26 September 2017

For immediate release

Healing words: The journey to wellness and recovery

On Thursday 28 September  the final of ‘Healing Words' takes place, a mental health poetry competition from The Advocacy Project and supported by CNWL and West London Mental Health Trust.

The evening will showcase the winning entries from poetry competition ‘healing words,' designed to allow staff and patients to creatively explore mental health issues, with a performance from Actress and competition judge Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, No Offence.)

Over 150 poets will be attending, along with VIP Guests and Celebrities will be attending the event which takes place at Westminster City Hall.

Advocacy Project's Judith Davey said, "There was well over 300 poems submitted from across London including a few from Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Some came from outside the UK! It shows there's a real appetite to explore creative writing and the mental health recovery journey.  Al the judges said the standard of the poems is incredibly high.  A number of the poems are about Grenfell.  There's a special category for local residents and service users."

CNWL's Chief Executive Claire Murdoch, who was a judge on the panel, said, "This was no easy task! The depth and breadth of talent is just astounding. I was touched by the sensitivity and heart that went into creating such stunning work and the bravery of people willing to share their mental health journeys through poetry.

Creativity is a great way for people to express themselves through their darkest times, and help them on the way to recovery - art gives concepts like mental illness a voice that cuts through the stigma and misunderstanding. It also helps us to work through our emotional pain."

Prior to the launch of the project, actor Joanna Scanlan spoke about how writing has helped her recover from mental ill health;

"What I found in the process of writing is that I came to understand much better my own feelings. I came to understand what I thought about things. What I began to enter into was a real communication, a real dialogue and that helped me get better from that particular episode."

The judging panel also included Professor of English Literature at the University of Westminster Alexandra Warwick, International development worker, blogger and filmmaker and Jazz musician and performer, Gill Manly.

Editor's notes:

For media enquiries, photographs and press passes please contact:

Jessica.Cooke3@nhs.net

02032145763

Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Stephenson House, 75 Hampstead Road, London NW1 2PL
Tel: 020 3214 5756 e-mail:communications.cnwl@nhs.net