Mad Girl – February 2013

Medical Journalists’ Association Broadcast Drama Awards, from right, Jon Potter, Mitch Hadley, Phil Gladwin, Mary Peate, then Bethan Roberts, also nominated for her radio play, ‘Falling’. Our radio play Mad Girl, co-created by us and writer Phil Gladwin, has just been nominated for a Broadcast Drama Award by the Medical … Continue reading

Writing for Wellbeing – June 2012

Participants and staff with Jon Potter (right) at Serena Hall A few weeks ago Company Paradiso completed a project that used music and writing to develop people’s emotional wellbeing. We worked with young people living independently at Slough Foyer and YMCA, and with homeless people at Serena Hall, a drop-in … Continue reading

Understanding Your Story – January 2012

Many studies over the last 20 years have confirmed that writing about emotional experience brings increased wellbeing. Broadly speaking, not talking about important psychological phenomena is a form of inhibition causing low-level stress and health problems. Letting go and talking about experience reduces the stress of inhibition. Translating experience into … Continue reading

Writing about emotional experiences can improve health – November 2011

I have recently come across some fascinating research by American psychologist James Pennebaker www.psy.utexas.edu/Pennebaker   For many years he and others have demonstrated that when individuals write about emotional experiences, significant physical and mental health improvements follow.  Writing programmes of 15 minutes a day for 4 days that focused on deep … Continue reading