Necessary poetry

Expressing feelings when we can't

At Ospedale Policlinico San Martino in Genoa, Italy, after years of listening deeply to cancer and psychiatric patients, I began to focus on individuals who somehow remained unreachable. They were the ones who couldn't say, or didn't know, how they felt. Some were stuck in counterproductive self-expression loops. Whether stress-induced or habitual, these modes prevented meaningful communication even when the desire to engage was mutual. I began looking for creative ways to stimulate more "productive" dialogue.

Productive dialogue

Metaphoric Affect Processing (MAP)

Metaphoric Affect Processing (MAP)

Necessary poetry

Expressing feelings when we can't