How Does Bibliotherapy Work?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsOverviewTypesTechniquesUsesBenefitsEffectivenessThings to ConsiderHow to Get Started

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Overview

Types

Techniques

Uses

Benefits

Effectiveness

Things to Consider

How to Get Started

When dealing with conditions such asanxietyanddepressionorcoping with grief, sometimes it can be challenging to make sense of what is happening in your mind and body, especially if you don’t have any other experience to compare it to. Bibliotherapy is a way to help bridge this gap.

Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin

Bibliotherapy

At a Glance

Understanding Bibliotherapy

The concept of reading as a way to help facilitate the healing process and meet therapeutic goals is a common strategy in many treatment approaches. So what separates bibliotherapy from other established theories of psychotherapy such ascognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)?

What makes bibliotherapy different is the fact that a therapist will typically view bibliotherapy as a therapeutic approach, and therefore, use it as an adjunct part of the treatment process; that means that your therapist might use other forms of therapy (like CBT orpsychoanalysis) along with bibliotherapy.

Since bibliotherapy is often used to supportother forms of therapy, it is appropriate for both individual and group settings and for people of all ages. It’s common to see a therapist use stories when working with a younger client such as a child or adolescent.

When used in agroup therapysetting, bibliotherapy allows participants to give and receive feedback about their interpretations of the literature and how it relates to their issues. It also helps improve communication and encourages more in-depth conversations and connections for participants.

Types of Bibliotherapy

There are a number of types of bibliotherapy that can be used in clinical and educational settings as well as at home.

The Best Self-Help Books

Bibliotherapy Techniques

If bibliotherapy sounds like a good fit, you might be wondering how a therapist uses this tool during a counseling session.Sam Gladding, PhD, a professor atWake Forest University’s Online Master’s in Counseling and Human Services programwho specializes in creativity in counseling, describes bibliotherapy as a dynamic three-way interaction involving the use of a book, a counselor, and a client.

The counselor and the client consider problems or stress areas in the client’s life; then the counselor ‘prescribes’ a book or story for the client to read.—SAM GLADDING, PHD

The counselor and the client consider problems or stress areas in the client’s life; then the counselor ‘prescribes’ a book or story for the client to read.

—SAM GLADDING, PHD

Gladding points out that it’s crucial that the book or story relates directly to the client’s difficulty so that they identify with the protagonist in the novel or story. The counselor and client then come back together to talk about the way the protagonist handled their problems and the applicability of the solution or solutions in the book to the client’s situation.

Licensed marriage and family therapist Chad Perman, MA, LMFT, ofNew Page Therapyagrees: “Typically, therapists will use bibliotherapy to assign clients specific books to read outside of the session,” he says. This strategy, says Perman, can help facilitateempathy, insight, conversation, and self-growth. When the client sees their challenges and personal situations reflected in the story, they are able to see their circumstances from a new perspective.

Most therapists trained in bibliotherapy will have a list of books that relate to different issues. There are also severalsitesanddatabasesonline that give suggested or recommended titles based on a particular concern or mental health issue.

What Bibliotherapy Can Help With

While reading, in general, is beneficial to just about everybody, Perman says targeted bibliotherapy can be specifically useful for the following issues:

Gladding adds that bibliotherapy may also be helpful for managing anger, socially inappropriate behavior, andshyness. “Issues regarding how to handlegrief,rejection, or almost any of the negative ‘isms’ such as racism, sexism,ageism, may also be addressed through bibliotherapy,” says Gladding.

Benefits of Bibliotherapy

When using bibliotherapy, a therapist might choose a self-help reference such as a workbook of calming exercises for a person with anxiety. Or, they may select a story with a fictional character that is dealing with grief and trauma from losing a loved one for a client who recently experienced a death in the family.

Through stories in fiction and nonfiction books, poetry, plays, short stories, and self-help materials, a therapist can help you gain a deeper understanding of the concerns that brought you into counseling sessions in the first place.

Gain Personal Insight

Bibliotherapy helps you to gain insight into thepersonal challengesyou’re dealing with and develop strategies to address the most concerning issues. It can also help promote problem-solving, understanding, andself-awareness.

Receive Benefits Outside of Treatment

Agreeing on a book to read in-between sessions gives the therapist a format for assigning homework outside of treatment. This approach can help deepen the meaning of a therapeutic session and facilitate greater learning. Another way a therapist can use bibliotherapy, says Gladding, is through a prevention model, which can help people learn ways of coping with life’s challenges.

Gain Perspective

One of the more compelling reasons for using bibliotherapy is that it can help you see how other people, such as characters in a book, address and deal with similar issues. When you identify with a fictional or non-fictional character, especially on an emotional level, you’re able to see that there are others who are also navigating and coping with personal struggles.

To make this connection to a story even stronger, and help normalize the treatment process, a therapist can choose a book with a character who is seeking help for the interpersonal or intrapersonal challenges the patient is facing.

Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy

Depression

A systematic review in 2017 found bibliotherapy to be an effective long-term treatment for adults with mild depression. After follow-up periods ranging from three months to three years, adults showed a decrease in depressive symptoms.

Eating Disorders

Child Behavior

Creative bibliotherapy has been found to be effective in helping children, ages 5 to 16, with internalizing behaviors (anxiety and depression), externalizing behavior (aggression), and prosocial behavior (behavior intentions and attitudes toward others).

Anxiety and Stress

One 2017 study of college students found that 10 weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction bibliotherapy resulted in a significant decrease in anxiety, stress, perceived stress, and anxiety sensitivity as well as an increase in overall quality of life.

A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis suggested that bibliotherapy has the potential to be a beneficial non-pharmacological tool for promoting positive effects in people’s lives.

While bibliotherapy can benefit people of all ages with a vast range of needs, it will only be effective if you’re willing to read and share. In general, bibliotherapy is not recommended if you or someone you love:

The books that your therapist suggests may also vary depending on your needs and preferences. For example, if you dislike reading fiction books, your therapist might recommend non-fiction stories or therapeutic workbooks.

Certain types of books and literature should be avoided in bibliotherapy. This includes propaganda and misleading information that promotes harmful, destructive, or false beliefs.

In addition to training in bibliotherapy, make sure to check for othercredentials and titlessuch as LMFT, LCSW, PsyD, PhD, psychotherapist, and licensed professional counselor (LPC) when conducting your search.

These credentials, along with many others, indicate that the person has the education and proper certifications or licenses to practice in your state.

Perman says if you’re looking for a therapist with more formal training in bibliotherapy, you can find a directory of providers on theInternational Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapywebsite.

Additionally, checking Google Scholar and other academic sources may yield scholars who are also counselors and can either help directly or recommend others who can.

Takeaway

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Suvilehto P, Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A.Supporting children’s social and emotional growth through developmental bibliotherapy. In: Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A, eds.Story in Children’s Lives: Contributions of the Narrative Mode to Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and Learning. Vol 16. Springer International Publishing; 2019:299-314. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_15Gualano MR, Bert F, Martorana M, et al.The long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Clinical Psychology Review. 2017;58:49-58. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.006Troscianko ET.Literary reading and eating disorders: Survey evidence of therapeutic help and harm.J Eat Disord. 2018;6(1):8. doi:10.1186/s40337-018-0191-5Montgomery P, Maunders K.The effectiveness of creative bibliotherapy for internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors in children: A systematic review.Children and Youth Services Review. 2015;55:37-47. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.05.010Hazlett-Stevens H, Oren Y.Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction bibliotherapy: A preliminary randomized controlled trial: MBSR bibliotherapy.J Clin Psychol. 2017;73(6):626-637. doi:10.1002/jclp.22370Monroy-Fraustro D, Maldonado-Castellanos I, Aboites-Molina M, et al.Bibliotherapy as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to enhance mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review and bioethical meta-analysis.Front Public Health. 2021;9:629872. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.629872Mehdizadeh M, Khosravi Z.An inquiry into the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for children with intellectual disability.Int J Dev Disabil. 2018;65(4):285-292. doi:10.1080/20473869.2018.1466509

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Suvilehto P, Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A.Supporting children’s social and emotional growth through developmental bibliotherapy. In: Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A, eds.Story in Children’s Lives: Contributions of the Narrative Mode to Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and Learning. Vol 16. Springer International Publishing; 2019:299-314. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_15Gualano MR, Bert F, Martorana M, et al.The long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Clinical Psychology Review. 2017;58:49-58. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.006Troscianko ET.Literary reading and eating disorders: Survey evidence of therapeutic help and harm.J Eat Disord. 2018;6(1):8. doi:10.1186/s40337-018-0191-5Montgomery P, Maunders K.The effectiveness of creative bibliotherapy for internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors in children: A systematic review.Children and Youth Services Review. 2015;55:37-47. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.05.010Hazlett-Stevens H, Oren Y.Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction bibliotherapy: A preliminary randomized controlled trial: MBSR bibliotherapy.J Clin Psychol. 2017;73(6):626-637. doi:10.1002/jclp.22370Monroy-Fraustro D, Maldonado-Castellanos I, Aboites-Molina M, et al.Bibliotherapy as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to enhance mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review and bioethical meta-analysis.Front Public Health. 2021;9:629872. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.629872Mehdizadeh M, Khosravi Z.An inquiry into the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for children with intellectual disability.Int J Dev Disabil. 2018;65(4):285-292. doi:10.1080/20473869.2018.1466509

Suvilehto P, Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A.Supporting children’s social and emotional growth through developmental bibliotherapy. In: Kerry-Moran KJ, Aerila J-A, eds.Story in Children’s Lives: Contributions of the Narrative Mode to Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and Learning. Vol 16. Springer International Publishing; 2019:299-314. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_15Gualano MR, Bert F, Martorana M, et al.The long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Clinical Psychology Review. 2017;58:49-58. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.006Troscianko ET.Literary reading and eating disorders: Survey evidence of therapeutic help and harm.J Eat Disord. 2018;6(1):8. doi:10.1186/s40337-018-0191-5Montgomery P, Maunders K.The effectiveness of creative bibliotherapy for internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors in children: A systematic review.Children and Youth Services Review. 2015;55:37-47. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.05.010Hazlett-Stevens H, Oren Y.Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction bibliotherapy: A preliminary randomized controlled trial: MBSR bibliotherapy.J Clin Psychol. 2017;73(6):626-637. doi:10.1002/jclp.22370Monroy-Fraustro D, Maldonado-Castellanos I, Aboites-Molina M, et al.Bibliotherapy as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to enhance mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review and bioethical meta-analysis.Front Public Health. 2021;9:629872. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.629872Mehdizadeh M, Khosravi Z.An inquiry into the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for children with intellectual disability.Int J Dev Disabil. 2018;65(4):285-292. doi:10.1080/20473869.2018.1466509

Gualano MR, Bert F, Martorana M, et al.The long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials.Clinical Psychology Review. 2017;58:49-58. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.006

Troscianko ET.Literary reading and eating disorders: Survey evidence of therapeutic help and harm.J Eat Disord. 2018;6(1):8. doi:10.1186/s40337-018-0191-5

Montgomery P, Maunders K.The effectiveness of creative bibliotherapy for internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors in children: A systematic review.Children and Youth Services Review. 2015;55:37-47. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.05.010

Hazlett-Stevens H, Oren Y.Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction bibliotherapy: A preliminary randomized controlled trial: MBSR bibliotherapy.J Clin Psychol. 2017;73(6):626-637. doi:10.1002/jclp.22370

Monroy-Fraustro D, Maldonado-Castellanos I, Aboites-Molina M, et al.Bibliotherapy as a non-pharmaceutical intervention to enhance mental health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods systematic review and bioethical meta-analysis.Front Public Health. 2021;9:629872. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.629872

Mehdizadeh M, Khosravi Z.An inquiry into the effectiveness of bibliotherapy for children with intellectual disability.Int J Dev Disabil. 2018;65(4):285-292. doi:10.1080/20473869.2018.1466509

Hannah Owens, LMSW

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At a Glance#

Understanding Bibliotherapy#

Types of Bibliotherapy#

Bibliotherapy Techniques#

What Bibliotherapy Can Help With#

Benefits of Bibliotherapy#

Gain Personal Insight#

Receive Benefits Outside of Treatment#

Gain Perspective#

Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy#

Depression#

Eating Disorders#

Child Behavior#

Anxiety and Stress#

Takeaway#