BRIEF REPORT: Poetry Therapy with Hospitalized Mentally Ill .Patients

Abstract

Poetry is communication, or as the Psalmist said, "A song of the soul.'' It, therefore, can ally itself with psychotherapy, which is also
communication-the telling and the listening, to soul utterances. Psychotherapy, using poetry, was a therapy of choice with inpatients
at St. Glares Hospital in New York City. Poetry was chosen for the twelve patients involved because they did not communicate the ''soul material" in the traditional sense, verbally or overtly, with their assigned therapists. Aside from the clinical definitions of illness, there seemed to be another component which remained unshared and unexpressed. The symptomatology included depression, suicidal attempts, addiction, insecurities, repeated failures, · aggressiveness, and powerlessness. Patient population included male and female, all ethnic and religious backgrounds, and consisted of a doctor, a nun, secretaries, teachers, housewives, and students. The ages ranged from teen-agers to the elderly.