The Literary Blog Hop is a fortnightly event held at The Blue Bookcase prompting book bloggers to answer a question.
Discuss Bibliotherapy. Do you believe literature can be a viable form of therapy? Is literary writing more or less therapeutic than pop lit or nonfiction?
Bibliotherapy is not something I would have thought writing about had I not been enticed by this prompt. To be perfectly honest, this is something I was only vaguely aware of. Consequently, my answer might appear a bit superficial and not really thought through. I guess reading other answers might help me to form a better opinion.
Bibliotherapy is most often used in cases of depression (and I will limit my answer to that). Reading seems to have been recognised for its healing powers, which does not surprise me. I can understand how reading can be beneficial in helping to relax, but also, as Christina states in her post, in helping people, especially adolescents, to identify with characters in similar situation, thus preventing them from feeling as if they were an abnormality.
However, there are other things that come to my mind. Reading is a very solitary activity and I wonder if it might not cut the person off from the world even more. Also, I wonder if it might not aggravate the situation: reading escapist literature might make it more difficult for the suffering person to face reality and reading more serious literature might depress the patient even more. Literature is a perception of our world and acts as a commentary on it, and, let’s face it, the world is not a rosy place.
Readers often mention the fact that they like to find the book to match their mood and in the case of bibliotherapy I think it is a crucial aspect to take into consideration. I believe it has to be carefully monitored and coupled with other therapies and group discussions. In my opinion, walking still remains a more important therapy to undertake in case of depression. Then again, I am not a therapist and this is only a spontaneous, and not researched, opinion on this topic.
11 comments
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July 22, 2011 at 1:22 am
Laurie
I applaud your well-considered and thorough reply. Despite your disclaimer, in my view, you offered a reasonable and reasonably well-supported response, and your narrowed focus on depression helped clarify and strengthen your case.
Fine blog here too!
July 22, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Em
Thanks Laurie!
July 22, 2011 at 2:05 am
Natalie ~ the Coffee and a Book Chick
You bring up a good point – certainly, reading sometimes isolates one more than it should. To that, I think anything in excess could be considered dangerous (if that’s even the right word for it). But, reading, writing in a journal, should never be the only therapeutic tools – it has to go hand-in-hand with whatever other therapeutic practices may be available. But, if someone is alone in the process, reading is a better option than doing nothing else!
🙂
July 22, 2011 at 6:08 pm
Em
Sure, as I said on another blog, better be reading than having the duvet pulled over your head!
July 22, 2011 at 8:50 am
Albert Kleyn
Quote: “Readers often mention the fact that they like to find the book to match their mood and in the case of bibliotherapy I think it is a crucial aspect to take into consideration”
Perhaps this is so but from my own perspective, which is all I can give, I disagree. To me I use a book to take me away, for a short while, from the harsh reality of what I see out there and take me into another world. It is for that same reason I would never watch soaps like “eastenders” etc. If I want to be confronted with misery, swearing, adultry, murder and all the other “fine things” this series has to “offer”, etc… I have only got to look around me. To me ? There is no “Soap” ever produced which could give me the same thrill as watching the magnificent BBC Yellowstone documentary.
Be that as it may: As our American friends would say: “Your mileage may vary”
July 22, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Anja Kasap
That’s a good point about reading being an isolated activity, and also that reading an escapist book could increase someone’s feeling of frustration at their own life not measuring up. I hadn’t considered that!
My response is here: http://reading2011.blogspot.com/
July 22, 2011 at 6:13 pm
Em
It’s a kind of way of matching your mood. It’s the same for me, sometimes what I need is something to take me away from the world. However, at other times, I like to read books that make me think about a particular topic or reflect on issues in our world.
I guess your mood might be more consistent than mine!
July 23, 2011 at 12:33 am
Laura
I totally agree with all your points. I think that the isolating effects of reading could be counter-productive for someone with depression or an anxiety disorder. I talk about Freud again in my post this week.
Come visit my post here.
July 23, 2011 at 12:46 am
susan
Maybe reading doesn’t have to be all that solitary. The past few years have seen a proliferation of book clubs. Reading has become a social outlet in some ways. (Or maybe just an excuse for socializing.) But for someone socially isolated, an excuse to get out could be beneficial.
August 7, 2011 at 1:23 am
Melwyk
Thanks for participating in this blog hop….I just discovered it thanks to your post and it is such an amazing topic I had to join in even at this late date. I love how everyone has mused over this idea and come up with some really interesting perspectives on bibliotherapy. I do have a particular interest in the topic so had to share my thoughts, trying not to be too long winded!
My response is here.
August 7, 2011 at 10:59 pm
lorebrarian
Canadian author and academic, Joseph Golding, wrote a fabulous book on bibliotherapy called READ FOR YOUR LIFE. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak at one of the Toronto Public Library branches back in the early 90’s. I had even hoped to study under him at Univeristy of Waterloo doing a PhD with a bibliotherapy focus. But this was not to be as he was retiring to do private practice just as I would have been applying.
Anyway, I have more to say on the subject than can fit into a comment.
In a nutshell, my current complaints about bibliotherapy are that it is continually being reduced to something to be applied to children. And, poetry therapists are defining what bibliotherapy is these days, therapeutically speaking.
I am a MLIS degreed librarian with a masters in English Lit with a focus in psychoanalytical criticism. I would love to find a few willing subjects to practice on, so that I can write up a study on how I think bibliotherapy can be applied to adults. Free, of course. Contact me at lorebrarian@gmail.com.
We could work by email or phone. I have unlimited long distance for US and Canada and could easily add Europe with Skype.