Amateur Poetry as Therapy

The word therapy comes from the Greek therapeia, meaning to cure through involvement in one of the expressive arts: dance, song, poetry or drama. Poetry as therapy uses the traditional techniques of poetry — rhythm, sound, metaphor, etc. — but the focus is the person writing. Amateur poetry is only a means to an end, therefore, though an important one, which is the growth in selfhood and emotional awareness through self-expression.

Discussion

Healing enters into every art, in its appreciation and creation. Freud, Adler, Jung and other psychiatrists have all learnt from the poet’s insight into the unconscious and its inner workings. Genius and madness are near-allied, a fact recognised in the self-healing through writing that has been prescribed for centuries in the treatment of the mentally ill. Such approaches have received serious study only in the last fifty years or so, however, with guidelines issued, courses offered that lead to certification in poetry therapy, and so forth. Poetry workshops also have their scattering of the emotionally disturbed, as their organisers know only too well, and it must be admitted that a significant percentage of good poets do need professional care from time to time.

Perhaps no one is entirely well, not to psychiatrists or the emotionally honest. Artists in particular may well feed off their difficulties, perhaps even nurse them, so that the many tens of thousands who turn to poetry as a means of exploring issues that are painful and/or deeply buried are only pursuing paths that lead to the greatest of human achievements. Poetry as an art form goes further – much further – but poetry as therapy is not be despised, even by the professional poet. It unlocks the doors of creativity, and is always prescribed in beginner’s courses.  It sustains the seasoned writer through the penury and disappointment of rejection slips. And it helps the serious writer not to lose touch with an innermost being, which is the greatest disaster, that no amount of skill or professionalism can hide.

Points to Bear in Mind

Readers under professional care should follow links on the resources page. The walking wounded may like to remember:

  1. Workshops in poetry as a therapy are not a course with grading and criticism. The emphasis is on self-expression, exploration and discovery.

  2. You will get most out of the workshop by writing yourself, but even input as discussion is helpful.

  3. A poem is usually chosen for discussion that expresses the dominant emotion of the group. Writer and listeners gain strength from exploring common problems. To give fears and emotions some concrete form is already to begin mastering them.

  4. The content comes first. Certain words and rhythms arise naturally when we speak from the heart, and this courage is often all that is needed to get the writing going.

  5. Nothing is lost in such workshops. Technical workshops can leave very mixed feelings, but the simple revelations of our common humanity in therapy are things we never quite forget.

 

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