Can’t Talk, Write

In partnership with Action for Children and The Prince’s Trust, we have launched two special toolkits, to help support young people and adults through these turbulent times.

The ‘Can’t Talk, Write’ toolkits, which you can download here, were created to help young people aged 11-18 years old, and adults working with young people, put pen to paper to support their mental health during and beyond the current crisis.

Each toolkit includes printable activities and ideas to get young people writing. The young person’s version has 10 activities. Each one encourages a different style of writing. We hope young people will find something that works for them.

The facilitators’ toolkit is for adults to use with young people. It’s divided into 10 sessions – each with an accompanying activity. The activities help young people to express their emotions, either alone or in a group.

Why writing helps

Writing is a great way to express thoughts and feelings. Getting things down on paper can really help to make sense of problems, too.

This is especially important during these difficult times, as life for children and young people – particularly the most vulnerable – is increasingly complicated. Pressures at home, in school and online can have a negative impact on their emotional wellbeing. 

Our research has found that almost half (46 per cent) of the young people we spoke to said that writing things down made them feel better about something that had made them sad. Young people also said writing made them feel calmer (47 per cent) and helped them to articulate their thoughts and feelings (37 per cent).

These findings are backed up by Action for Children’s literature review, using academic studies to show the positive mental health benefits of writing things down.