ADULTS IN THERAPY

ADULTS IN THERAPY USING SOULSPEAK

OVERVIEW

THERAPEUTIC SOULSPEAK,

AN AID TO ADULTS-IN-THERAPY

Therapeutic SOULSPEAK for Adults in Therapy is a revolutionary program that gives anyone a way to easily express deep, unresolved conflicts and fears. As an aide to group therapy it is unparalleled in its power, universality and ease of use.

It is a non-traumatic process that uses a special version of the oldest form of poetry, an oral, story-telling poetry, to allow anyone to easily express his or her deepest feelings.

It is also a form of poetry that people find instantly appealing. It is performed in antiphonal fashion (speaker-responder) to slow music, and is learned almost instantaneously.

No previous knowledge of poetry, or even reading and writing is required.

Therapeutic SOULSPEAK has been proven to dramatically increase self-esteem, self-awareness and, because of its unique communal nature, empathy for others.

The poems spoken out in Therapeutic SOULSPEAK sessions also provide an extremely accurate diagnostic tool for therapists.

For detailed information on programs and seminars, contact Justin Spring

A number of books, papers, and instructional manuals are available in PDF form for free downloading. Click here.

Samples of SOULSPEAK written poems by adults in therapy care contained further on in this blog.

A number of books, papers, and manuals are available in PDF form for FREE downloading. Click here.

Comments by Therapists who have used Therapeutic SOULSPEAK:

1) CLIENTS RECOVERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS at Beacon House and Prospect House Mental Health Centers:

SOULSPEAK was used to assist therapists in the mainstreaming process to increase clients' self-esteem and sense of belonging. "It was nothing less than awe-inspiring to see (those) at Beacon House drop-in center learn, follow directions, work in tandem, access their creative potential, develop a sense of self and a sense of community belonging."

Patricia Musselwhite-Weaver, MA, CRC, LMHC.

2. CLIENTS RECOVERING FROM SUBSTANCE ADDICTION at Tammi House Recovery Center:

SOULSPEAK was used to assist in the recovery process by increasing self-esteem, and self-awareness, and empathy for others

"SOULSPEAK provided a universal, almost effortless means for our residents to access the deepest parts of themselves; it was like a magic carpet ride for the soul. Through SOULSPEAK, they were able to express their fears and hopes and conflicts and begin to heal."

Sharon R. Mays-Tremain, Director Tammi House.

3. CLIENTS SUFFERING FROM POST-TRAUMATIC DISORDERS DUE TO PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE at F.I.R.S.T. (Foundation for Intensive Rehabilitation of Sexual Trauma):

SOULSPEAK was used in the group therapeutic process to give severely traumatized women a way to speak openly and in public about physical and sexual abuse.

" I see SOULSPEAK as a valuable therapeutic tool that releases the creative process. The tangible process of clients seeing their poems in print and hearing themselves on tape enables them to put a healthy distance, or separateness, between themselves and their trauma. Externalized in this way, it is safely out in the world and more easy to handle emotionally."

Natasha Mann, Clinical Psychologist.

Therapeutic SOULSPEAK is considered by many therapists as a powerful aid that has allowed clients to express themselves in ways they could not through conventional therapies, and has thus allowed them to gain enough self-knowledge, esteem, and empathy for others to use those therapies successfully.

Justin Spring, the Artistic Director of the Theatre says, "SOULSPEAK is based on the very first art: oral tribal poetry, a spontaneous, communal multi-voiced poetry that is in our DNA, and unlike the arts that developed after the invention of writing (which are the sophisticated arts forms we have today) it is one that can be immediately learned by anyone."

Grants from the Kates Foundation, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Selby Foundation, and Bank of America Community Foundation/Sarasota and other organizations have funded Therapeutic SOULSPEAK for Adults-in-Therapy.

SAMPLES OF WRITTEN SOULSPEAK POEMS
FROM
THERAPEUTIC SOULSPEAK PROGRAMS

FALLING TREES and RISING STARS/ Beacon House Mental Health Community Center

poems produced as a part of a Therapeutic SOULSPEAK program for clients recovering from mental illness.

Poet: Jim A.

I am an egg waiting to be cooked.

I am a ring on a finger.

I am a bus taking people on a trip.

I am a flower that blossoms.

I am a light that has burned out.

I am an angel sitting on a cloud.

I am a rug that you lie on.




Poet: Dan B.

Balloons are very pretty.

They make you laugh.

Cry if balloon bursts.

Eyes have tears.

Mirrors are nice.

Windows are very clean.

Black is the color of my cat.

It takes money to buy candy.

We love people who give us food.

It takes brains to figure problems.

We get on bus to go places.

Shoes come in different sizes.

Lamp gives us light.



Poet: Mary B.

Sometimes in my dreams I see my mother

look with disdain at me.

I consciously search for the light.

Ah- I see the beautiful light

reflecting through the trees-

filtering through its branches-

reflecting on the meandering river-

creating a mirror which reflects the healing light back to me.

All over me.

Engulfing me.

I am filled with love and warmth.




Poet: Marshall B.

Sometimes in my dreams

I see a river.

The light reflecting off the water

gives me a mirror image of myself.

As I stand under the tree

I view my image with disdain

because I was unable to love my mother.

Oh how I wish I could have known

the joy of love when I was a child.




Poet: Linda F.

Sometimes in my dreams

I feel the warmth of the moon.

As I put kisses in my eyes

to shield the hate

I have felt

the windows block the view

of my father's shadow.

Sometimes in my dreams

I hate the red river

which overflows towards the mountain.

I see sad things fly towards it.

I'm not sure why, but I see my mother's arm.

It's so sad.

NEW VOICES F.I.R.S.T

(Foundation for Intensive Rehabilitation of Sexual Trauma)

Poems produced as a part of a Therapeutic SOULSPEAK program for abused women

Poem by: Bunnie

Sometimes in my dreams

I am looking through a large window.

I am transferred,

into the cold ocean

on the other side.

But I do not feel the cold —

it is warm.

Mother Nature is becoming to me

I am at peace here

and floating.

I am unwilling to go upon the mountains.

I would be a prisoner there.

I am free here.

It feels like love

and I can glimpse the window of my Soul.

Poem by: Alexis

Sometimes in my dreams

I am very cold.

I don’t love.

I’ll climb a mountain

and I see a window.

Through the window

I see the ocean

and in the ocean

I see my mother

whom I love very much, love

and I am very unwilling to love

but willing to love her.

Poem by: Cassandra

Sometimes in my dreams

My eyes are full of sand.

Mother, mother,

do you see me?

On the roof?

Mother, mother,

are you depressed?

Or loved?

Mother, I see your heart

is of purple flowers of passion.

Sometimes in my dreams

my heart rains for my dog.

Why did you leave the door open

for sadness to come in?

Kindness is all that you need

for my cold, gray heart.

Poem by: Jan

Sometimes in my dreams

I am orange up on the roof.

Depressed about all the sand in my head.

My brother put it there,

He said he loves me.

Too much sand in my sandy head.

Sometimes in my dreams

I was a love story

of two lovers

in love, playing in the ocean

cold but with no mother

no mountain

no window

Poem by: Joyce

We were only eighteen.

I see peach flowers at the funeral.

I saw Cody’s, my husband’s casket

beside me in the aisle.

I thought my heart was going to burst in pain

(relieved he was found, and laid to rest).

I imagined how blue his body must be,

after being in the Missouri River three days.

His coffin was closed — I never got to say Goodbye,

I saw the rocks along the drive

into the country cemetery.

They buried him — just two miles from the farm.

NEW VOICES

TAMMI HOUSE RECOVERY CENTER

Poems produced as a part of a Therapeutic SOULSPEAK program for recovering alcoholics and addicts

Wings

Poems by: Jeremy A.

I am a drug that controls your thoughts

I am a window that is broken

I am a door that slams in your face

I am an ocean that rolls with the tide

I am a target painted on your head

I am a dream that comes in the night

I am a kiss passionate on your lips.





Sometimes in my dreams

a wolf is chasing me.

He is addicted to killing.

My emotions are rolling like the tide of the ocean.

My heart feels like it is coming out of my chest.

Through the darkness I see a door

into the black of night.

It opens and I walk through

and finally I'm free.











Poems by: Linda B.

I am a mother with lots of faith

I am a father which will lead the way

I am a door that will never close you out

I am a river that will never let you drown

I am a hound that will guide you

I am a panther that will protect you

I am an iceberg that will never melt

I am a rock that will always be solid.









Sometimes in my dreams

I see my children looking for their mother.

Looking for the love that's missing.

Holding on with so much faith.

It hurts every time I look in the mirror

unable to wash these feelings down the river.

There is nothing but love left

to give to the children,

nothing but love, lots of love.















Poem by: Ron B.

I am a fugitive looking for a place to hide

I am a friend looking for a best friend

I am a dog looking for a place to live

I am a door that never closes

I am a candle that burns in the night

I am a castle with a lot of empty rooms

I am a friend looking for the right kind of love.






Poem by: James C.

I am a lover no longer a fighter

I am a friend lean on me always

I am a dove serenity is yours

I am a heart throbbing for air

I am a river submerging your body

I am a twin longing to be united

I am a soul and we are eternal.















Poem by: Debbie F.

Sometimes in my dreams

I am looking out a window.

I see a mountain and I am unwilling to climb.

Then I see a boat out in the ocean.

Love is my mother with her arms open wide.

She throws me a kiss with a message

telling me it will be all right.

Suddenly I am ready to take the journey

up the mountain I could not climb.