Writing to Heal From Trauma provides a framework for healing.
Through my work with veterans and counselors, and with the Battered Women’s Justice Program, I studied and researched trauma, expressive writing, and post traumatic growth, where I discovered numerous sources that validate the use of writing as a healing tool. These include the works of Kathleen Adams, who is director of the Therapeutic Writing Institute and the Center for Journal Therapy; James Pennebaker, who wrote Writing to Heal: A Guided Journal for Recovering from Trauma and Emotional Upheaval; and courses I have participated in, such as Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy, developed by Cathy Malchiodi, as well as support groups for women, which I have participated in over many years.
From this work, I developed the Writing to Heal workshop, using various tools along with the book I wrote called, “The Not-So Subtle Art of Rising Above Trauma; Seven Lessons the Fynbos of South Africa Teach Us About Resiliency,” which I wrote after I began working in 2014 with veterans and their families at Central Washington Veterans Counseling. CWVC is a counseling center, contracted by the Seattle Vet Center under the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide Readjustment Counseling services and treatment for combat and military related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its secondary manifestations.
I had the privilege of working with the amazing counselors at CWVC as the office manager, claims/billing manager, and in helping with treatment plans and other documents. I’m also a former journalist, professional writer and poet, and I’ve kept journals for most of my life. Writing and journaling have always been a conduit towards healing and personal growth.
Workshops will start soon. The cost is $75 for the three-session workshop but scholarships are available and I am happy to provide scholarships. Writing experience is not necessary.
About the facilitator, Leita Hermanson
Hermanson, a trauma survivor herself is the author of the book, “The Not-So Subtle Art of Rising Above Trauma; Seven Lessons the Fynbos of South Africa Teach Us About Resiliency.” She has spent years studying post traumatic growth, and is the former wife of a combat veteran.