Conference Presentations by Nance Reynolds
Poetry is an ancient healing art predating the advent of psychotherapy. Historically, poetry was ... more Poetry is an ancient healing art predating the advent of psychotherapy. Historically, poetry was commonly used to address grieving and loss. Many of the sacred texts of different world religions are replete with poetic laments that were part of individual and collective healing processes. In contemporary society, many have lost the appreciation for the power of poetry to facilitate healing around grieving and loss. In this presentation, we begin by setting the foundation of how poetry can be integrated into humanistic and existential psychotherapy. Building from this frame, we explore five important themes in the grieving process: 1) trusting emotions and the grieving process, 2) emotional expression, 3) meaning-making, 4) connecting and deepening relationships, and 5) paradoxes of the grieving process. With each theme, we discuss ways that poetry can be used to assist grieving individuals. Additionally, with each theme, we utilize examples and illustrations of the use of poetry to address the particular theme. The examples illustrate the complexities and power of the use of poetry with grieving and loss. The presentation concludes with opportunities for reflection and discussion. We are requesting 2-hours in order to adequately illustrate the complexity within each theme and discuss various ways that poetry can address the theme.
Poetry is an ancient healing art predating the advent of psychotherapy. Historically, poetry was ... more Poetry is an ancient healing art predating the advent of psychotherapy. Historically, poetry was commonly used to address grieving and loss. Many of the sacred texts of different world religions are replete with poetic laments that were part of individual and collective healing processes. In contemporary society, many have lost the appreciation for the power of poetry to facilitate healing around grieving and loss. In this presentation, we begin by setting the foundation of how poetry can be integrated into humanistic and existential psychotherapy. Building from this frame, we explore five important themes in the grieving process: 1) trusting emotions and the grieving process, 2) emotional expression, 3) meaning-making, 4) connecting and deepening relationships, and 5) paradoxes of the grieving process. With each theme, we discuss ways that poetry can be used to assist grieving individuals. Additionally, with each theme, we utilize examples and illustrations of the use of poetry to address the particular theme. The examples illustrate the complexities and power of the use of poetry with grieving and loss. The presentation concludes with opportunities for reflection and discussion. We are requesting 2-hours in order to adequately illustrate the complexity within each theme and discuss various ways that poetry can address the theme.
Poetry is an ancient healing art that has transcended cultural barriers since long before the adv... more Poetry is an ancient healing art that has transcended cultural barriers since long before the advent of psychotherapy. In the Foreword to Stay Awhile: Poetic Narratives on Multiculturalism and Diversity, Gradilla (2015) stated that, “ in all ancient societies poetry was seen as the purest and most dangerous form of truth and knowledge” (p. 7). The purity and danger of poetry is also closely connected to its ability to promote healing and growth at the personal, social, and cultural levels. Poetry is authentic communication that often emerges from deep within one’s subjective and empathetic experience. As such, the use of poetry to facilitate healing, growth, and dialogue is highly consistent with humanistic psychology.
This presentation identifies several ways in which poetry is relevant to personal and social engagement with multiculturalism and diversity. We begin with a general discussion pertaining to the ways that poetry facilitates healing and growth prior to focusing more specifically on multiculturalism and diversity. Through engagement with poems in the book Stay Awhile: Poetic Narratives on Multiculturalism and Diversity by Hoffman and Granger, eleven themes were identified that are relevant to multiculturalism. Many of these themes are also relevant to psychotherapy and the application of psychology to social issues. These themes will be discussed along with illustration of poems that embody the themes. Special attention will be given to the clinical applications. We conclude the presentation with an experiential exercise in which participants will be guided to deeper engagement with multicultural issues through poetry.
Granger, N. Jr., Hoffman, L., Alsoraimi, N., Bargdill, R., Belton, G., Christensen, R., Granger, A., Hamlin, N., Lac, V., Moats, M., & Reynolds, N. (2015, March). The use of poetry to facilitate multicultural dialogues. Symposium presented at the 8th Annual Society for Humanistic Psychology Conference, Chicago, IL.
Papers by Nance Reynolds
Journal of Humanistic Psychology
Tom Greening’s life was his message. He has given us a gift of his lifetime of poetry to carry wi... more Tom Greening’s life was his message. He has given us a gift of his lifetime of poetry to carry with us, to remember and cherish the power of compassion, humor, imagination, and a quiet declaration of our shared humanity. We will miss him.
Poetry is an ancient healing art that has transcended cultural barriers since long before the adv... more Poetry is an ancient healing art that has transcended cultural barriers since long before the advent of psychotherapy. In the Foreword to Stay Awhile: Poetic Narratives on Multiculturalism and Diversity, Gradilla (2015) stated that, “ in all ancient societies poetry was seen as the purest and most dangerous form of truth and knowledge” (p. 7). The purity and danger of poetry is also closely connected to its ability to promote healing and growth at the personal, social, and cultural levels. Poetry is authentic communication that often emerges from deep within one’s subjective and empathetic experience. As such, the use of poetry to facilitate healing, growth, and dialogue is highly consistent with humanistic psychology. This presentation identifies several ways in which poetry is relevant to personal and social engagement with multiculturalism and diversity. We begin with a general discussion pertaining to the ways that poetry facilitates healing and growth prior to focusing more spe...
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Conference Presentations by Nance Reynolds
This presentation identifies several ways in which poetry is relevant to personal and social engagement with multiculturalism and diversity. We begin with a general discussion pertaining to the ways that poetry facilitates healing and growth prior to focusing more specifically on multiculturalism and diversity. Through engagement with poems in the book Stay Awhile: Poetic Narratives on Multiculturalism and Diversity by Hoffman and Granger, eleven themes were identified that are relevant to multiculturalism. Many of these themes are also relevant to psychotherapy and the application of psychology to social issues. These themes will be discussed along with illustration of poems that embody the themes. Special attention will be given to the clinical applications. We conclude the presentation with an experiential exercise in which participants will be guided to deeper engagement with multicultural issues through poetry.
Granger, N. Jr., Hoffman, L., Alsoraimi, N., Bargdill, R., Belton, G., Christensen, R., Granger, A., Hamlin, N., Lac, V., Moats, M., & Reynolds, N. (2015, March). The use of poetry to facilitate multicultural dialogues. Symposium presented at the 8th Annual Society for Humanistic Psychology Conference, Chicago, IL.
Papers by Nance Reynolds
This presentation identifies several ways in which poetry is relevant to personal and social engagement with multiculturalism and diversity. We begin with a general discussion pertaining to the ways that poetry facilitates healing and growth prior to focusing more specifically on multiculturalism and diversity. Through engagement with poems in the book Stay Awhile: Poetic Narratives on Multiculturalism and Diversity by Hoffman and Granger, eleven themes were identified that are relevant to multiculturalism. Many of these themes are also relevant to psychotherapy and the application of psychology to social issues. These themes will be discussed along with illustration of poems that embody the themes. Special attention will be given to the clinical applications. We conclude the presentation with an experiential exercise in which participants will be guided to deeper engagement with multicultural issues through poetry.
Granger, N. Jr., Hoffman, L., Alsoraimi, N., Bargdill, R., Belton, G., Christensen, R., Granger, A., Hamlin, N., Lac, V., Moats, M., & Reynolds, N. (2015, March). The use of poetry to facilitate multicultural dialogues. Symposium presented at the 8th Annual Society for Humanistic Psychology Conference, Chicago, IL.