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MAKING MY PEACE … with bibliotherapy – reading for healing

Therapeutic reading … here are some key messages …

Mar 6

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Bibliotherapy – reading for healing – is a therapeutic method I find intensely interesting, as someone deeply invested in psychosocial wellbeing and an avid reader. Bibliotherapy for emotional and psychological healing is at the heart of C.K. Elim’s 2024 The Book Therapy: Transforming Lives Through Bibliotherapy.

This review delves into the book’s key messages and what I, personally, take from “literature for mental health” to integrate into my own practice.

Bibliotherapy harnesses literature as a healing tool. According to this book’s research, mindful reading can help to alleviate anxiety through relatable stories, enhance self-awareness through reflection and journaling, promote emotional catharsis by processing emotions, increase empathy by stimulating areas of the brain related to social connection, and serve as a bridge to traditional therapy – i.e., bibliotherapy complements traditional therapy.

The key messages from The Book Therapy are that:

· Bibliotherapy has ancient roots but modern science validates it.

· Bibliotherapy can be personalized through specific texts regardless of whether fiction (emotional release and empathy building), self-help (practical coping techniques), memoirs (validation and inspiration), or poetry (deep emotional processing) for specific individual struggles, such as anxiety, grief, trauma, or self-growth.

· Active reading enhances the healing process through “intentional” reading, such as by highlighting key passages, annotating texts, using reflective prompts to connect stories to personal experiences, combining reading with meditative practices, and keeping a written reading journal to track insights and emotions.

· Bibliotherapy is time-efficient and accessible in people’s busy lives and can be enhanced through 15-minute reading rituals, using audiobooks for “on-the-go” healing, creating a peaceful reading space to maximize relaxation, and engaging in shared reading experiences in book clubs or other reading groups and activities.

The Book Therapy isn’t just about the act of reading. It integrates mindfulness, journaling, and psychological insight for a “full-body” practice – much like, I muse, a full-body massage. Let’s call it “full-body message.” It also includes real-life case studies with stories of people who overcame mental health struggles using book therapy. There is also a curated book list for specific mental health challenges, and the book is peppered with references to titles and authors.

It addresses solitary reading, audio book listening, group, and community (shared) reading activities, but it doesn’t fully address accessibility barriers and language barriers, such as illiteracy. It could also provide trigger warnings in some sections, especially for readers dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Making my peace with bibliotherapy, I will do the following:

Introduce 15-minute reading rituals into my life – i.e., incorporate books into my self-care

Curate “healing reads” into my websites and articles

Practice mindful, reflective reading

Find revelations in the books I read

Include thoughts about my reflective reading in my journaling

Advocate for bibliotherapy as an accessible tool – through my website I’ll emphasize how books can be a free or low-cost mental health resources.

Are you already incorporating books into your self-care? What book has personally helped you heal? Share your thoughts in the comments.