Question 1

Do you think the benefit of poetry comes from a visceral felt experience of the beauty and sound of the words and that this is soothing or sparks new ways of thinking? Kind of like looking at awe-inspiring art can make you tear up and marvel.

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

I think you have put it very well. The best poetry moves us at multiple levels – viscerally, emotionally and cognitively. All of these levels are part of psychotherapy and the process of healing. In that respect poetry that heals works in a similar way to other forms of therapy. These are elements that I discuss in Poetry Rx, using specific poems as examples. https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Rx-Inspiring-Poems-Bring/dp/172250546X

Question 2

How would you recommend starting a conversation with clients about reading poetry/other creative writing as a therapy tool? And how do you choose the poet and poems for each client? Thanks

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

Something a client might say will stimulate in me a recollection of a poem that makes a point that is relevant to that particular issue. For example, a couple squabbling over who's right and who's wrong may cause me to point out to them Rumi's "Out Beyond Ideas," (https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/poem/out-beyond-ideas/) which suggests reconciliation as being more important than right and wrong.

Question 3

How can I use poetry in the therapy of a person with PTSD (following COVID at risk of death)? The person likes to write poems. I asked her to write the experience of her illness and she chose to write a poem. How else can I use it?

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

An excellent poem to deal with trauma and PTSD is "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/51642/invictus). Many people have derived inspiration from Henley's example of how to survive even in the most extreme conditions. There are numerous poems that could be helpful for this problem.

Question 4

Can you recommend to me some literature in Spanish about the topic? Thank you.

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

One could find several examples of therapeutic poems in Spanish. I include one such example in Poetry Rx (https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-RX-Inspiring-Poems-Bring-ebook/dp/B08DBKVDSG), which can be helpful to immigrants and others who are unable to go back home. I am referring to "Caminante No Hay Camino" ("Traveler there is no road")by Antonio Machado (https://www.favoritepoem.org/poem_CaminanteNoHayCamino.html).

Question 5

Do you have insights into the mechanism(s) through which poetry heals? Thank you.

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

Evidence suggests that great poetry stimulates rewards centers of the brain and generates goosebumps and chills, which are part of the human response to moving experiences and presumably account for some of the therapeutic effects of poetry.

Question 6

Is it just reading poetry that you prescribe or can writing poetry be medicine also? Do you ever get asked about the Sylvia Plath effect?

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

In my work, I have focused on reading poetry, but others have emphasized the value of writing poetry. Indeed, writing one's deepest thoughts and feelings can be therapeutic in its own right.

Question 7

How can poetry help with grief and is there a specific poem that you would recommend?

Norman Rosenthal · Accepted Answer

Poetry can be extremely helpful for grieving people. Two examples of such helpful poems are included in Poetry Rx (https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-RX-Inspiring-Poems-Bring-ebook/dp/B08DBKVDSG): "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Auden (https://allpoetry.com/Funeral-Blues) and "Time Does Not Bring Relief" by Edna St. Vincent Millay (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46464/time-does-not-bring-relief-you-all-have-lied).

Poetry as Therapy