Fairy Tales and Therapy workshops are group discussion spaces exploring fairytales and mythology stories to expand our understanding of individual and collective psychology.

Each month there will be a focus on a particular fairytale and works as an independent experience . People are welcome to attend as many as they would like.

At the beginning of the session there will be a brief presentation thinking about:

- History of the Tale.

- Common interpretations of this story/ Story as a whole

- Symbolism in the tale and Archetypal Imagery.

The group will then spend the majority of time sharing reflections, thoughts and associations to the story. Experiencing in action how through the group ‘s discussion, meeting our reactions, our connection to symbols, imagery and association along the way, we might enable each other to better understand ourselves, each other and some of the stories we all live.

These workshops are for anyone interested in psychology and stories. They may be of particular interest to psychologists and therapists - including those who are professionally established and those just starting out.

In this next session we will be exploring Snow White.

"Snow White", also known as "Keeper of the Dwarfs," is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales and numbered as Tale 53.

The fairy tale features such symbols as the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the characters of the Evil Queen and the Seven Dwarfs.

One interpretation is that of the death drive: "In the original Snow White story, the Queen is perceived as purely evil, jealousy smiting Snow White for her beauty. Upon further analysis, however, the story shifts, becoming a tale of psychological fragmentation and confusion. The Queen sees Snow White as a ‘bad, destructive double that causes the mirror to speak its ambivalent, contradictory message – ‘you are most beautiful,’ and ‘you are mortal,’ [Bronfen.] By placing such heavy emphasis on her beauty, the Queen’s life falls under threat when her status as ‘most beautiful’ does. Redefining herself as ‘the fairest of them all’ becomes a matter of life and death."

“Words can be strong medicine. Stories can touch our hearts and souls; they can point the way to healing and transformation.

Our own lives are stories that we write from day to day; they are journeys through the dark of the fairy tale woods.

The tales of previous travelers through the woods are passed down to us in the poetic, symbolic language of folklore and myth; where we step, someone has stepped before, and their stories can help light the way." Terri Windling.

Myths, Folklore and Fairy tales can be particularly useful as they can be understood on several levels at once: the conscious, the unconscious, the individual experience and the social world.

Tickets are per person, per session and not per household. Please be aware no refunds are given following booking.