Poetry and Therapy: Why words help

What is poetry and what does poetry do? Why is poetry a force for psychological change?Words and language - and by implication, creative writing - offer us a way of expressing ourselves and getting our feelings out into the world in ways that feel psychologically helpful.They offer us a route to catharsis and the opportunity to connect with other people.When we approach language poetically, language can do other things that bring about change at a psychological level.Poems allow us to hear and feel the multiplicity of meanings because this is how poetry works.Poetry actively encourages us to listen to language in more complex and multi-faceted ways - ways that make us take account of the sounds and rhythms of words, and their associations through its use of metaphor and other figurative tropes.It is because poetry asks us to move into a psychological space where meaning must be discovered and made that it is such fertile ground for psychological repair and healing.Stephanie Aspin is an