Using Poetry to Facilitate Dialogues and Healing in Multicultural Contexts

Gradilla (2015) noted that, “…in all ancient societies poetry was seen as the purest and most dangerous form of truth and knowledge” (p. 7). The danger, to which Gradilla’s speaks, is the revealing way that poetry opens one to the truth. Poetry, like many art forms, is highly adaptable. It can be used as protest to confront injustice and it can unify and coalesce groups in healing communities. It can be used to explore one’s own pain and suffering, and it can be used to find healing meaning in the midst of these difficult spaces. This workshop explores the various ways that poetry can be used to promote individual and collective healing. We begin focusing on personal healing, including how poetry can be used for exploration, facilitating empathy, and fostering meaning. Next, we consider poetry and collective or social healing in a multicultural context, including activism as healing, collective participation in meaning-creation, and interpersonal healing. Third, we consider how poetry can be integrated into the psychotherapy process, including ethical considerations and clinical examples. We conclude with an experiential exercise followed by time for questions and discussion.