This document summarizes the use of literature as a therapy tool for treating mental illnesses. It discusses how poetry therapy has been used for centuries as a healing method. More recently, literature is being used in modern hospitals through bibliotherapy and poetry therapy. Various forms of literary therapy like open journaling, children's stories, and patient writings have helped treat conditions such as PTSD, schizophrenia, and anorexia. The document concludes that bibliotherapy is an important part of psychoanalysis and can benefit patients of all ages with different mental health needs.
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Jennifer shirley literature as a therapy tool (research paper)
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Jennifer A. Shirley
Mrs. Corbett
AP Literature
17, November 2011
Literature as a Therapy Tool
Throughout all of history literature has served to have many purposes. Literature has been
used to teach, entertain, and record information. But, now literature is being seen in a new light.
Literature is now being used as a therapy tool for people both young and old who suffer from a
mental illness.
Literature has been used as a therapy tool for many centuries. Poetry therapy is “the
intentional use of poetry and other forms of literature for healing and personal growth” (Fox).
Poetry especially has been used as a healing device. It has been discovered that “shamans and
witchdoctors chanted poetry for the well-being of the tribe or individual” (McCasey). Doctors
have thought that poetry has always possessed healing powers and often would recommend that
family members read to the patients. Even though, the witchdoctors use to believe that poetry
could heal actual physical illnesses their beliefs did begin a medical revolution that would spring
up centuries later. Within the first hospital of the United States doctors used literature as a form
of therapy. The treatments that were recommended consisted of “reading, writing and publishing
of [the patients] writings” (McCasey). Mentally ill patients benefit from the writing of poetry
because it is an outlet for their emotions in which they can fully express themselves without the
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fear of judgment. Also, reading poetry can be helpful to the mental state of a patient. Poetry has
been used for centuries in order to help the healing process along.
Literature was first introduced in the modern hospital in the early 1900s in the form of
chants, songs, and stories. The use of literature as a form of medication is formally called
“bibliotherapy” (McCasey). Bibliotherapy refers specifically to the use of books as a form of
therapy. Patients would read books on their own, or have them read to them. On the other hand,
poetry therapy is more a more specific form of bibliotherapy which uses “metaphor[s], imagery,
rhythm, and other poetic devices” (McCasey) to improve the mental state of patients. Poetry
therapy is unique in the sense that it taps into the emotions of the patients. Poetry therapy also
helps because patients can experiment by writing their own poetry as a form of self expression.
Poetry is a very powerful tool in the hands of the right people and doctors have found it
very helpful in the treatment of mentally ill patients. One of the most common mental disorders
treated by poetry therapy is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Most people believe that war
veterans are the only people that suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but that is far from
being the truth. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be caused by several different traumatic
events such as “a parent being sent to prison or mental hospital, suicide of a parent or loved one,
being exposed to violence or learning of a traumatic event occurring to a parent or loved one”
(Oord, Lucassen, and Emmerik). This proves that adolescents can also suffer from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder as well. Furthermore, this can be extremely damaging when the child
grows older. Children are very fragile and can be easily hurt. Also, doctors believe that “If
children with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are not treated adequately, [their] symptoms may
persist into adulthood and lead to chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” (Oord, Lucassen, and
Emmerik). Traumatic events happen in the lives of children every day and since children are so
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delicate, doctors debated on a way to treat them without damaging their psyche. With that in
mind, doctors decided that it would be a good idea to experiment with the use of bibliotherapy.
Within situations concerning adults the “use of literature, discussion and creative writing” are
practical (“Poetry Therapy”). Assignments are given and then they are reviewed later with the
therapist present. These writings can also be shared with family members or a spouse. On the
other hand, children are a special case because they may not be old or mature enough to handle
the writing assignments. Because children are so unique, therapists have come up with a way to
use a modified form of bibliotherapy in order to help them. Doctors have decided that they can
use bibliotherapy with children by sitting down with the child while they write a story about how
they are feeling or even by having the child draw a picture and describing it. This may seem
unconventional, but this helps the child who is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder to
express their feelings without them feeling uncomfortable.
Poetry therapy is not the only literary therapy that is used in the treatment of mental
illnesses. There is also open journal therapy, in which “client and therapist write to each other.
Each is free to write about whatever seems useful and germane and to reflect on what happened
in a session or on what the other has written” (Schneider, Austin, and Arney 60-61). This form of
therapy is different, yet seems to be effective. In this situation the patient can express themselves
and gather their thoughts into one place. “The writing does not replace face-to-face therapy
sessions. Rather the writing works to make the sessions more client directed and to deepen the
understanding of both client and therapist” (Schneider, Austin, and Arney 60-61). Within this
type of therapy the patient controls the sessions by bringing up topics to discuss within letters to
the therapist. Since the patients have a lot of the control it makes them feel more comfortable and
helps them more freely express their inner emotions. Open journal therapy is new, inventive, and
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helpful for a number of patients, and not only those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. This form of therapy has also been studied with patients that live with the mental
illness schizophrenia. “Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder that makes it difficult to: tell
the difference between real and unreal experiences, Think logically, Have normal emotional
responses, [and] Behave normally in social situations” (PubMed Health). Using open journal
therapy is a great tool within the treatment of patients who suffer from schizophrenia.
Considering that people who have schizophrenia have difficulty functioning in social situations
the writing is beneficial because the patients can get their inner emotions out to the therapist
without the patient having to talk to the therapist off the top of their heads. It is also helpful
because the patient already has their ideas down on paper and then the therapist can help them
expand upon those ideas.
As stated before poetry therapy is helpful in more than just cases of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. Poetry therapy can also be used as a treatment for the mental illness anorexia nervosa.
In most therapy settings, “treatment of women with anorexia nervosa often focus on weight gain
as the primary therapeutic goal without concurrently addressing psychological concerns”
(Robbins and Pehrsson). This is a major problem within most treatment plans, because anorexia
nervosa is in fact a mental illness. In order for a treatment to work a therapist must first begin at
the source of the problem which can often be low self esteem, abuse, or other psychological
issues. Doctors can treat the psychological issues by using “narrative and poetry therapy because
it offers women an opportunity to create an expressive and assertive voice while shifting blame
from the self to the disorder” (Robbins and Pehrsson). This is extremely effective and is helpful
in preventing a relapse within patients. Also it helps the women put their feelings onto paper
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rather than torturing themselves. The use of poetry therapy is helpful in many different
situations.
Unlike adults, children are extremely hard to treat for mental illnesses because most
children either cannot or will not directly speak to their therapists about the events going on in
their lives. Poetry therapy is very important within cases involving children because, “they help
the children to achieve a capacity for directness, clearer self-understanding, and clearer
communication with important others in their lives” (Seiden 170). Children tend to respond more
positively to interactions involving apparatuses that they are used to seeing, such as story books,
coloring pages, or toys. Being able to relate to the children in these ways will greatly improve
their success in the therapy sessions that they attend. Also, children’s books can be used as a
form of bibliotherapy, “[it] can assist children in overcoming problems by having them read
stories about characters who have successfully resolved a dilemma similar to their own”
(Davies). This is important because children learn through examples. Also, children look up to
characters of books which means that if they read about a character that has overcome the same
difficulty that they are dealing with they will have more hope to overcome the obstacle. In the
first stages of bibliotherapy the stories for children were “intensely and unapologetically
didactic” (Hundley). Books often plainly told children what to do and what not to do. They
generally involved instructions on religion or other cultural aspects. Now, the books that are used
within bibliotherapy for children are more on the subtle side of the spectrum and hint more
toward what children should do through the showing of an example. Overall, bibliotherapy can
be very helpful in children as well as adults.
In Conclusion, Bibliotherapy is an important tool within the realm of psychoanalysis.
Bibliotherapy and specifically poetry therapy use poems songs and other literary works to
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improve the mental stability of patients. Bibliotherapy can be used to treat patients of every age,
and also of varying mental illnesses from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa, all
the way to Schizophrenia. Bibliotherapy has definitely made a huge impact upon the world of
therapy.
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Works Cited
Davies, Leah, M.Ed. “Using Bibliotherapy with Children.” Kelly Bear. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.kellybear.com/TeacherArticles/TeacherTip34.html>.
Fox, John. “What is Poetry Therapy?” The Institutte for Poetic Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2011.
<http://poeticmedicine.org/about.poetrytherapy.html>.
McCasey, Nessa. History of poetry therapy. The National Association of Poetry Therapy. N.p., 2011. Web.
17 Oct. 2011. <http://www.poetrytherapy.org/history.html>.
Myracle, Lauren. “Molding the Minds of the Young: The History of Bibliotherapy as Applied to Children
and Adolescents .” The Alan Review. Ed. Steven Bickmore, Jacqueline Bach, and Melanie
Hundley. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2011. <http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/winter95/
Myracle.html>.
Oord, Van der, Saskia Lucassen, and Van Emmerik. “Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder in
children using cognitive behavioural writing therapy.” Galileo. Wiley, n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/ehost/detail?sid=8127fdcc-3128-
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“Poetry Therapy.” National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Associations. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov.
2011. <http://www.nccata.org/poetry_therapy.htm>.
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PubMed Health. U.S. National Library of Medicine , 7 Feb. 2010. Web. 4 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001925/>.
Robbins, Joy M, and Dale-Elizabeth Pehrsson. “Anorexia Nervosa: A Synthesis of Poetic.” Journal of
Creativity in Mental Health: 42-56. galilao. Web. 6 Nov. 2011.
<http://web.ebscohost.com.proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/
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Schneider, Barbara, PH.D., Christopher Austin, MSW, and Laurie Arney. “WRITING TO WELLNESS: USING
AN OPEN.” Systemic Therapies 27.2 (2008): 60-75. Rpt. in Journal of Systemic Therapies. N.p.:
n.p., n.d. N. pag. Galileo. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxygsu-
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418b16bef4da%40sessionmgr11&vid=2&hid=18>.
Seiden, Henry M. “Using Collaborative Poetry in Child.” International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic
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