Talks, Workshops & Testimonials
Rachel speaks at events for companies, schools and universities including:
I run talks and workshops for charities, companies, schools and universities, in which I share my experience of depression and recovery - and reveal the strategies in my own mental health toolkit.
Healing Words Workshop - Why literature can be healing and the best poems to keep you company through difficult times
Talk: How to Sing in the Rain – Revealing my toolbox of psychological and physical wellbeing strategies
Talk: Good Mood Food – Revealing how changing my diet changed my mental health - and can change yours
Healing Words Workshop – Why literature can be healing and the best poems to keep you company through difficult times
This is a one hour session, in which Rachel shares six or seven poems which help unlock feelings. Attendees are invited to read the poems, and then Rachel leads thoughts on the texts for discussion as a group. Often the words are a way to allow feelings to find expression, be they emotions around anger or joy.
Rachel has a long-standing interest in the therapeutic power of poetry. She runs Healing Words poetry workshops for mental health charities, at festivals and in prisons, and has been a judge for the Koestler Poetry Prize and the Rethink Mental Illness Poetry Awards. Her passion for poetry led to her becoming the co-founder of the iF poetry app and co-editor of iF: A Treasury of Poetry for Almost Every Possibility. Her memoir Black Rainbow: How words healed me – my journey through depression describes how poetry was an integral part of her recovery. Rachel’s latest book You'll Never Walk Alone: Poems for life's ups and downs is a collection of inspirational poems that can accompany us, whatever we are feeling, from sorrow to delight.
Talk: How to Sing in the Rain – Revealing my toolbox of psychological and physical wellbeing strategies
This interactive talk is about the physical and psychological strategies which can help us cope with challenges to our daily lives. Rachel recounts her own experience of depression, recovery, and what she has learnt about thriving through challenging times. She encourages the audience to build up their own toolbox of wellbeing strategies, and to sing in the rain: to find the positives, however negative life may seem at times. The talk is inspired by Rachel’s latest book Singing in the Rain: An inspirational workbook which is based on numerous psychological studies. A variation of this talk is focused at young professional in particular.
Talk: Good Mood Food – How changing my diet changed my mental health - and can change yours
Scientists are now discovering a proven link between what we eat and how we feel. This talk is based on Rachel's book The Happy Kitchen: Good Mood Food which contains the latest research and evidence on what to eat for optimum mental health and features recipes developed to boost your mood, keep you calm and help you sleep.
Talk / Workshop Guidelines
Duration: One hour
Prices: Negotiable
Venue: Talks / workshops can be done online, though Rachel is happy to travel if travel expenses are reimbursed
Books: Copies can be provided
Testimonials