History of Poetry Therapy: Helping Those in Need

Since the fourth millennium B.C.E in Egypt, poetry therapy has been a common medical treatment for the sick. The Egyptians had an unusual way of using poetry as a treatment. They believed if they wrote down the poem on to papyrus, and then stuck it into a liquid, the patient could swallow the poem within the liquid and the mystical healing powers of the poem would work even quicker. Three thousand years later, a young shepherd boy, David the son of Jesse, tried to calm the psychopathic Saul with his music, a form of poetry in biblical times. Yet, historians credit the Greeks as the first civilization to effectively use, believe in, and understand the importance of poetry therapy as a healing treatment. They also believe that a Roman, named Soranus, became the first recorded poetry therapist in the first century A.D. "Healing songs fairly outnumber all other songs of the American Indian". As traditions for the Hupa tribe of California, when an individual falls ill, the priest will recite a former cure. In his book, Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice, Nicholas Mazza quotes a line, about the healing power of words when dealing with the sick, from Margot Astrov's anthology, American Indian Prose and Poetry, "it is not the herb administered to the sick...rather the words recited over the herb, before its use." Primitive healers, like the Native American medicine men, around the world believed that no matter how strong the medicinal herb, the words spoken would always be stronger. Benjamin Franklin, in 1751, established the first American hospital, called the Pennsylvania Hospital, that cared for the mentally ill which used poetry therapy; the Illuminator, a newspaper founded by the Pennsylvania Hospital, published patient's poems for all to read. Doctors have tried many types of rehabilitation and therapy in order to try to coax patients into revealing anything, which may have happened in their lives that could help them to better understand the illnesses of the patients. They have just recently come up with the idea that if poets write poetry to express their own feelings and thoughts, then just maybe, psychiatric patients, or more commonly known as the mentally ill, will write about life experiences, feelings, and thoughts in poetry that could give doctors insight into what a person goes through while a disease attacks and changes their states of mind. For instance, those suffering from schizophrenia may write about their conversations between each personality and those suffering from eating disorders (such as bulimia or anorexia) could write about their feelings and thoughts when they look at themselves in a mirror. Yale Psychiatrist, Albert Rothenberg puts it simply,

a patient who suddenly deciphers the message of a great poet may experience a flash of understanding similar to the dramatic insight that can come to patients in ordinary psychotherapy. By writing an original poem, an inhibited, repressed person may tell his doctor much that was previously secret. Poetry, says Rothenberg, 'is even more revelatory than dreams."

The insight into the minds of the mentally ill through poetry therapy could very well prove remarkably useful to doctors while they attempt to find cures for the mental illnesses, which afflict thousands of people worldwide.

Poetry therapy became very popular in the 1960s as group and individual therapy. It has since been incorporated into all aspects of society, such as: rehabilitation, education, library science, and recreation. At first, patients of poetry therapy wrote poems responding to the poems of other authors, but later on, they started to write their own poetry based off of life experiences and feelings. Robert Haven Schauffler wrote a book, The Poetry Cure: A Pocket Medicine Chest of Verse, that contained many poems described as prescriptive, which he thought, if writing poems helped their authors, then they must have the ability to help the mentally ill. He strongly believed that reading and writing poetry had great value in helping them. Aristotle understood the importance of poetry in the healing of the mentally ill and wrote about it in his book, Poetics. Others have shared the same opinions and have written several anthologies, such as The Poetic Mind by Frederick Clark Prescott, dealing with the same kinds of poems believed to be medicinal.

The Association of Poetry Therapy, formed in 1969 and 11-years later renamed The National Association for Poetry Therapy, trains those who wish to be poetry therapists in one of two divisions of poetry therapy: clinical interactive therapy and developmental interactive therapy. Within the clinical interactive, the therapists promote healing and growth in psychiatric units and community mental health centers. If a poetry therapist works in a mental health center, then they must be under the observation and work in cooperation with a "qualified mental health professional". The developmental interactive division uses poetry in community settings (such as schools, nursing homes, hospitals, and support groups) as a preventive tool in mental health, but also as a way to foster growth and development. Yet, no matter what division of poetry therapy a person goes into, poetry therapists, as requirements, must meet the association's rigorous standards; have knowledge of psychology and literature; and interact well with others either individually or within a group. They must also have knowledge on the association's ethical code and scientific theories. Professional poetry therapists have the ability to conduct as many as three therapy groups in one day with an estimate of 7,000 patients' visits in a single year. The system of poetry therapy has three parts: the poems, the trained facilitator (therapist), and the client(s). In order for the therapy to work, the facilitator must create an atmosphere suitable for the client and according to the client's problems.

"Poetry Therapy" from TIME magazine, printed in 1972, gathered statistics on the number of patients of poetry therapy. It stated that roughly "3,500 mental patients, prison inmates, troubled students, and nursing-home residents participated in poetry therapy"; they received help from over "400 psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and English teachers". The government did not recognize the certification of poetry therapists, seeing as no one recognized poetry therapy as a real career. At the time of this article, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Indiana Northern University became the first colleges to create courses for poetry therapy and develop masters' degrees for individuals interested in pursuing this new career. In 1986, the United States government declared poetry therapy an official career with credentials and hired the first poetry therapist for a job at "St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.". Ancient doctors knew the impact poetry had on the mentally ill, but for the first time in modern history, medical professionals recognized that patients responded positively to reading the works of others and writing poetry themselves. No longer would poetry therapy be just the work of a medicine man or an ancient art. Poetry therapy had finally become a form of medicine.

Since poetry therapy became an official career, several cases have appeared where a suicidal or psychotic teenager has participated in poetry therapy and changed his outlook on life by expressing his feelings in poems. On the other hand, some have needed poetry therapy and no one has come to their relief. A suicidal 15 year old boy wrote a poem, later his suicide note, in a class at his school and "his teacher did nothing to help him"; two years later, the boy committed suicide. According to Professor Abraham Blinderman of the State University of New York, if the boy had received some poetry therapy, then he might still be living.

In 1972, psychiatrist Jack Leedy, the President of the Association of Poetry Therapy, brought up the issue that poetry therapy, instead of helping the mentally sick, may in fact provoke them into having suicidal tendencies or self-infliction, especially in the wrong hands. He believes if they read poems suited to their situations, but with a happy ending, then the patients will hopefully recover after reading poems about others who have been in the same predicament and have recovered; while if patients read poems suitable to their situations, but do not contain the correct endings, then the patients will go deeper within themselves, allowing no one to help them. Albert Rothenberg agrees with Leedy, but adds in response, if therapists only try to take away the bad feelings of patients, then the patients do not learn how to resolve their conflicts. TIME quotes Rothenberg, saying, "Poetry by itself does not cure, but used by properly trained therapists, it has an advantage over the other arts because it encourages verbalization, the lifeblood of psychotherapy."

In his book, Schauffler gave his own opinion on poetry therapy that puts down the arguments, of professionals in the medical field, against it; "poems do not affect everyone in the same way and to use them carefully". Those professionals must remember that medicine does not affect everyone the same way, just like Schauffler stated. Poet, Anne Harvey Sexton, wrote many autobiographical poems that focused on her deepest feelings and recorded her battles with mental illness (no author, information from a Gale Group search). Sexton first began writing poetry as part of therapy during her stays in various hospitals and mental illness centers. Writing poetry not only became an outlet for her to express her feelings, it also became her career. The National Association of Poetry Therapy has the opinion that if therapists use the same types of therapy repeatedly, then patients will more likely have lower health functions and later on in life will be re-hospitalized. There has also been evidence, provided by literature and case studies, which state "poetry therapy is effective and powerful".

For millions of years, poetry therapy has been a practiced treatment, helping the mentally ill to overcome and ease their suffering. Yet it did not become an official treatment for mental illnesses until 23 years ago. Since then, poetry therapy has become a fast growing career with certified poetry therapists being integrated into all aspects of society, whether it be working in hospitals, asylums, libraries, schools, nursing homes, or community support groups. People pursuing poetry therapy as a career must go through the long and rigorous process of certification in order to become poetry therapists, but once they reach certification, they have the ability to reach into the deep depths of the mentally ill's mind and bring forth the information, which doctors need in order to help them and find cures, that once had been thought to be inaccessible. Through poetry therapy, the mentally ill become aware of the reasons for their problems.

Nicholas Mazza. "Poetry Therapy: Theory and Practice".

Lauren Keller. "History of Poetry Therapy". The National Association of Poetry Therapy.

Margot Astrov. "American Indian Prose and Poetry".

Perie Longo. "Poetry As Therapy".

Betts. "Poetry Therapy". The National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations.

TIME Magazine. "Behavior: Poetry Therapy."

John Fox. Institute for Poetic Medicine.