What is bibliotherapy?
The idea of healing through books is not a new one–it can be traced far back in history. Bibliotherapy can be defined as the use of books to help people solve problems. A more precise definition is that bibliotherapy is a tool for structuring interaction between a therapist and a client based on mutual sharing of literature. Bibliotherapeutic intervention may be utilized for many reasons to: (1) develop an individual’s self-concept; (2) increase an understanding of human behavior or motivation; (3) foster an honest self-appraisal; (4) provide a way for a person to find interests outside of self; (5) relieve emotional or mental pressure; (6) to show an individual that he or she is not alone with such a problem; (7) show an individual there is more than one solution to a problem; (8) help discuss a problem more freely; and (9) help plan a constructive plan of action to solve a problem. My favorite bibliotherapy…
