By Tara Troge
Staff Writer

      Cheri Mayfield’s words flow through the air and comfort the child like a warm blanket. The high-pitched cries heard minutes before are now distant echoes down the sterile corridor. As the child listens to the soothing voice, she drifts off into her first peaceful slumber in weeks. Mayfield works in a Fargo mental health center as a certified poetry therapist, a promising new form of treatment being used on both children and adults.
     Poetry therapy can be traced back to the beginning of time, when witch doctors, medicine men and shamen recited poetry to induce good luck and health for their tribe or ill individuals. It is also well documented in art and history books that in ancient Egypt, poetry was written on papyrus and then dissolved in a solution so the patient could physically digest it for healing.
     However, poetry therapy remained an obscure form of treatment until the 1960s, when group psychotherapy became well known. Therapists started integrating poetry therapy into their group sessions and soon discovered it was an effective treatment. It then began to appear in rehabilitation programs, education, library science, recreation and creative arts.
     Today, there have been numerous books and articles published on the effectiveness of poetry therapy, such as The Poetry Cure, by R.H. Schauffen and Poetry in the Therapeutic Process, by Arthur Lernen, Ph.D. Programs have also been established to certify people as poetry therapists. One such organization is the National Association for Poetry Therapy Foundation. Founded in 1993, the foundation, a non-profit corporation, supports and trains those interested in poetry therapy, and uses donations, endowments and grants from private and public sources.
     The foundation facilitates two certification programs, with training seminars held throughout the country. Those interested may become a Certified Poetry Therapist (CPT) or a Registered Poetry Therapist (RPT). The Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, an independent credentialing organization, awards these titles.
     To be certified as a CPT or an RPT, one must have previous background knowledge in both psychology and literature. The CPT must have a prior bachelor’s degree and complete 440 hours of training under the supervision of an appropriate mentor. A CPT works in schools, libraries or recreational and mental health settings, and heads group sessions or works with individuals. Qualified medical professionals supervise.
     To become an RPT, one must have a master’s degree or higher in psychotherapy, counseling, psychiatry or social work, and complete 975 hours of training with a mentor. The mentors are certified members of the foundation. An RPT works in places like prisons, hospitals or clinics.
     Mayfield, a Detroit Lakes resident, has gone through the CPT program with the foundation. “My mentor was extremely supportive and knowledgeable about the current issues in poetry therapy,” she stated. As for the role she plays as a certified poetry therapist, Mayfield said: “It’s wonderful to see the effect you have on someone through your words. To be able to help someone during a difficult time is a most rewarding experience.” She works in a mental health setting in the Fargo area.
     Mayfield said the most memorable patient she had was with Riley, a seven-year-old girl who lost her parents in a car accident. “When I first met Riley, she would scream every time (I) ... (or) someone else would get close to her,” Mayfield recalls. “I would have to read poetry to her during those outbreaks…I doubt she could even hear me.” But the more Mayfield worked with Riley, the less she would act out. Eventually the crying stopped all together. “I remember the first time I walked into her room, and she didn’t start to cry,” Mayfield fondly said. “I felt so proud that I helped get her to that place.”
     Besides becoming a poetry therapist, there is another way to become involved in the foundation. For a yearly membership fee, $65 for a student, one can become an area representative. This is a volunteer position that coordinates gatherings in their area to share poetry and writing with one another.  Poetry therapy has come a long way since its inception, but still has a great journey ahead to become a formal and accepted form of therapy.