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Bibliotherapy: Reading for Problem Solving

 

Course Number	LWH901
Objectives	At the end of this course, you will  1. Meaning of bibliotherapy, 2. The effectiveness of bibliotherapy, and 3. Bibliotherapy methods.
Credit Hours and Fee	3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of $24.00
Instructor	Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University), MPH (Johns Hopkins University); Adjunct Professor at Folsom Lake College, Folsom CA.

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Overview

ERIC_NO: ED200896, Bibliotherapy: An Historical Overview., Salup, Bernice J.; Salup, Alane, 1978
ABSTRACT: The concept of bibliotherapy is not a new one. Aristotle believed that literature had healing effects and the ancient Romans also recognized that there was some relationship between medicine and reading. Most of the better mental hospitals in Europe had established libraries by the eighteenth century--in the United States by the middle of the nineteenth century. By the early nineteenth century, many physicians had begun to recommend books for the emotional difficulties of the mentally ill. Important people such as Drs. William and Karl Menninger furthered the use of bibliotherapy by encouraging the growth of the library at Menninger Clinic. In the field of education, teachers began to utilize bibliotherapy in the 1940s. Today, school media specialists, counselors, librarians, or teachers may incorporate bibliotherapy into their programs. During the 1950s, group reading was added to the treatment of alcoholism. Work in bibliotherapy progressed through the 1960s in such areas as drug addiction, fear, attitudinal changes, moral maturity, death and all exceptionalities. It also advanced in both educational and psychological areas. In the 1970s one of the first classes on the theory of bibliotherapy was taught. If bibliotherapists of the future will practice the profession of librarianship, make careful and detailed studies of their readers, and make use of their imagination and sense of humor, bibliotherapy will continue to prosper.

1. WHAT IS BIBLIOTHERAPY? Simply stated, bibliotherapy can be defined as the use of books to help people solve problems. Another, more precise definition is that bibliotherapy is a family of technique for structuring interaction between a facilitator and a participant based on mutual sharing of literature

The idea of healing through books is not a new one--it can be traced far back in history, from the days of the first libraries in Greece. The use of books in healing, however, has been interpreted differently by classical scholars, physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses, parents, teachers, librarians, and counselors. There is, in fact, confusion in determining the dividing line between reading guidance and bibliotherapy . And the vast amount of professional literature that is available on bibliotherapy naturally mirrors the point of view of the helping professional who wrote it and the field in which he or she is an expert.

The purpose behind BIBLIOTHERAPY is threefold:

1. To Rebuild Thought Structures
As the natural mind functions in accordance with a long-standing pattern of egocentric thoughts and desires which, in turn, produce all kinds of conflicts, the human mind, if it is to be renewed, must be able to "think God's thoughts after Him". This best achieved by memorizing and meditating upon important passages of Scripture.

2. To Refocus the Emotions
The Word of God, if it is to 'live' in our hearts, must become the full expression of our emotions. To do this effectively, we must show a counsellee how to take portions that have been memorized and, wherever possible, add personal pronouns. This personalizes the matter and enables the counsellee to express himself to God in a new way.

3. To Redirect the Will
The human will, apart from the action of the Holy Spirit and the Word f god, is bent on having its own way. Scripture, however, when memorized, personalized and meditated upon, can bring about grreat changes in this part of the human personality. Based on writings by Ridley Usherwood.

2. DOES IT WORK? , in a review of the literature of the effects of bibliotherapy, found that a majority of the studies show mixed results for the efficacy of bibliotherapy as a separate treatment for the solving of problems. They concluded that bibliotherapy generally appears to be more successful as an adjunctive therapy. Despite such mixed research results, however, interest in the use of bibliotherapy appears to have increased in the past few years. This most likely reflects the increase of societal and familial problems in the United States--rise in divorce, alienation of young people, excessive peer group pressure, alcohol and drug abuse, and so on. Educators have also begun to recognize the increasingly critical need for delivering literacy instruction to at-risk and homeless children and their families.

In addition, researchers Riordan and Wilson concluded that the explosion of self-help programs during the past decade has contributed to the rise in the use of bibliotherapy, in the form of popular self-help books, such as "What Color Is Your Parachute" and "The Relaxation Response." Books such as these are the prescriptive choice of most mental health professionals for their clients, rather than fiction or poetry, according to the two researchers. Is self-help (even directed self-help) really bibliotherapy? This popular practice underscores the confusion about defining the actual technique of bibliotherapy mentioned at the beginning of this digest.

3. WHEN SHOULD BIBLIOTHERAPY BE USED? Bibliotherapeutic intervention may be undertaken for many reasons: (1) to develop an individual's self-concept; (2) to increase an individual's understanding of human behavior or motivations; (3) to foster an individual's honest self-appraisal; (4) to provide a way for a person to find interests outside of self; (5) to relieve emotional or mental pressure; (6) to show an individual that he or she is not the first or only person to encounter such a problem; (7) to show an individual that there is more than one solution to a problem; (8) to help a person discuss a problem more freely; and (9) to help an individual plan a constructive course of action to solve a problem.

Before undertaking bibliotherapy, however, a practitioner must remember that it is more than just the casual recommendation of a certain book to an individual--it is a deliberate course of action that requires careful planning.

4. WHO SHOULD CONDUCT BIBLIOTHERAPY? Whether you are a classroom teacher, a librarian, or a mental health professional, be advised that bibliotherapy must be handled with great delicacy, and not every practitioner possesses the personal qualifications to be a facilitator in the process. Those who are interested, however, should possess personal stability; a genuine interest in working with others; and the ability to empathize with others without moralizing, threatening, or commanding.

In addition, Smith recommends working with another practitioner or authority in a different field. For example, if you are a language arts teacher, you might collaborate with the school librarian, a guidance counselor, or the school psychologist. This cooperation helps in balancing the process so that no one person is "in charge." Smith also feels that facilitators need to have a light-enough tone in discussing problems so that no one becomes upset, but a thoughtful-enough manner to allow for "comfortable discussion." She also feels that fictional works are best for discussion purposes because participants can talk about the characters in a book rather than about themselves. All parties must agree to the bibliotherapy, however. A recent study on generating reading interest in adolescents with handicaps found that the majority were not even interested in reading novels with handicapped characters. Most of the young people in the survey "seemed to view the term 'handicapped' in a very narrow sense and reject the word and anything to which it may be connected."

5. HOW SHOULD IT BE USED? Arleen Hynes's book, "Bibliotherapy Handbook," is considered a good all-around introduction to bibliotherapy. It defines the types of bibliotherapy and details what the practitioner needs to know, including basic information on how to become a bibliotherapist.

Above all, books chosen by the practitioner should have literary merit--a poorly written novel with stereotyped characters and simplistic answers to complex questions is probably worse than not reading anything at all and can even leave children or young people with a negative view of literature. Reading quality literature, however, can be beneficial to students, even outside the context of bibliotherapy. A classroom teacher who really loves literature and who has a large collection of books is in a good position to conduct bibliotherapy, if he or she possesses the other necessary personal qualifications.

A practitioner must also decide whether an individual or a group therapy approach would be best in the particular situation. Individual therapy requires time-consuming one-on-one sessions, but some people feel freer to express themselves in a one-on-one situation.

For a classroom teacher, of course, the classroom could be seen as a natural group, and it would be a group easily broken up into collaborative units. Groups can be a powerful vehicle for helping to heal emotional problems. The Pardecks believe that a group approach to learning enhances the total child. The group approach allows members to share common experiences, thus lessening anxieties. It can create a feeling of belonging and can also provide security for individuals who might feel uncomfortable in situations where they are singled out for special attention. Working in a group may lead an individual to develop a different perspective and a new understanding of the problems of others.

6. GUIDELINES: Regardless of whether the practitioner chooses the individual or group approach, the basic procedures in conducting bibliotherapy are: (1) motivate the individual or individuals with introductory activities; (2) provide time for reading the material; (3) allow incubation time; (4) provide follow-up discussion time, using questions that will lead persons from literal recall of information through interpretation, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of that information; and (5) conduct evaluation and direct the individual or individuals toward closure--this involves both evaluation by the practitioner and self-evaluation by the individual.

1.   Identify student needs. This is done through observation, parent conferences, student writing assignments, and the review of school records.

2.   Match the student(s) with appropriate materials.  Find books which deal with divorce, a death in the family, or whatever student needs have been identified.  Keep the following in mind:
a:   The book must be at the student's reading ability level.
b.   The text must be at an interest level appropriate to the maturity of the student.
c.   The theme of the readings should match the identified needs of the student.
d.   The characters should be believable so that the student can empathize with their
        predicaments.
e.   The plot of the story should be realistic and involve creativity in problem solving.

 3.   Decide on the setting and time for sessions, and how sessions will be introduced to the
            student.

4.   Design follow-up activities for the reading (e.g., discussion, paper writing, drawing,
            drama).

5.   Motivate the student with introductory activities.

6.   Engage in the reading, viewing, or listening phase.

7.   Take a break or allow a few minutes for the student to reflect on the material.

8.   Introduce the follow-up activities.

 9.  Assist the, student in achieving closure through discussion and a listing of
        possible-solutions, or some other activity. 

REFERENCES:

http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/bibliotherapy.htm

http://home.nyc.rr.com/teachertools/Bibliotheraphy.htm

http://holisticonline.com/Remedies/Depression/dep_bibliotherapy.htm

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