What is Bibliotherapy?
The History of Bibliotherapy
The idea of healing by reading books was first brought to attention during World War I, when nurses, doctors, and volunteer librarians worked to treat soldiers' minds as well as bodies. The coining of the word "bibliotherapy" was officially recognized by medical and government authorities in 1914 by Helen Mary Gaskell; after appeal to the public, Gaskell was shocked to see the donations pouring in: "What was our astonishment when not only parcels and boxes, but whole libraries poured in. Day after day vans stood unloading at the door" (Haslam et al., 2018). In 1915, the library was united with the Red Cross and operated internationally (Haslam et al., 2018).
"The [person] who gets the books [they] need [are] the [people] who really benefit from our library, physically and mentally," Gaskell said (Haslam et al., 2018). Simply mentioning the names of well-known and beloved authors would bring smiles to ill patients' faces. These "literary caregivers" on the frontlines worked responsively and without judgement, using books to help and heal suffering soldiers (Haslam et al., 2018).
However, there are instances where this thought of books as healers has been in existence since the ancient times; the library at Thebes in ancient Greece had written over its door, "Healing place of the soul." We as a society have always instinctively recognized that stories and books have power to entertain, inform, comfort, and guide (Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2019).
Bibliotherapy Today
Bibliotherapy is now used frequently among psychology practices to help "facilitate psychological growth and healing through reading" (Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2019). It's recognized as legitimate therapeutic method to help with struggles such as grief, mental health, common life issues, and so much more. Psychologist often "prescribe books" in order to necessitate conversation in a group or one-on-one level to help process struggles--a group of people dealing with similar issues and read and respond to a text together, or that same conversation can happen with a helper/guide. Basically, book clubs are therapeutic and essential to your health (Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2019).
But bibliotherapy isn't something that you should only do if a doctor/psychologist prescribes it to you; bibliotherapy is easily something you can do on your own. Whether it's returning to a favorite read to feel that familiarity or picking up that new book that has all the elements that you need to process and understand outside worries, you are practicing bibliotherapy.
People in the field of psychology recognize that there are three therapeutic stages of bibliotherapy:
Identification--the reader forming a bond with the main character in the text, finding yourself identifying with their problems and goals.
Catharsis--comes about by experiencing everything the characters are experiencing as they work toward the resolution.
Insight--the conscious understanding of similarities between the reader's own characteristics and circumstances with that of the characters', followed by the decision to apply ideas or lessons from the text to the reader's own life (Schwanenflugel & Knapp, 2019).
It's official, books help--sciences proves it. The video below just adds even more evidence to this conclusion.
- Haslam, S., King, E. & Campbell, S. (2018, November 15). Bibliotherapy: how reading and writing have been healing trauma since World War I. The Conversation. May 8, 2020. https://theconversation.com/bibliotherapy-how-reading-and-writing-have-been-healing-trauma-since-world-war-i-106626
- Schwanenflugel, P. J. & Knapp, N. F. (2019, October 1). Bibliotherapy: Using Books to Help and Heal. Psychology Today. May 8, 2020. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-minds/201910/bibliotherapy-using-books-help-and-heal