Bibliotherapy is Good for the Soul - Andrea Beavers

Stories have been around for thousands of years, with books emerging around 2100 BC. The purpose of reading and storytelling has always been to connect with others and the self, make sense of the world, make meaning of experiences, and learn new information. All over the world, books and libraries have made a difference. In ancient Egypt and Greece, libraries were considered “healing places for the soul” due to the belief that access to wisdom and learning were essential for nurturing the spirit and promoting emotional health (Moy, 2017). Books have been utilized in the world wars with recovering soldiers to help calm and model emotional expression and connection. For soldiers on active duty in WWII, books were supplied to help increase morale, provide relief, and to inspire (Manning, 2014). 

In 1916, a man named Samuel Crothers coined the term “bibliotherapy.” Since then, the term has expanded to include other terms such as literature therapy, library therapy, reading therapy, and biblio-counseling. Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic technique that emphasizes self-reflection based on learning experiences from people or other sources (Sevinç, 2019). In addition to self-reflection, bibliotherapy can help individuals make personal connections, feel supported, and learn new coping skills to help with their symptoms and experiences. Bibliotherapy has been shown through research that it can help increase positive thinking, self-esteem, self-confidence, and empathy. It can also change negative thought patterns and help an individual navigate developmental obstacles (Luna, 2017; Abilash & Jothimani, 2019). 

There are three main types of bibliotherapy: Developmental bibliotherapy, prescriptive or clinical/therapeutic bibliotherapy, and creative bibliotherapy. 

• Developmental bibliotherapy is typically utilized in non-clinical environments such as schools or libraries. This type of bibliotherapy explores different stages of life and can help navigate developmental obstacles such as puberty, bullying, or health. It often aims to provide information to help prevent issues, raise awareness, and create support. A lot of this type of information would come in the form of a textbook or pamphlet. 

• Prescriptive or clinical/therapeutic bibliotherapy involves a mental health professional guiding or suggesting specific books and reading materials to a client. Clinical bibliotherapy can help address symptoms, diagnoses, behaviors, and thought patterns in order to help meet goals for treatment. Some example treatment goals using bibliotherapy include teaching constructive and positive thinking, celebrating and encouraging freedom of expression in facing internal and external problems, assisting clients in analyzing their attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors, and encouraging the search for alternative solutions to a problem (Jachna, 2005). Mental health professionals can utilize reading in sessions by reflecting and discussing a book or prompt with the client (Gerlach & Subramanian, 2015). These book selections can involve fiction or nonfiction materials, like self-help, poetry, or psychology related books.

• Creative bibliotherapy specifically focuses on fiction and imaginative reading. The purpose of this type of bibliotherapy is to help people connect and identify with the characters of the story, explore emotions and reactions to the events and plot, and gain insight into themselves and their own situations. This type of bibliotherapy requires creativity and authenticity from its participants. This format is most commonly used in traditional book clubs. 

As seen above, bibliotherapy can utilize different types of reading materials and help individuals meet different goals. Regardless of the type of bibliotherapy, the process of it includes the same stages or steps. These steps were identified by John T. Pardeck in 1995. 

1. Identification

• This step involves relating or connecting to characters or situations in the reading. 

2. Catharsis

• During this step, readers often experience an emotional release and express feelings or reactions to the text. Catharsis allows readers to explore and identify their inner worlds. 

3. Insight

• This step happens when readers start to gain new perspectives on their emotions, behaviors, relationships, problems, triggers, or situations. They are able to identify and explore different outlooks or answers. 

4. Application

• This step involves applying the insights readers have identified in the previous step to their lives. During this step, readers explore how making changes could help them and improve their lives. 

5. Projection

• This step can be utilized within the application step. The purpose of it is for the reader to imagine a different life or identity for the future incorporating the insights they discovered during bibliotherapy. 

While Pardeck identified these steps when researching bibliotherapy with children, bibliotherapy can be used with different ages, settings, and mental health disorders. Bibliotherapy has been shown to help people deal with stress, anxiety, depression, grief, violence, natural disasters, war, and more. In a clinical setting, bibliotherapy can be utilized to help relieve emotional stress, help develop self-identity and concept, identify and communicate values and boundaries, help verbalization of thoughts and feelings, help individuals understand that they are not alone in their experiences or feelings, and provide alternative solutions to problems (Susilo, 2020).

Group bibliotherapy has also been utilized in clinical settings. Discussing literature in depth in a group setting involves all the perks mentioned above, in addition to gaining insights from the other group members’ perspectives and creating an empathetic space that facilitates recovery and personal growth. This type of space is important for feeling supported and understood by a group and reducing feelings of loneliness or isolation. Group bibliotherapy requires participants to actively listen to each other, observe each other, and share creative solutions to problems of other members, in addition to their own (Habsy, 2024; Sevinç, 2019).

Ultimately, while reading is not a replacement for therapy, it can help individuals learn about themselves, learn different ways to take care of themselves, and broaden their worldview. Healing from mental health related issues often requires self-awareness, emotional processing, developing coping skills, building a support system, and lifestyle changes. It involves understanding thought and behavior patterns, reframing negative thoughts, developing and strengthening relationships, and finding purpose. Bibliotherapy can help in the process of healing. 

If you are interested in trying a bibliotherapy group, please visit our website https://www.beyondthestormcounseling.com/beyondthebook for more information. Beyond the Book will be starting its first bibliotherapy group in early 2026. 

References 

Abilash, K & Jothimani, T. (2019). Bibliotherapy As A Therapeutic ApproachTo Psychological Problems. Asian Journal Of Multidimensional Research. 8(2)

Gerlach, H. & Subramanian, A. (2015). Qualitative Analysis of Bibliotherapy asA Tool For Adults Who Shutter and Graduate Students. Journal of FluencyDisorders, 1 (47), 1-12.

Habsy, B. A., Arsyada, A. D., Ilmawati, N. K., Nurussani, S., & Abdullah, K. H. (2024). A LITERATURE REVIEW OF BIBLIOTHERAPY METHODS IN GROUP GUIDANCE. Jurnal Kajian Pendidikan Dan Psikologi, 2(2), 10–26. https://doi.org/10.61397/jkpp.v2i2.144

Luna, L. (2017). Bibliotherapy Curri-culum for Enhancing self-concept I Fourth and Fifth Grade Student. California State University, Northridge

Manning, M. G. (2014). When books went to war the stories that helped us win World War II. Mariner Books. 

Moy, J.D. (2017). Reading and Writing One’s Way to Wellness: The History of Bibliotherapy and Scriptotherapy. In: Hilger, S. (eds) New Directions in Literature and Medicine Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51988-7_2

Pardeck, J. T. (1995). Bibliotherapy: An Innovative Approach for Helping Children. Early Child Development and Care, 110(1), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/0300443951100106

Sevinç, G. (2019). Healing Mental Health through Reading: Bibliotherapy. https://doi.org/10.18863/PGY.474083

Susilo, A. T. (2020). Bibliocounseling: The Therapeutic Techniques of Guidance and Counseling Services for Higher Education. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Learning Innovation and Quality Education, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3452144.3452149