Making Space for What Matters
Parts on Paper
Expressive Writing Intensive
A Three-Part Guided Journalling Journey
14–28 October 2026
Four 20-minute writing sessions, with shorter reflections and supportive group connection throughout the two weeks.
An Invitation
This October, we’re taking the writing practice a little deeper.
This is an intensive for those who have already taken part in the Exploring the Inner Critic group.
Over two weeks, we’ll each choose one or two difficult experiences, periods or chapters of our lives that we would like to spend some time with.
We’ll use expressive writing to explore what happened, what we felt, what we made it mean, and the connections that may have been difficult to see at the time.
The intention isn’t to write a perfect story.
It’s to give an experience some space.
To slow it down.
To listen to what is still there.
And to see what happens when we begin putting it into words.
Why Expressive Writing?
There is something surprisingly powerful about writing about our own experience.
Research beginning with the work of psychologist James Pennebaker has explored what happens when people spend short periods of time writing about difficult or emotionally significant experiences.
Across decades of research, researchers have explored expressive writing in relation to psychological wellbeing, stressful life events, physical health and even aspects of immune functioning.
The findings are mixed, and there is no simple formula for what makes writing helpful.
What interests me is the possibility that putting experience into words can help us slow something down enough to see it differently.
We may begin with what happened.
Then we notice what we felt.
Then perhaps we notice something we hadn’t connected before.
The writing becomes a way of listening.
The Practice
The structure is deliberately simple.
Across the two weeks there will be four 20-minute writing sessions.
Between these sessions there will be shorter reflective invitations. These don’t require a set amount of time. They are simply ways of staying connected to what is emerging.
You might be invited to notice something in your body, revisit a moment from the writing, pay attention to a particular emotion, or become curious about one of the parts that appears along the way.
There will also be a supportive group structure throughout the two weeks.
A place to share what we are noticing.
A place to listen.
A place to be witnessed without needing to fix or solve each other’s experiences.
What Are We Writing About?
You’ll choose one or two difficult experiences or chapters of your life that you feel ready to spend some time with.
This might be:
- A relationship
- A period of change or loss
- An experience of shame or embarrassment
- A time when you felt small, rejected or alone
- Something you regret
- A difficult family experience
- A chapter of your life you still find yourself thinking about
- An experience that you have never quite made sense of
You don’t need to choose the biggest or most traumatic experience of your life.
In fact, part of the practice is learning to notice what you are ready to approach.
And this is where the work we did with the Inner Critic becomes relevant.
As we begin writing, we may discover that some parts of us are very happy to go there.
Others may not be.
We will make room for those parts too.
What to Expect
The journey includes:
🌿 Four guided 20-minute expressive-writing sessions
🌿 Short reflective invitations between writing sessions
🌿 Supportive online group connection
🌿 A private WhatsApp group for the duration of the journey
🌿 Guidance inspired by expressive-writing research and Internal Family Systems
🌿 A simple structure for exploring difficult experiences through writing
The actual writing commitment is just 20 minutes at a time.
The intention is to create enough structure to go somewhere, without making the practice another thing to achieve.
Journey Schedule
🌿 Opening
Wednesday 14 October 2026
Choosing our experience and preparing for the writing practice
🌿 Writing
Four 20-minute writing sessions across the two weeks
With shorter reflective invitations between sessions.
🌿 Closing
Wednesday 28 October 2026
Making space for what has emerged
A Note About Readiness
Expressive writing can bring us into contact with experiences and emotions that we may have kept at a distance.
We don’t need to force ourselves into material we aren’t ready to approach.
The intention is not to push through our protectors.
It is to become curious about them.
Sometimes the most useful thing we can discover is that a part of us isn’t ready to go somewhere yet.
That is information too.
Who Is This For?
This intensive is specifically for people who have already taken part in the Exploring the Inner Critic group.
The September group gives us a foundation for recognising our protective parts and becoming curious about the voices inside.
October builds on that foundation by turning the writing towards our own life experiences.
You don’t need to have a particular outcome in mind.
Only a willingness to explore.
Contribution
I’d keep the contribution the same as September, unless you want October positioned as a slightly higher-value intensive.
International
Suggested contribution US$50–100
South Africa
Suggested contribution R700–R1,000
If the suggested contribution isn’t possible, please get in touch and we’ll make a plan.
Ready to Go a Little Deeper?
If you’ve taken part in the Inner Critic group and feel ready to explore your own experience through expressive writing, I’d love to have you join us.
Complete the registration form below to reserve your place. You’ll find contribution options, payment details, and everything you need to get started there.
Before we begin, I’ll send you everything you need to prepare for the writing practice, along with an invitation to our temporary WhatsApp group.
→ Register Here