Des mots pour respirer : un atelier d’écriture pour les professionnels en contexte Covid

At the start of the covid-19 lock-down, in a residential facility for dependent elderly people (EHPAD) in the east of France, the urgent need to protect residents and professionals has been counterbalanced by the need to create a space of expression for the staff, allowing them to cultivate their inner resources while at the same time focusing on their essential mission. The experience of a weekly writing workshop, bringing together all professional functions by visioconference with a writing professional was deployed in an institutional context already conducive to creativity. The design of the sessions, aiming for well-balanced freedom, led to team cohesion, peer recognition, individual and organizational resilience. The crisis is ongoing, the staff are exhausted, but the workshop continues, now with the intention to sustain an empathetic and wellness care approach.