Bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach that utilizes literature and printed materials as a supplementary tool in mental health treatment. It aims to educate patients about their conditions and foster acceptance of necessary treatment. By engaging with the experiences of literary characters, individuals can gain insights into their own struggles, potentially aligning with therapeutic methods. This practice has been applied to various disorders, including depression, social anxiety, addictions, and PTSD. The historical roots of bibliotherapy can be traced back to ancient times, emphasizing the emotional and cathartic benefits of reading. In contemporary settings, it is utilized across educational, correctional, and psychiatric institutions. Effective bibliotherapy involves therapists who are trained to select appropriate reading materials that enhance self-concept and facilitate personal growth. While beneficial for many, bibliotherapy may be less effective for certain populations, such as the elderly or those with severe emotional disorders.
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Subject Terms
Bibliotherapy
In addition to medication, counseling, and behavior modification, mental health professionals and physicians utilize books and printed material to supplement psychotherapy. Such practice is called bibliotherapy. The objective of bibliotherapy is to help patients become educated about their conditions and to accept their need for treatment. By examining a literary character’s condition, the patient will hopefully acknowledge and accept his or her therapist’s methods of treatment, thus becoming compliant. Some disorders helped through bibliotherapy are depression, social disorders, addictions, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Other forms of media, including movies, plays, art, and music are also sometimes employed in psychotherapy in a similar manner.
Overview
The practice of reading as a cure for illness can be traced back to 300 BCE to the Library in Alexandria, which displayed the inscription “The Nourishment of the Soul.” Aristotle wrote that reading works of tragedy was cathartic and therapeutic because reading aroused “emotions that healed.” Roman hospital workers read physician-prescribed orations to mentally tormented patients. The practice continued into the Middle Ages when doctors appointed citizens to read to prisoners and ill patients. Shakespeare penned “Come, and take choice of all my library and so beguile thy sorrow” in his drama Titus Andronicus. In the 1840s, medical schools began to teach students about the benefits of reading to patients or having them read on their own. Thus, libraries became facilitators of bibliotherapy. Educational, correctional, and psychiatric institutions also apply bibliotherapy to augment primary treatment methods.
The text provides the reader with identification, catharsis, and insight when he or she identifies with a character who has a similar disorder. Having the same emotions and experiences as a character in a book allows readers to realize their conditions are not unique, but that other people have felt the same way or lived through the same problems. Catharsis occurs when a reader feels as though he or she has experienced something through the character, thereby allowing repressed emotions to surface from his or her unconscious and be purged. This new insight gained by the reader is a crucial element of bibliotherapy, and it becomes a useful tool for healing. In educational settings, reading of and discussing a character who overcomes personal problems can be a valuable learning tool. Social workers may use the reading of personal and family narratives as an adjunct to talk therapy and behavior counseling. The bibliotherapeutic model, however, is less useful in some situations, as with elderly populations and those with severe emotional disorders.
Bibliotherapy requires that therapists hold the objective of wanting to use literature to guide a patient toward achieving life skills development, personal improvement, and enhanced self-concept. More than simply telling a patient to read a certain book, a therapist must have training and considerable education to know how to choose appropriate materials for their patients. Many universities offer courses for those interested in bibliotherapy.
Bibliography
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Dempsey, Ernest. “Psychotherapist: Reading Good Books Is Therapeutic.” Digital Journal: A Global Digital Media Network. 5 Mar. 2011. Web. 20 July 2013.
Doll, Beth, and Carol Ann Doll. Bibliotherapy with Young People: Librarians and Mental Health Professionals Working Together. Englewood: Libraries Unlimited, 1997. Print.
Gold, Joseph. The Story Species: Our Life-Literature Connection. Markham: Fitzhenry, 2002. Print.
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Maich, Kimberly, and Sharon Kean. “Read Two Books and Write Me in the Morning! Bibliotherapy for Social Emotional Intervention in the Inclusive Classroom.” Teaching Exceptional Children Plus 1.2 (2004). Print.
Redman, Hayley, et al. "The Impact of School-Based Creative Bibliotherapy Interventions on Child and Adolescent Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Realist Synthesis Protocol." Systematic Reviews, vol. 13, no. 86, 13 Mar. 2024, doi.org/10.1186/s13643-024-02482-8. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Shah, Bijal. "Is Bibliotherapy Effective? Is It Evidence-Based?" Book Therapy, 22 Feb. 2023, www.booktherapy.io/en-us/blogs/book-therapys-ask-the-bibliotherapist-blog/is-bibliotherapy-effective. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.
Shechtman, Zipora. Treating Child and Adolescent Aggression through Bibliotherapy. New York: Springer, 2009. Print.