Creative writing is helping to improve family mental health

Creative writing workshops for mothers of young children across south Essex are helping to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and whole families.

The project, delivered by Essex researcher Dr Penny Simpson in partnership with Home Start Essex, will see more than 30 families with children under five build confidence, self-esteem and support networks over the next eight months.

The first set of free, online workshops, with eight mothers from the Southend and Rochford area, has already shown that creative writing has the power to improve mental health and wellbeing.

Dr Simpson, from the University’s Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, said: “If parents are struggling, particularly the mum, that has the biggest impact on the whole family’s mental health. If we can help the mum build her confidence and resilience, that has a bigger long-term impact on the family as a whole, particularly the children.”

The House of Dreams and Memories workshops provide parents with opportunities to explore creative writing as a tool for enrichment and healing. Through word games, writing exercises, doodles and creative map-making, Dr Simpson guides families through an imaginary house, visualising and reflecting on each room as they go.

The workshops are adapted from a similar project Dr Simpson delivered in 2023-24 for NHS patients living with long-term health problems and chronic pain in south Wales.

She explained why creative writing can be so empowering: “We all tell stories, whether we’re posting on social media or talking to people in the street. Having the confidence to talk about who you are and find ways of telling your story to people who don’t share your experiences is invaluable.

“It gives people a sense of self, and ways to describe that, which is really powerful. You watch people who thought they wouldn’t get much from the process come alive.”

The workshops are part of Home Start Essex’s new Thriving Communities programme. The full programme involves six creative writing workshops and four wellbeing workshops, delivered by Lisa Pawlowski, Home Start’s Wellbeing Coordinator. The first programme finished in May, with three further opportunities for families to take part before January 2026.

Speaking about the creative writing workshops, members of the first cohort have said “it’s helped me gain more mental control” and “the journaling has been really thought provoking in a positive way.”

Dr Simpson added: “Music, visual arts and dance are used a lot in wellbeing activities but there are misconceptions that to write you need some skill or training. Actually, all you need is your imagination and whatever you want to write with. Creative writing is open and flexible and there’s no right or wrong. It’s about being playful.”

Lisa Pawlowski, Home Start Essex’s Wellbeing Co-ordinator. Said: “The creative writing workshops offer parents a reflective and insightful way to explore their emotions and wellbeing. It’s wonderful to work alongside Penny and compliment the services Home-Start Essex offers to parents of young children.”

The Thriving Communities project has been funded by South East Essex Alliance Health Inequalities Fund.