Bibliotherapy 101

You asked, I listened. This week, I am going to talk about one of the best parts of librarianship, bibliotherapy.

One of the biggest pro’s of journaling is that you can do it completely on your own. A journal is a solitary experience. This is an important part of doing inner work. However, we are not completely solitary creatures. We need community. That is when the words of others come into the healing process.

What is Bibliotherapy?

Bibliotherapy is all about reading to heal. It may sound simple, but there is a lot of intention going on beneath the surface. A bibliotherapist plans out an arc of reading content that guides the reader through difficult emotions and trauma.

This means that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to bibliotherapy. Some clients will need emotional relief when others need an eye-opening challenge. A bibliotherapist’s job is to determine both need and interest when assigning books.

Where Did Bibliotherapy Get It’s Start?

People have been using words to heal since written language became a thing. Ancient Greek bath houses had libraries to aid the soothing process. Hospitals in Egypt assigned pages of the Quran to patients. We are a species that needs storytelling.

The term “bibliotherapy”, however, it pretty new. It was coined in between World War I and World War II.  British hospitals began using books as a therapeutic treatment for PTSD in soldiers. During this time, Brett-Smith created something called a fever chart. Essentially this chart could tell a clinician how recovered their patient was according to the books they were interested in reading. I would love to give you an example, but this fever chart was tragically lost. We only know of its existence through secondary sources. Talk about mystery and drama.

But bibliotherapy is far from a lost art. Since the mid-1900’s, therapists and librarians alike have been “prescribing” books, whether to target specific conditions or to simply give the reader the relief they are looking for.

When Y2K hit, there was a resurge of fascination. Google bibliotherapy and you will find all kinds of articles about experimenting with reading and bibliotherapist (whether they are licensed professionals or just book enthusiasts).

Is Bibliotherapy Legit?

Yes, I did say therapists and librarians alike. Unlike some therapeutic treatments such as hypnosis and EMDR, bibliotherapy is not regulated. Both mental health professionals and literary professionals can recommend books for the purpose of healing. This is a good thing.

Therapists bring legitimacy to bibliotherapy. There is no denying that. Any mental health professional with a deep understanding of mental illness will be able to easily identify what their client needs emotionally. However, librarians are better are searching for highly specific themes and characters. This is crucial for finding the most appropriate book for each emotional need. Together, the therapist and librarian can offer clients something incredibly tailored and supportive. Isn’t that neat?

So yes, it is an unregulated technique. But it is also one of our oldest forms of therapy for a reason. Books cannot harm us the way other exposures and life challenges can. There may be books that are inappropriate to assign at certain times, but the risk is always minimal (especially if trigger warnings are noted up front). I say, read away!

How Can I Use Bibliotherapy in my Journal Practice?

Bibliotherapy and journaling go hand in hand. One allows you to bring healing words in and the other allows you to express healing words out. The ol’ give and take.

A good way to combine the two is to focus on themes. If you are reading a fluffy romance novel to feel safe and comforted, your journal should focus on why you needed that sense of security. On the other hand, if you are reading about something post-apocalyptic, your journal should focus on what is falling apart in YOUR life.

Think of it like a good food and wine pairing. You want to find either contrast or compliments. As a librarian and journaling coach, I think of myself as a sommelier of sorts. Want to know more about my bibliotherapy/ journal pairings? Let me know in the comments!