Poetry therapy is an approach for improving mental illness and symptom relief. Poetry therapy involves “written or spoken word to further therapeutic goals and enhance the well-being” of patients – individuals or groups – and families (About the National Association for Poetry Therapy). This also steps outside of just writing poetry, as reading poetry has also shown great therapeutic relief. This type of therapy encourages patients and families to write and read poems as a way to elevate symptoms and interact. Many studies have found it extremely effective in a wide range of mental illnesses.
Poetry therapy has been used as an additional treatment for mental illness for a while now. Some of those illnesses include borderline personality disorder, suicidal thoughts, identity issues, and grief along with PTSD, abuse/trauma survivors, schizophrenia, substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. In trauma cases and PTSD, poetry therapy has shown progress for patients who suppress their emotions and memories, as they often will express them through poetry. In cases of substance abuse, it is more of a post-recovery tool to let people cope with the challenging process of recovery. Most of the illnesses may benefit from poetry therapy as a form of expression of emotions or coping methods (Poetry Therapy).
A wide array of symptoms are relieved with poetry therapy. It is shown that when patients read poetry it helps further self-discovery. As for writing poetry, the impacts are just as significant– possibly more so. Those who struggle from depression may see an increase in their self-understanding when using poetry as an outlet. Schizophrenic patients can have an easier time describing their mental episodes through poetry, which allows their therapists to see into their patients better. Schizophrenics also see an increase in social skills and gain more organized thought processes through poetry therapy. To piggyback on the aforementioned statements, PTSD and trauma/abuse survivors see significant changes in their mental illness when poetry therapy is involved. Since poetry is such a dynamic and free form of creative expression, patients find themselves processing their experiences through poems. They oftentimes will come to terms with their suppressed memories, associations, and feelings of their trauma and shape them into ways to cope, and even better, see a more positive take on the future (Dunthorne).
Poets are typically seen as “mad” or mentally ill on their own, as many famous poets struggled with serious mental illness. Though it may have some truth that poets struggle with mental illness, it also shows that poetry is a widely accepted coping mechanism whether you are in a psychological field or not. Poetry is unlike most traditional writing formats and it requires a sense of breaking the traditional rules of writing. Mentally ill patients are more likely to break boundaries or rules due to their cognitive structures, which is another reason poetry helps. The sense of breaking out of restricted boundaries may cause a positive break in many of the mentally ill, and allows them to express or self-explore while writing and reading poetry. The Art Therapy Credentials Board has stated that art and poetry can “reduce anxiety and increase self-esteem” which are both necessary in most cases of mental illness. Therefore, the concept of reading and writing poetry for patients with mental health conditions is a solid and helpful tool for recovery or battles with mental illness.
Sources:
“About the National Association for Poetry Therapy.” The National Association for Poetry Therapy, https://poetrytherapy.org.
Dunthorne, Helena. “Big Picture: Poetry as a Mental Health Resource.” Big Picture: Poetry as a Mental Health Resource | The Psychologist, The British Psychological Society, https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-29/may-2016/big-picture-poetry-mental-health-resource.
Hudson, Alex. “Poetry, the Creative Process and Mental Illness.” BBC News, BBC, 7 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-12368624.