Poetry and Story Therapy: The Healing Power of Creative Expression

by Geri Giebel Chavis

Poetry and short stories can act as powerful springboards to growth, self-enhancement and healing. With the guidance of a facilitator, participants can engage with their own creative expression, and with that of others, and in doing so find opportunities to voice their truth, affirm their strengths, and find new ways of coping with challenges. This accessible book explores the therapeutic possibilities of poetry and stories, exploring ways of selecting appropriate works for discussion, and providing techniques for facilitating personally relevant and growth-enhancing sessions. The author provides ideas and suggestions for personal writing activities that emerge from or intertwine with this discussion, and explains how participants can create their own poetic and narrative pieces using other media, such as music, photographs, film, paintings, objects, and physical movement. The book references a wide variety of specific poems, short stories and films to use as prompts to creative writing, and contains a useful bibliography of poetry collections, story anthologies and film resources as well as a list of further resources and template feedback forms. Combining theory with a multitude of case examples and innovative ideas for practical, experiential activities, this book is a valuable introduction for creative arts therapy students and practitioners, mental health and medical professionals, and anyone else interested in the healing possibilities of creative expression.

Genres: Psychology

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Nasra Al Adawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I opened the page to learn about poetry therapy, though this book which was a random selection but it then occurred that it was a great beginning and an eye opener to what is the substance of poetry therapy is. In particular this book was told from a perspective of a poet practitioner therapist.

The book highlighted many elements that were unknown for me, among them was the process of running poetry therapy session and uncovering the way to handle different target group such teens, couple, women and so on.

"Poetry and Story Therapy" was all introduced in an intelligent way through covering on how poetry was therapeutic for people throughout different centuries. As someone who writes poems, my understanding of the therapeutic features was a one way approach. This book had truly unfolded different approach of how poetry uses collective therapeutic format. The first which I did not think of the influence of poetry reading and it’s healing impact. The book provided ample sources of different poem that can be used depending on situations. This was titled poetry files and that was rich in content not just the collection of poems but it has provided tools of how one can choose poems for therapeutic purposes.

[James Byrne · Rating 2 out of 5]

No real basis in psychological research including narrative approaches which would be relevant

Lots of examples of potentially therapeutic poems and some basic exercises

[Flora Wong]

2014/4/27

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great writing ideas for therapy hidden in an unnecessary narrative structure. A clunky format which should be a practical, user friendly guide.

[Greta Mccarthyobrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter Hazel gave me this book for Xmas and it is wonderful. I use it more as a reference book!