The National Association for Poetry Therapy Presents
Alchemy: Poetry's Power to Transform
facilitated by Jon Sayers, Psychodynamic Coach
Workshop Description:
Carl Jung believed the ancient art of alchemy was perhaps the ultimate expression of the nature of the collective unconscious and the richest, most complete guide to the workings of the human soul.
In this deep dive into the links between alchemy and biblio/poetry therapy we will look at the three main stages of the alchemical process: nigredo (blackening), albedo (whitening) and rubedo (reddening) and explore how poems we know and use in our work - by Bishop, Larkin, Olds, and others - reflect this sequence, acting as unconscious carriers of alchemical ideas. We will learn to identify alchemical patterns through seeking and linking images of fire, earth, bathing, water, and dawn.
It is hoped that participants will leave the workshop with a basic knowledge of alchemy, its potential applications to group facilitation, curriculum design and session structure, and its ability to transform the work we do into gold.
About the Facilitator:
Jon Sayers is a poet, psychodynamic coach and journal facilitator based in London. His poems have been published in leading UK magazines, he has served as chair and co-editor of the leading UK poetry magazine, Magma, vice chair of The Poetry Society, and as a trustee of the Winchester Poetry Festival, for whom he has interviewed poets including Christopher Reid, Jo Shapcott, Annie Freud and Paul Muldoon. His play, A World Full of Weeping, a supernatural thriller whose plot revolves around a poem by WB Yeats, was twice broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and was a Radio Times Pick of the Week.
As a journal facilitator, using a biblio/poetry therapy model, Jon has worked with a variety of populations, from older teens transitioning out of the care system, older women care givers and church communities to newly qualified life coaches, members of the British Guild of Travel Writers, and inmates of His Majesty's Pentonville prison. Jon draws on a range of psychological models in his work, with a particular interest in the ideas of Carl Jung. He is a contributor to Writing for Wellbeing: Theory, Research, and Practice (Routledge 2023), teaches for TWI, and is UK representative for NAPT.
Date: June 14, 2026
Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm (EDT)
Venue: Zoom
Host: Cynthia Holloway Kelvin cynthia@poetrytherapy.org
Registration:
Members — $10
Non-Members — $25
* Funds from our virtual events support our conference scholarship fund.
