Identifying the mechanisms of poetry therapy and associated effects on participants: A synthesised review of empirical literature.

• Empirical poetry therapy articles were systematically reviewed. • Results were synthesised to create a framework of the mechanisms and effects of poetry therapy. • This framework was summarised as a logic model, detailing how the mechanisms produce the effects. • Five tasks are described: Engaging, Feeling, Exploring, Connecting and Transforming ("EFECT"). • The model is presented in detailed and simplified form to suit different professional needs. Poetry therapy is a promising but heterogeneous and under-evidenced form of creative arts therapy. Theories of change have been proffered but are model-specific and poorly evidenced in the empirical literature. The aim of this paper, then, was to provide a united understanding of how poetry therapy operates to guide future research and practice. To do this, empirical literature exploring mechanisms of poetry therapy across theoretical traditions was systematically retrieved, reviewed, and synthesised. A systematic search of six databases yielded 554 papers, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria, spanning individual and group approaches. Mechanisms and effects were extracted and synthesised into a governing framework and logic model, and stakeholder consultation was used to validate results. In total, 25 primary mechanisms and 54 associated effects were identified. These were synthesised into a logic model characterised by five primary tasks: Engaging, Feeling, Exploring, Connecting, and Transferring ("EFECT"). These tasks were associated with multifarious benefits, apparently impacting cognitive, emotional and behavioural domains. Future research could now seek to test this model empirically. It might then be used to guide a united, rigorous research programme, helping to bring poetry therapy into evidence-based policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]