Virtual Narrative Medicine Workshop
Take a break from the stress and solitude, discover your inner creative, and re-connect with your community! This Summer, Julia Traylor will be hosting a series of free, live narrative medicine workshops via ZOOM. There’s no preparation or homework, and we guarantee it will be a lot of fun.
Our next workshop is Sunday July 26th, 2020 12:30 PM Central Time (US/Canada). Suggested donation: $10, but don’t let the dollars keep you from coming. Join for free if you prefer!
To attend, please register in advance here.
About the Workshop
This workshop is based on the principles and practices of Narrative Medicine, an interdisciplinary field emerging from Columbia Medical School that uses close reading, radical listening, and creative writing to address the needs of all who seek and deliver healthcare. In simpler terms, Narrative Medicine is a meeting place for medicine and the arts — a place where the narratives found in literature, poetry, and painting become wellsprings of connection and self-discovery.
A typical session begins with a group meditation on a work of art, usually a painting, poem, or excerpt from a novel. We read or observe this work together, teasing out the details of its story, exploring its themes, and discussing how it resonates with our lives and communities. Then, we use this work of art as inspiration for our own creative writing. Unlike a book club, you won’t have any reading to do beforehand, and you don’t need to know anything about (or even like) literary or visual arts to have a good time. Take a break from the solitude and stress, and join us for some creativity and community-building. Feel free to share this event if you are so inclined — the more the merrier!
About the Teacher
Julia Traylor holds a Masters in American Literature from University of Texas at Austin and is a former college English teacher. She owns RISE Wellness Center in Austin TX where she specializes in massage and yoga therapy for chronic pain. Julia is a graduate of Columbia University’s professional certification in Narrative Medicine, and she has been teaching in-person and online Narrative Medicine workshops since 2017.
What You Should Do To Prepare
To attend a Zoom Workshop, you’ll want to do the following in advance:
1) Sign up for a free Zoom account, and register for the workshop. Do this now, so that you’re not scrambling right before class. We will lock the class after 10 minutes.
2) Find a quiet space with few distractions. Have a pen and paper handy. A few minutes before class time, follow the link from the registration email to join the meeting. You’ll be taken to the waiting room.
3) Once class time starts, we will admit you from the waiting room to the classroom. You’ll be muted upon entry and can choose to either have your video on (so we can all see you) or off (so that you are invisible to me and to other participants). Please do what makes you comfortable.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions, suggestions, or feedback. To schedule a narrative medicine session (privately or in small groups), you can reach us at rxnarrative@gmail.com.
If you’re ready for a deeper dive into the world of narrative medicine, check out our website, and sign up for our next 8-week course beginning Monday August 3rd, 2020!
