A new online writing group for mums who have experienced mental health issues around the time of having a baby is launching in South Yorkshire.
Women who have experienced mental health problems before, during or after having a baby are being invited to join the group and take part in writing sessions that aim to increase their confidence and allow them to express themselves creatively.
The group is the first of its kind in the area and is being run in partnership between the Royal Literary Fund and NHS perinatal mental health service in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster.
During the sessions participants will listen to a specially selected piece or writing, and then try their hand at expressive writing. The piece of writing can take any form, from prose and poetry, to a diary entry or short story.
The group will launch on 23 February and run a weekly 90-minute online session on Microsoft Teams every Wednesday from 1pm for six weeks.
Susan Elliot Wright is an author involved in the project whose 2019 novel, The Flight of Cornelia Blackwood, centres around perinatal mental health. She said: "I’ve had a special interest in perinatal mental health ever since my own experience of perinatal mental distress following the births of my babies almost 40 years ago. I am passionate about raising awareness of perinatal mental health, which is why I’m keen to be involved with this project, and partly why I wrote the book. I’m very excited about these sessions and to anyone thinking of signing up it’ll be friendly, relaxed, stimulating and encouraging. It’s an opportunity to use the written word to explore your thoughts and feelings about a variety of different topics – it’s your time, to use your words, in your way."
Amy Jenkin, a Mental Health Nurse and the Team Manager for the Sheffield Rotherham and Doncaster Perinatal Mental Health Service, said: "We want to offer people who have experienced mental distress around the time of having a baby a creative opportunity to express themselves. We have learned from our work just how important creativity, and expressing ourselves, are to emotional wellbeing. I can’t stress enough about the power of words and impact that writing can have on us. You don’t need to have any writing experience to take part. All we need is a commitment to participate in the group. We hope that people will find that writing helps them to think about their experiences and to put their feelings and thoughts into words. And of course we hope to have some fun along the way too!"
