Poetry Therapy The Irish Poetry Therapy Network Journal Volume 1: Issue 1: Spring 2016
The Power of Words
The Power of Words: Research Study Book Review Upcoming Events
IPTN Irish Poetry Therapy Network 1
Contents Editorial Theresa Kelly p.2
Greetings
Carol Boland p.2
The Power of Words: Research Study Alison Broder p.3 Momentous Year for Poetry Therapy in Ireland Ger Campbell p.5 Book Review: The Backwards Book by Niall Hickey Carol Boland p. 6 Coming Events p.6 Threads p.6 Ger Campbell
Contact Us Email: irishpoetrytherapynetwork @gmail.com
Blog:
irishpoetytherapynetwork.blogspot.ie
Editorial
Greetings
Dear Readers, We are very pleased to bring you the first edition of Poetry Therapy, the first ezine produced by the Irish Poetry Therapy Network (IPTN). In this issue we invite all of our readers to submit articles, book/poetry/film reviews, workshops etc relating to the area of poetry therapy and how it supports the personal development and therapeutic development of the individual. I would like to draw your attention to the piece by Carol Boland, Chairperson IPTN, where she outlines IPTN’s strategy to raise awareness of poetry therapy in Ireland. I am very grateful to Alison Broder for her piece ‘The Power of Words: Research Study’. The subject of this synopsised paper is to explore how and whom poetry therapy helps in the healing process. In this extract, Alison concludes that poetry therapy can sit well with many forms of therapy be it from long-term psychoanalytic therapy to shorter forms of CBT. Finally, outgoing Chairperson of IPTN, Ger Campbell reviews the major successes of the IPTN during 2015. What she has failed to mention is her own trojan work in helping to achieve all of these milestones and we thank Ger for all of her efforts last year and in previous years when she held the position of Chairperson. Theresa Kelly PTP IAHIP/IACP
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the inaugural issue of Poetry Therapy. This is the first ezine in Ireland dedicated to the advancement and development of poetry therapy, a therapeutic process for healing and personal development. This ezine is part of IPTN’s new strategy to raise awareness of poetry therapy in Ireland and also to promote the benefits of the therapy on a clinical and developmental level. Other plans include the publication of an information leaflet for distribution around the country: in libraries, doctor’s surgeries and anywhere else that will take them! Another course of action is to encourage various creative arts associations and colleges to run Poetry Therapy sessions with qualified Poetry Therapy Practitioners. If you can help us in any way to achieve our goals, we would be delighted to hear from you.
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Wishing health
you
good
mental
Carol Boland PTP Chairperson IPTN
Alison Broder is a psychotherapist who has carried out a research study on ‘THE POWER OF WORDS: HOW AND WHOM DOES POETRY THERAPY HEAL’. This article is a synopsis of her findings.
Abstract This project aims to explore how and whom poetry therapy heals. The methodology used is quantitative where there are significant percentage findings and qualitative, using thematic analysis. The data has been collected by emailing questionnaires with openended questions to members of the Irish Poetry Therapy Network (IPTN). The main results show that Poetry Therapy works due to the use of symbolic language, acting as a gateway for change, tapping into other innate cognitive structures, releasing memories and finding different perceptions, thus helping people to find healing by externalising and reframing issues. A good therapeutic relationship reinforces this growth with discussion and evaluation of issues raised and by encouraging participants to respond creatively.
In conclusion, this project finds that poetry therapy works with most types of patient. However, special care must be taken when working with people who have severe mental disorders and/or who are heavily medicated. Introduction After the deaths of her parents, the researcher was numb with grief. Then a good friend read her “Death is nothing at all” by Canon Henry Scott-Holland. It was the beginning of a long journey back. This personal experience sparked the researcher’s interest in biblio/poetry therapy. Like many she suspects its healing power springs from an ability to draw up memories and insight from deeper facets of the human mind. In 1908, Sigmund Freud claimed that “poetry and psychoanalysis shared the
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unconscious and preconscious materials of dreams and fantasies.” David Grove believed that metaphor was fundamental to human understanding of the world. We compare like with like. He noted that clients used “metaphor to describe . . . their deepest sense of who they were. Rather than people having metaphors, it’s as if they were their metaphors. And when these changed, they did too.” The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (Yule, G, p.196-198), posits that the structure of a person’s language determines their perception of reality. Perhaps this therapeutic power comes from poetry’s ability to bypass the straitjacket of language and release deeper modes of perception by using metaphor? Richard Bandler, and John Grinder worked in the field of cognitive psychology, in the 1970s, by studying the language and work of Fritz Perls and Virginia Satir. They theorised that human beings process information by deletion, distortion and generalisation (Steinhouse, 2010, p.xvii). Does poetry therapy remedy these by enabling readers to access deeper aspects of the mind and reorder their perception of reality? In 1994, Steven Pinker wrote that as birds fly, humans instinctively use language to communicate and form thoughts (1994, p.18-20). Jung implied that humans are naturally poetic and use creativity to make sense of the world (Mazza, 2003, p.9)
Death Is Nothing At All Does the instinctive expressiveness of language bond it to other innate psychic structures, such as archetypes, the felt sense and empathy, and could this connection open the gateway for the healing power of poetry therapy? The instinctiveness of language also leads to the hypothesis that the majority of humanity can be healed by poetry therapy. Its forerunners: preliterate oral traditions of storytelling and incantation, show that people have long benefited from its therapeutic power. Thus, it seems relevant to ask not only whom does poetry therapy heal, but are there any contraindications to its use?
contrasting those induces insight and healing. This study shows how poetry therapy sits well with most approaches to therapy. The majority of theories of how poetry therapy functions come from psychoanalytical sources (Mazza, 2003, p.9) yet one therapist states she likes to use it in conjunction with CBT. The recommendation that a cautious approach is needed when treating persons with severe mental disorders, who might be delusional and heavily medicated is a valuable pointer to best practice that is missing from the books reviewed.
References:
jokes that we enjoyed together.
Conclusion The healing power of poetry therapy springs from the way instinctive expressiveness of language bonds it to other innate psychic structures. It is one of the foremost ways humans express symbolic thought, and examining and considering our creative responses helps generate insight. In addition, despite the restricted nature of the research sample, extra information was revealed. For example, the research demonstrated that a good working therapeutic relationship is quintessential to the process of examining and evaluating participants. As Rachel Mckibbons indicated in her Tedx talk “Poetry as therapy� poetry therapy involves examining messages from the head to the heart and the heart to the head and
Brand, A.G. (1980), Therapy in writing: A psychoeducational enterprise, Lexington, MA: Heath
Let my name be ever the household word
Mazza, N., (2003), Poetry therapy: healing and practice, Hove: Brunner-Routledge
Life means all that it ever meant.
Death is nothing at all. It does not count. I have only slipped away into the next room. Nothing has happened. Everything remains exactly as it was. I am I, and you are you, and the old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still. Call me by the old familiar name. Speak of me in the easy way which you always used. Put no difference into your tone. Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow. Laugh as we always laughed at the little Play, smile, think of me, pray for me. that it always was. Let it be spoken without an effort, without the ghost of a shadow upon it.
It is the same as it ever was. There is absolute and unbroken continuity.
Pinker, S. (1994), The language instinct, New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
What is this death but a negligible accident? Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
Steinhouse, R., (2010) How to Coach with NLP, Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd
I am but waiting for you, for an interval,
Yule, G. (1990) The study of language an introduction, Avon: Cambridge University Press
All is well.
somewhere very near, just round the corner.
Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost. One brief moment and all will be as it was before. How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again! Henry Scott-Holland
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A momentous Year for Poetry Therapy in Ireland Ger Campbell revisits IPTN moments in 2015 The year 2015 was quite momentous for our organization as two members of IPTN attained accreditation as Poetry Therapy Practitioners (PTP) with the International Academy of Poetry Therapy, under the mentorship of Dr. Niall Hickey. It gives me great pride to acknowledge that there are now four fully qualified and accredited members amongst our ranks: Dr. Niall Hickey (RPT) Carol Boland (PTP) Theresa Kelly (PTP) Geraldine Campbell (PTP). This is indeed a marvellous achievement not only for IPTN but also for Poetry Therapy in Ireland. It is most significant that Irish Poetry Therapists are actively engaged in the promotion of Poetry Therapy
The Conference consisted of three workshops facilitated by Theresa Kelly, Carol Boland and Ger Campbell. Each workshop was a unique and interactive experience. From complete poetry immersion with Theresa using a fantastic selection of poems to Carol’s use of drumming as means of connecting with the rhythm of various poems, and my own movement meditation that
at both clinical and developmental levels. In our own creative fashion, we propose to shine the light of poetry as a means of expanding self-awareness, thus contributing to personal growth both in ourselves and in the lives of our clients.
Annual Conference Our Annual Conference last year was held in Hotel Kilkenny on the 11th October. The conference was titled: Rhythm Of Life, which encouraged participants to explore various ways and means that help us to find a balance in our lives. The Conference was an outstanding success and the feedback sheets from participants described the day as enlightening, thought provoking, challenging, fascinating and, above all, a very worthwhile learning experience. This positive validation of the workshops from participants’ perspective demonstrates the power of poetry therapy as a means of developing personal insights and self-awareness.
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This positive validation of the workshops from the participants’ perspective, demonstrates the power of poetry therapy
‘rattled our bones’ in order to hear our inner rhythms. Each workshop involved writing exercises and the quality of the writing and the different poems produced by participants allowed us to journey in many different directions both individually and as a group.
PT Sessions A number of PT group sessions were held throughout the year in different parts of the country. They were lively and enjoyable and more events are planned for 2016. It is anticipate that our future plans will assist IPTN to grow and flourish as a professional organization and will help to spread the Poetry Therapy word. Ger Campbell was Chairperson of IPTN from 2007 to 2015.
Book Review
Coming Events
Threads
Poetry Therapy Sessions ‘There is a thread you follow. It goes among things that change.’ William Stafford 1998.
Join us on our new adventure Carol Boland reviews Niall Hickey’s ‘The Backwards Book’. The Backwards Book by Niall Hickey (Boland Press) has recently been reviewed in Eisteach, the IACP magazine. Written by a qualified poetry therapist and mentor, working in Ireland, this is the first book of its kind. David Keane in his Eisteach review states, ‘the reader is immersed in Poetry Therapy from the get-go, albeit in a gentle manner . . . explores a wide variety of symbols, metaphors and text that can be used in Poetry Therapy.’ He adds that ‘samples of experimental and experiential work are provided in the book.’ Dr. Mark Maguire, Maynooth University, confirms that this is an excellent primer and ‘a book that is, in itself, therapeutic.’ The Backwards Book by Niall Hickey is available from Boland Press. Price €15
of poetry therapy sessions around the country.
Letterkenny
Our first port of call is the beautiful Gartan Outdoor Centre in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal (www.gartan.com) When: Saturday 21 May '16 Time: 2pm to 5pm Cost: €10 (€5 for IPTN members)
Gorey Our July session is in Hollyfort, a pretty village outside Gorey. When: Sunday 10 July ‘16 Time: 2pm to 5pm Cost: €10 (€5 for IPTN members) Full details of these and other sessions will appear on IPTN’s blog. Email us to secure a place: irishpoetrytherapynetwork @gmail.com
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I have often pondered Stafford’s lines particularly in relation to the thread we follow. I would like to follow a thread that has survived many centuries of change right back to the ancient Greek’s. Indeed it was the ancient Greek’s who understood that the power of poetry and words were conducive to emotional healing and well-being. (Weller and Golden, 1993). It is this same thread that links us as poetry therapy practitioners when we work with clients. Today we are lucky to have access to so many articles and books outlining and documenting the importance of poetry and the written word as a medium conducive to personal growth, healing and change. The thread of poetry therapy that links us all is a most precious one: treasure it and keep it safe. Ger Campbell PTP
Send us your experiences on poetry therapy, whatever they may be.