Promoting Healing and Wellbeing


One Poem at a Time By Marianela Medrano, PhD


of literature, and poetry in particular, as a therapeutic means is not a new concept. The practice goes back to ancient times when the shamans would chant poems for the wellbeing of people in their tribes. Currently, librarians, teachers, therapists, coaches and other professionals are using literature for healing and personal growth purposes.


A Furthermore, in the second Century


AD, the Greek physician Soranus, was pre- scribing poetry as supplemental treatment for certain mental disorders. The histori- cal foundations of this practice go back to Apollo, the god of medicine and poetry in ancient Greece. Aristotle in his Poetics discusses the role of catharsis in effecting emotional healing. In the United States poetry therapy has been used widely since the 1840s.


visit to the Website of the National Association for Poetry Therapy (NAPT) would tell us that the use


Poetry therapy is the intentional use of


literature to promote healing and personal growth. The number of studies showing that a writing practice could lead to better psychical, mental and emotional health are increasing consistently. Poetry therapy is an umbrella term for interventions such as therapeutic writing, journaling, storytelling and bibliotherapy. Writing as a therapeutic tool has a multiplicity of purposes including clarifi cation of personal goals, clarifi cation of one’s identity, promoting self-expression and advancing social justice.


Despite the paradoxical fact that some poets and creative individuals have suc- cumbed to depression, anxiety and, in some drastic cases, to death by suicide; poetry has and continues to serve as a healing balm to many and as a means to clarify personal and societal values. Practitioners and facili- tators continue to show that writing is not hazardous to our health. Rather, it fosters wellbeing and goals clarifi cation so we can move on to take actions aligned with what


matters to us the most. The work of James Pennebaker, a lead-


ing researcher in the fi eld of writing as a therapeutic means, shows that even though writing can result in short-term increases in negative emotions, after a while writing for therapeutic purposes is associated with decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His research has also shown that thera- peutic writing decreases visits to doctors, physical symptoms of pain and increases the performance of the immune system. In addition, his research has shown how self-expression through therapeutic writing is associated with behavioral changes that improve performance in college students as well as the prevention of absenteeism, both from school and work.


Most individuals who write for thera- peutic purposes will easily identify the posi- tive impact on their emotional functioning and acceptance of feelings. The use of writ- ing in the clinical setting is associated with a stronger development of self-awareness and problem solving skills.


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and Psychology, N. Mazza (1999) high- lights how the “pluralistic base of poetry therapy” has evolved as research continues to focus on the effects of poetry in differ- ent therapeutic capacities. Mazza indicates that in poetry therapy, “clients are not asked to identify the ‘true’ meaning of a poem, but rather the personal meaning”. This approach to literature gives individuals ownership of the piece as they personalize it. This process increases tenfold when the person produces his or her own writing in response. In this sense, poetry therapy as a model has the following components:


a) The receptive/prescriptive compo-


nent, which involves the introduction of a literature piece (poem, fragment of stories, songs, etc.), into therapy.


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