Healing with Haiku A Poetic Exploration of Self

Haikus heal the soul and this work guides you to improve your emotional health and well-being with writing.

Therapeutic writing is something that has been a recommended part of many wellness programs dealing with trauma, addiction, anxiety, stress and more. The act of putting thoughts, memories and feelings into paper is a simple and effective tool for better awareness and understanding. Furthermore, writing to heal is about what you say, why you feel compelled to express it, and how you feel while and after you write it.

Healing with Haiku uses the process of creating haikus as the main conduit for wellness and emotional expression. An ancient form of poetry known for its brevity, concise use of language, and focus on existential matters, haikus are the perfect way for anyone to get started in using writing to heal.

In the book, people will learn to write haiku with the goal of exploring their inner selves more deeply--emotionally and perhaps spiritually. Expanding our capacity to notice, explore, and express our emotions is the key to living a more balanced, peaceful, and joyous life.

Classic haiku aims to incorporate certain elements: nature, sensory awareness, self-discovery, a glimpse of enlightenment, a truth. All this while adhering to the 5-7-5 syllabication structure. Three lines, seventeen syllables--a whole word of mindfulness and understanding.

The goal is not to help you to create a precisely crafted and poetically profound haiku, but to guide you in learning how to write one of the most simple and concise forms of poetry to discover and express what is true to you.

Anne Helfer is an integrative psychotherapist specializing in grief counseling, health and wellness and stress management.  As a social worker and mental health therapist she has worked with children and adults, always with the goal of empowering all of us to live more authentically. She has a Master's in Social Work from Syracuse University. A practicing yogi for nearly 30 years, she also teaches mindfulness and mediation practices. In 2016, she self-published the well-received book Eat Well, Sleep Better, Move More: A Journey of Self-Care.