Let's try this together
Pen & Hand courses are designed to give you:
- Freedom to get real and let your thoughts flow on paper
- Strength to quiet the inner critic that says you can’t do this (because you can)
- Strategies for keeping your notebooks secure and private
- Real-world ways to find time for your writing
- Ideas to integrate journaling with other therapies and health practices
- Exercises and prompts that will help you keep you going and thriving
Coolest of all: you’ll meet other people who want these things in their lives, too, so you just may find some awesome new friends along the way.
Where & when & how
Right now our friendly, get-started price is just $30 per class. We offer online registration and payment for your convenience. Courses are taught in comfortable, easy-to-get-to locations in Chicago and suburbs:
Grind Coworking, 2 North LaSalle Street, 14th Floor, Chicago
Tribe, 1819-21 W. Belmont, Chicago
Counter Coffee, 7324 Madison Street, Forest Park
River Forest Kitchen, 349 Ashland, River Forest
FocusOM, 9045 Monroe Avenue, Brookfield
Course descriptions
Write Your Way Free
The perfect starting (or re-starting) place for your journaling practice. If you've never written in a journal before, or it's been a long time and you're feeling a little shaky, this warm, encouraging group experience will fire you up. Explore ways to establish and deepen your journaling habit, use writing prompts for inspiration and courage and meet other enthusiasts who want to do the same. We'll explore:
- Why personal writing is good for you, body and soul
- How to talk back to inner voices that say you can’t do this (because you can)
- Simple strategies for adding writing to your crazy schedule
- How to use prompts to get good ideas flowing and onto the page
- Ways to cultivate insights that will guide you in everyday life
Imperfectly Wonderful
Calling all parents! Would you love to create an island of quiet amid the 24/7 pressures of caring for your kids? Need a break from the constant fears and worries and the hype on social media? We can get there together, pen in hand! Come meet other parents like you who want to rewrite the perfect-parent script so it's more forgiving and real. We'll explore ...
- Why parenting is harder than ever-- and how writing helps you keep your balance
- Using your journal to purge stress and affirm what's going wonderfully right
- Prompts and strategies for successful writing, even if you have zero time
- Capturing the awesome kid and family stories you'll laugh about, now and later
Tough Times
Are you struggling through a divorce, job loss, health crisis or other painful life change? This special workshop has been created with you in mind. Learn simple journaling techniques that will help you release toxic stress, sleep better at night and feel more prepared for the challenges at hand. Practical exercises will help you get comfortable with writing a few minutes at a time, reflecting honestly on your situation and the choices you must make. We'll explore:
- How journaling protects your physical and emotional health
- Finding the time, motivation and courage to write about what's happening
- Making sure your private thoughts stay safe -- so you're free to tell it like it is
- Clarifying your values and needs as a platform for wise decisions