Poetry as a Healing Therapy

I have been writing about books and their therapeutic impact through a blog post every month since January 2020 under the ‘Bibliotherapy series #CauseAChatter’. (If you wish, you can read the previous posts here.)

Today’s post is ‘Poetry as a Healing Therapy’.

‘Bibliotherapy’ essentially believes that books or literature help to heal. Reading great books, poems, and stories help us overcome tough times. In a formal setting, a therapist would earmark a selected reading material from either fiction or non-fiction, and guide the reader through a path of self-reflection, self-understanding, and recovery.

Poetry Therapy as a form of Bibliotherapy makes use of metaphor, imagery, and rhythm from a poem for healing purposes. It uses poetry as a means of exploring and identifying difficult situations to gain awareness, understanding, acceptance, and finally comfort.

In combination with Poetry Therapy, under Journal Therapy people are encouraged to write their reflections in journals on specifically selected published poems. Later, they can self-reflect on their thoughts or discuss them during group therapies.

For many, writing poems has been one of the most natural instincts to vent out grief and anguish. But, here I am discussing only the assistance we can take from a published poem to raise self-awareness and gain from its therapeutic value. One can identify with the theme of a poem, get insight, and be inspired which can lead to a positive change.

Let me explain ‘hope’ within the ambit of ‘Poetry Therapy’:

As a concept, hope is difficult to describe, perhaps I can define it as optimism, a ray of light in the darkness. Similarly, poets use metaphors for ‘hope’, urging the reader to identify with it and cultivate this elusive quality from within. Hope gives us the ability to bounce back despite our failures and setbacks. The power of hope is vital on the journey to healing from emotional wounds and pain.  

“Hope is the thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson is one such poem that infuses you with hope. A bird does not disappear in the face of storms or hardships. ‘Hope’ as a bird in the poem lives within the human soul.

You would have spent about a minute reading this poem and another few minutes thinking over – what it meant for you. Isn’t it magical? Poems nurture a sense of well-being and happiness deep inside us.

Before I end the post, I would recommend you to read “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou. Angelou beautifully instills confidence and self-esteem in her readers through this poem. Do read and think about it. Maybe write a few lines and drop a link, I will be happy to read your reflections on the poem.

Hope you liked reading this post! This post is a part of Blogchatter’s ‘Blogging with a Purpose’ #CauseAChatter.