Hi Gillian,
I am not trained to do poetry therapy, but I suggest (as I often do) that you do a PsychInfo database search at a university library for articles on poetry therapy and writing therapy. The journal "the Arts in Psychotherapy" may be useful to you, as well as some of the other creative arts therapy webpage. (Barbara Ann Levy's CATS webpage is a good example)
I also, again, want to make a point of professional clarification about terminology. I do not mean the following to be a criticism of you - it is just something that needs to be clarified. While it is natural for you to use the term 'art therapy' to describe the therapeutic work you are studying, practicing and learning about, it is unethical to use that term to describe it.
I will tell you why: Professionally qualified art therapists or creative arts therapists do much more than what you have described to me and require Masters-level training specifically in art therapy in order to call themselves art or arts therapists. Even a therapist with a Ph.D. in psychology or a psychiatrist is not qualified to describe themselves as art therapists without professional training in art therapy. The correct term for such practice is "therapeutic art". If you use the term 'art therapy' to describe what you do, it misrepresents both art therapy as a profession and your particular qualifications to the public, which is unethical.
The book _the Artists Way_, by Julia Cameron, has some writing exercises in it that may be useful to you. I also find that the 20 minute rant, in which the client is encouraged to write nonstop for a set period of time, vent his or her frustrations in an uncensored and 'unreasonable' way on paper to be useful with some people.
I urge you to get professional supervision from an arts therapist or other professional therapist if you are doing therapeutic work - hopefully you already meet with a supervisor at the agency you work at.
Good luck with your studies, and if you are interested in professional training in this field, you might consider contacting the American Art Therapy Association. I believe Leslie college has a MA program in creative arts therapy as well.
Sophia Kelly
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