In this interactive workshop, we journey deep into the story of The Skeleton Woman to explore the story using tools from the Story Arte creative toolbox. Gestalt therapy, art therapy and/or Psychodrama will be accompanying us on the voyage.
The Skeleton Woman is an Inuit tale of healing, made more public by Clarissa Pinkola Estés’s famous book, Women Who Run with the Wolves. The tale describes a harrowing journey in which the heroine is left for dead under the sea but is caught by a fisherman whose initial horror turns to compassion.
We will be working with the symbolic language of fairy tales and we will explore different aspects of self through creative story-based activities and the use of nesting dolls. This workshop is experiential, and participants will be invited to explore the story in depth and engage actively in the activities.
Stories have been with us since the very beginning of humanity when we gathered around the fire to listen to myths of creation to connect us with our inner selves, our clan and the universe. Stories have accompanied us through dark times, of war and plague and they are here to accompany us now, with their medicine, in this time of uncertainty.
In this workshop:
- We will call upon the ancient wisdom of this literary fairy tale to guide us.
- We will experiment with tools from the world of Gestalt, art therapy or psychodrama as we deepen into the symbolic language of the story of The Little Mermaid.
- We will explore the archetypes present in the story and how they relate to modern times
- We will explore the themes that come up during the development of the workshop
This workshop is experiential, and participants will be invited to explore a story in depth and engage actively in the activities. The story and accompanying exercises could then be used safely with clients of different ages, face to face or online.
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
- You will see how to work with fairy tales in a therapeutic setting
- You will learn how to explore the symbolic language and get to know some of the archetypes in the story and how they relate to our modern lives
- You will see how to work with some of the themes that this story may bring up in the group: which may include working with loss and disappointment, belonging, dying, trusting.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
- This workshop is appropriate for all publics but will be focused on providing a tool for therapists and counsellors to use with clients
How May This Workshop Impact Your Practice?
- You will have a tool based on the ancient wisdom of fairy tales in your toolbox
Course Content
Presenter
Jennifer Ramsay is a professional storyteller. She has told stories in more than 2,000 events and trained hundreds of people in the ancestral art of storytelling. She works with story medicine in private practice and as a group facilitator in unique workshops, weaving stories into Nature Based Art Therapy, Gestalt therapy, Symbolic Psychodrama and Embodiment work.
She has a degree in Biological Sciences and is part of the global network of Earth Storytellers. The rhythms of nature are very present as she incorporates the Celtic wheel of the year and the lunar cycles into her work.
She is the founder of Story Arte, a centre for Art Therapy and Storytelling in the village where she lives, in the foothills near Madrid.
