Poetry can be a great resource for exploring our thoughts and feelings, providing a ‘way in’ to help us connect with different parts of ourselves and communicate with others, particularly when it comes to challenging conversations. Sometimes it can be helpful to explore a topic from a ‘safe distance’ using scenarios or characters in a poem rather than about talking about ourselves, especially when we’re in a group setting.
My new poetry collection for teens and young adults, You Are Not Alone, is all about mental health and wellbeing.
I’m creating a series of resources / guides to accompany the book, offering ideas and suggestions for using the poems in therapeutic, school, community or family settings to help explore different aspects of mental health and wellbeing. The first, Let’s Talk About Anxiety, is available now and you can view / download it here (right) or at www.troikabooks.com/you-are-not-alone.
P.S. There’s now also a second, Let’s Talk About Depression, also available on the Troika Books website (link as above).
Forthcoming themes will include: Wellbeing & happiness; Family challenges; Navigating big changes; Difference & diversity; etc. If you’d like a heads-up when a new resource / guide is available, follow this blog and I’ll post updates here.
You can also drop me a line if there’s a particular topic or theme you’d like to suggest.
I’d love to hear from you if you’ve used any of these resources, to know how you got on! And, if you’d like me to drop in on a session (in person or via Zoom) to read some poems, do a Q&A, chat about mental health etc, please feel free to get in touch.
Shauna Darling Robertson 