Thursday, June 26 from 3:00pm-6:00pm MT and Friday, June 27 from 3:00pm-6:00pm MT
$400
The creative writing classroom is not an explicitly healing space—yet writers regularly bring their stories of trauma into workshops. What are our obligations to these students as instructors? What are the best practices for managing discussions about potentially triggering material? How might our mentorship help students birth powerful work that is desperately needed in our culture?
In this 6-hour Zoom intensive, learn some basics about the nervous system, consider when writing heals and harms, gain concrete skills (adapted from clinical practice) for safely writing trauma narratives, discuss syllabus disclaimers and content warnings, identify craft issues common to trauma writing, talk through how feedback lands in an activated nervous system, and assess your own self-regulation.
Please note: This class is intended to be a live offering. However, it will be recorded and emailed to participants. If you are unable to make the live class time, please email Kati for permission to purchase the recording without live participation.
(Why? Because this class is discussion-based and recording won’t work if everyone plans to simply access the recording and doesn’t show. Thank you for understanding!)
“Kati’s workshop continues to revolutionize my pedagogy. Not only has this trauma-informed lens made me a better educator, but I believe it has also made me a better reader, writer, and human.”
About me: In 2015, I noticed students in my illness- and sex-writing classes experiencing overwhelming nervous system responses. Was it irresponsible to teach classes on these intense subjects? I wondered. Or was there a better way to help them tell powerful stories without “breaking themselves”?
On a mission, I enrolled at the Arizona Trauma Institute, eventually completing their Certified Clinical Trauma Practitioner program. Since 2018, I’ve been working with clients one-on-one as a “trauma writing doula” as well as giving talks at narrative medicine conferences on my trauma-informed pedagogy. At the same time, my book Lightning Flowers forced me to engage traumatic materials for months on end, deepening my understanding of this work. In 2020 I began leading trainings for creative writing departments and literary centers, including Kennesaw State University in Georgia, SUNY-Geneseo, Hugo House, Portland’s Literary Arts, and more.