The use of Poetry Writing as Psychotherapy

The use of poetry writing as psychotherapy is a specialized form of "bibliotherapy." When Leedy (1969) originally introduced poetry therapy as a discipline, he emphasized the reading of poems already in the literary canon. Almost immediately, however, psychotherapeutic work with poetry was extended to include the composition of poems. Whereas the reading of poetry stimulates empathy and liberates the imagination, the writing of poetry encourages insight through involvement in the creative process (Parker, 1969). Generally offered as group psychotherapy, poetry therapy has been used successfully with a number of special populations, including disturbed adolescents, college students, drug addicts, prison inmates, and the deaf. For a number of reasons, the use of poetry therapy has receded in recent years in spite of the widely recognized connection between poetry and psychopathology.

Like many forms of creative activity, poetry writing implies a break with the forms and conventions that usually dominate daily life. Consequently, the products and processes of poetry have been perceived as reflecting, or even involving, psychopathological states (Morrison, 1973). Poetic inspiration is often considered to be similar to psychopathological symptoms; both poetry and psychopathology imply an effort to resolve inner conflict. The poet and scholar Robert Graves has described poetic composition as pathological, and he has pointed to the relationship of poetry to the

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, the individual can eventually achieve the creative, conscious channelling of the energy of unconscious wishes. The writing of poetry, according to Parker, taps the unconscious and permits submerged images to reach the light of consciousness. The general features of poetry writing translate into several types of practical therapeutic benefit. Consonant with its relation to techniques such as free association, poetry writing provides a means of communication between patient and therapist (Silverman, 1986). The process of artistic creation, including the writing of poetry, can be transforming in itself (Parker, 1969). Insight and empathy both evolve from the relatively unmediated response to art (Parker, 1969; Hynes & HynesBerry, 1986). Poetry writing and poetry reading can catalyze emotional expression (Parker, 1969; Brand, 1980). Generally speaking, poetry is a mode for affecting the synthesis of emotional reaction and conscious thought (Silverman, 1986). Because poetry makes reference to subconscious processes, poetry represents a conduit of interaction between patient and therapist (Silverman, 1986). Even without realizing it consciously, the patient who is moved by the writing (or reading), may reveal some

Category: Psychology - T