Guiding the unconscious: The process of poem selection for poetry therapy groups

Abstract

The observations and ideas discussed in this paper were generated by poetry reading therapy group work with severely disturbed psychiatric patients. Conducted in a comprehensive aftercare program, this work was primarily for patients who have experienced frequent or multiple hospitalizations and whose illnesses have seriously impaired their overall functioning. Many are medicated schizophrenic persons who are concurrently involved in other treatment modalities, all of which are informed by psychoanalytic principles. In particular, this paper, addressed to clinicians already familiar with poetry therapy, has its focus on the critical task of selecting poems to provide patients with an opportunity for a positive and often profound therapeutic experience.