Using Poetry in Therapy: 3 ways that poetry can be healing

As my experience as a writer and psychotherapist, I have long tried to understand if there is a bridge between therapy and poetry. Can poetry be healing? Here are 3 ways that poetry can be healing.

  1. Poetry can allow us to speak for what sometimes can’t be said out loud.


    I have often found that poems allow myself to express things that I wouldn’t otherwise say. Healing through poetry can be a method of expression utilized in therapy.

    An example of this is free association. Free association is a technique where you freely share whatever is on your mind.

    Sharing whatever is on our mind to those who we may be upset about normally doesn’t go well. But poetry offers the safety to freely express whatever comes to our mind. It also can provide an objective perspective for you to look at all the words you have written down on paper and reflect on them.

    The thing I love about poetry is you can go as far as you want with it. You are in control of what you write. I have found this especially useful for clients who suffer from trauma.

    Poetry can be the tool that allows them to speak what wasn’t said, or rather couldn’t be said. The internal world of trauma survivors can be scary but writing out the feelings that are associated with the trauma can sometimes be helpful.

    Poetry can also offer agency to those who suffer from trauma by allowing the control of the exercise to be in that person’s hands. There is no right or wrong way to write a poem.

 

2. Connecting with underlying emotions

Therapy and poetry allow us to connect with underlying emotions. Sometimes that can be done with words. I frequently use Internal Family Systems and poetry together. If you aren’t familiar with Internal Family Systems, you can find out more about it here.

In short IFS believes we all have different aspects to our personality. Allowing each of these parts of us to express themselves is a fundamental concept in IFS and it goes well with poetry. You may feel multiple things at once. For example, “I’m happy I left that relationship, but I still miss them.”.

IFS uses this concept that it is natural for the mind to be multiple. These polarized parts of us can feel like they are at war with each other. Poetry can allow us to express both sides of us, perhaps even the conflict we feel and the toll that it takes.

Expressing all aspects of the conflict can be very therapeutic and is a way that poetry can be healing.

 

3. Art leaves a legacy

The pain you have endured may have been at the hands of other people, but the healing can also extend to other people as well. If you care to share your feelings through poetry, I can always assure you that someone will resonate with what you feel.

There are so many similarities in the human experience and that can be really connecting with people who may share similar feelings to what you have wrote. I encourage people to join a poetry club or a therapeutic group that uses poetry and if they feel comfortable to share.

Sharing isn’t necessary but it is an invitation. And once your poem is written it has the potential to help others around you and even generations to come.

I believe everyone’s story is important and however you choose to express that is meaningful.

Below is a poem I wrote sharing the legacy burden of being tough that was passed down throughout my family.

My grandfather

had a stainless steel

straight blade

and in the early morning

when I couldn’t sleep

I used to peek through the bathroom door

and watch him closely

as blade met flush skin

that was the only time

I’ve ever seen grandpa

be tender with himself.”

-Justin Martin

My name is Justin Martin and I’m an IFS therapist in Orlando FL that uses poetry. If you would like to learn more about my work and poems check out my Instagram page here. You can also contact me here.

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What are legacy burdens? 3 ways to heal intergenerational trauma using Internal Family Systems.

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Grief and IFS: How can Internal Family Systems help you with grief?