Poetic Medicine for the “Wounded Healer” (Presented by UCSF MERI Center for Education in Palliative Care)

The wounds are the places where light enters.” — Rumi

Many of us, whether we identify as being in the healing arts or not, have wounds that we understand as the foundation of our own ability to heal and to have compassion for others. In these sessions, we will open to whatever we consider our own “wounded places” and allow poem-making to be part of our healing process.

“Everyone alive has suffered. It is the wisdom gained from our wounds and from our own experiences of suffering that makes us able to heal.” — Rachel Naomi Remen

The psychologist Carl Jung coined the concept of the Wounded Healer, drawing on the archetype of healing from Greek mythology. Chiron, the wisest Centaur, was inflicted with a severe physical wound. On his way to recovery, he found the goal of being a “Teacher of healing.”

Dr. Danielle Chammas of the UCSF MERI Center for Education in Palliative Care will guide participants in using poem-making to explore what it means to be a “wounded healer” and to find healing through the creative process together.

Participants will:

• Use poem-making to explore ideas about health and healing.
• Create a supportive and caring community.