Onsite Workshops. At Onsite you can rediscover you through their life changing workshops and personal growth and emotional wellness retreats in Tennessee, Nashville. I have been visiting Onsite for the past 10 years and in this episode I speak to Miles about my experiences there. We also discuss how he brings his philosophy of empathy over action, love over agenda and grace over advice into the space he curates at Onsite. We start with a poem that I wrote about Onsite called The Desert.

For more information about Miles and Onsite visit:
www.milesadcox.com
www.onsiteworkshops.com

Click here to go to my Substack page.

Click here to buy my book

Click here to buy my a coffee and show your support

Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:

Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.

Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’

Or buy me a coffee 🤗.

In this podcast I talk to award winning poet Terrell Lewis. Terrell only started writing poetry a few years ago as a way to handle his feelings during an isolating time. Inspired by his writer mum he soon found that he had a talent for expression through poetry.  A chance encounter with a local cop at a birthday party led to his first open mic a few weeks later. That was the beginning of Terrell's journey that has lead to him winning awards, performing at the MOBO awards, setting up his own show DaPoetry Jam and inspiring school children and CEOS alike. Terrell performs a poem he is currently working on along with one of his favourites, 'Brave' and the poem 'Black Women' which went viral. 

Find Terrell at:

https://www.dapoetryjam.com
https://www.youtube.com/c/dapoetryjam
https://www.instagram.com/dapoetryjam

Click here to go to my Substack page.

Click here to buy my book

Click here to buy my a coffee and show your support

Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:

Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.

Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’

Or buy me a coffee 🤗.

What do you get if you cross poetry with psychology?

The Therapeutic Poet podcast!  

I’m on a mission to rehumanise us one poem at a time.

Somewhere along the way I think we have forgotten what it’s like to be fully human! We all have our human tricky things, but we can forget that when we are having difficult moments and that can feel incredibly lonely and isolating.

Writing poetry has helped me to be more…me. In this podcast I’ll use one of my poems each week to springboard  a discussion about our human tricky things   with a selection of inspiring guests so that you can be encouraged to be more you.

Mental health is often spoken about as if it is compartmentalised away into this 'thing' that happens to us, but I believe that what gets labelled as 'disorders' are really natural responses to the challenge of being human. 

We all have our 'human tricky things', the stories behind the labels, and I want to use this podcast to explore those stories to help reduce stigma and normalise the struggle. 

Click here to go to my Substack page.

Click here to buy my book

Click here to buy my a coffee and show your support

Listener support: I love making The Therapeutic Poet podcast, but it does cost time and money. If you have enjoyed it, been informed by it or found it helpful then I would greatly appreciate your financial support. You can do this by:

Taking a paid subscription on my Substack - a weekly newsletter helping people have 'Permission to feel'. You'll receive tips on how to navigate our human tricky things, recorded poems and other goodies.

Buying my book ‘Stop the world I want to get off’

Or buy me a coffee 🤗.

Show notes:

The poem I reference is 'how to be alone' by Pádraig Ó'Tuama.

Books I reference:

'Together' by Vivek H Murthy

Journal of a Solitude by May Sarton

Articles:

Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, professor of psychology and neuroscience 2010: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation by RS Weiss

Information on G. Rizzolatti and mirror neurons: https://www.dialoghisulluomo.it/en/rizzolatti-sinigaglia/are-we-social-beings-a-dialogue-between-neuroscience-and-philosophy