In the previous post I offered a poem by Gwendolyn Brooks. This poem is a a supplication, inviting us to gather up the parts of us that have been disinherited. The words are strong, unapologetic. The timing, the rhythm , the repetition, soothing us into ease. Her language evokes a state. It builds a place, a world, a conduit, for us to inhabit, with her and within ourselves. How does this relate to the therapeutic conversation?
As both a poet and a psychotherapist, language is for me, a fertile ground, each word significant to itself. But even more significant is what is conveyed rather than actually what is said. Queries abound. Does the language unearth something buried and bring it to the light carefully and accurately? Does it misname or intrude? Does this language more truly represent the experience of my patients or miss altogether. Is there enough silence? Poetry is filled with silence. There is as much attention to what needs to live in the quiet, as to what needs to be spoken.
Stephan Mitchell refers to this in , Influence and Autonomy in Psychoanalysis.
“To understand unconscious processes in ones own mind or that of another is to use language in a fashion that actually discovers and creates new experience , something that was not there before. “
As both a poet and a psychotherapist, language is for me, a fertile ground, each word significant to itself. But even more significant is what is conveyed rather than actually what is said. Queries abound. Does the language unearth something buried and bring it to the light carefully and accurately? Does it misname or intrude? Does this language more truly represent the experience of my patients or miss altogether. Is there enough silence? Poetry is filled with silence. There is as much attention to what needs to live in the quiet, as to what needs to be spoken. There is a relationship forming. Our rhythms interchanged . Together we learn new words and resurrect old. Sometimes there are no words and no movement, yet a metamorphosis is happening. The words, the quiet, become steppingstones, to the untraveled places within. Some parts are desolate, some full of fire and some alight with innocent delight, all waiting for the safety to come out of hiding . Thank-you for the many responses via email and conversation. Please comment here so that we can develop dialogue through this medium.
It is often an effective therapy in itself, but it is always beneficial in preparing your mind to respond in the best way possible to any therapy or treatment which you undergo.
I came across your comment after almost a year and thought I might respond. Yes it is about preparation of the mind. Thank-you for commenting.