Who developed bibliotherapy?
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After the term bibliotherapy was coined by Samuel Crothers in an August 1916 "Atlantic Monthly" article, it eventually found its way into the medical lexicon. During World War I, the Library War Service stationed librarians in military hospitals, where they dispensed books to patients and developed the emerging "science" of bibliotherapy with hospital physicians. When they returned from the war, they tried to implement these ideas in hospital libraries. E. Kathleen Jones, the editor of the book series "Hospital Libraries", was the library administrator for the McLean Hospital in Massachusetts. This influential work was first published in 1923, and then updated in 1939, and then 1953. Pioneer librarian Sadie Peterson Delaney used bibliotherapy in her work at the VA Hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama from 1924 to her death in 1958. Elizabeth Pomeroy, director of the Veterans Administration Library Service, published the results of her research in 1937 on the efficacy of bibliotherapy at VA hospitals. The United Kingdom, beginning in the 1930s, also began to show growth in the use in of reading therapy in hospital libraries. Charles Hagberg-Wright, librarian of the London Library, speaking at the 1930 British Empire Red Cross Conference, spoke about the importance of bibliotherapy as part of "curative medicine" in hospitals. In addition, reports from the 1930 Public Health Conference about bibliotherapy were included in the British journal "Lancet". By the 1920s, there were also training programs in bibliotherapy. One of the first to offer such training was the School of Library Science at Western Reserve University followed by a program at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.
Bibliotherapy
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Although the term "bibliotherapy" was first coined by Samuel Crothers in 1916, the use of books to change behavior and to reduce distress has a long history, dating back to the Middle Ages. When applied in a therapeutic context, bibliotherapy can comprise both fictional and non-fictional materials. Fictional bibliotherapy (e.g., novels, poetry) is a
dynamic process, where material is actively interpreted in light of the reader's circumstances. From a psychodynamic perspective, fictional materials are believed to be effective through the processes of identification, catharsis and insight. Through identification with a character in the story the reader gains an alternative position from which to view their own issues. By empathizing with the character the client undergoes a form of catharsis through gaining hope and releasing emotional tension, which consequently leads to insights and behavioral change. Working with an imaginative journey and a specific selection of metaphors, proponents claim that a therapeutic story approach has the potential to shift an out of balance behavior or situation back towards wholeness or balance. A patient might also find it easier to talk about his issues if he and the therapist can pretend that they are talking about the character's issues. Proponents suggest that the story form offers a healing medium that allows the listener to embark on an imaginative journey, rather than being lectured or directly addressed about the issue.
Bibliotherapy
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With hospitals taking the lead, bibliotherapy principles and practice developed in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it should be noted, some felt that bibliotherapy lagged behind the US and Joyce Coates, writing in the Library Association Record, felt that "the possibilities of bibliotherapy have yet to be fully explored". In 1966, the Association of Hospital and Institution Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, issued a working definition of bibliotherapy in recognition of its growing influence. Then, in the 1970s, Arleen McCarty Hynes, a proponent for the use of bibliotherapy, created the "Bibliotherapy Round Table" which sponsored lectures and publication dedicated to the practice.
Bibliotherapy
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In its most basic form, bibliotherapy is using books to aid people in solving the issues that they may be facing at a particular time. It consists of selecting reading material relevant to a client's life situation. Bibliotherapy has also been explained as "a process of dynamic interaction between the personality of the reader and literature - interaction which may be utilized for personal assessment, adjustment, and growth." Bibliotherapy for adults is a form of self-administered treatment in which structured materials provide a means to alleviate distress. The concept of the treatment is based on the human inclination to identify with others through their expressions in literature and art. For instance, a grieving child who reads, or is read a story about another child who has lost a parent may feel less alone in the world.
Bibliotherapy
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In the 1980s and early 1990s, bibliotherapy was a widely used but poorly researched therapeutic model. However, numerous randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have documented the positive effects of bibliotherapy for clinical conditions such as deliberate self-harm, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and bulimia nervosa and insomnia. Research also supports bibliotherapy as an intervention for a wide array of psychological issues including emotional disorders, alcohol addiction, and sexual dysfunction. In a recent review of psychotherapeutic treatments for older depressed people, bibliotherapy emerged as an effective intervention.
Bibliotherapy
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A recent project development was the implementation of bibliotherapy at the library in 2010. The bibliotherapy program used books to assist the children and young teens with coping with social, emotional and physical issues. The program identified the children's needs and used a variety of programs to help eradicate the isolation of people living with HIV/AIDS through education, self-awareness, skill development, and recreation. Some sessions included storytelling, reading aloud, and "The Wall of Happiness Sessions" in which participants openly discussed what made them happy with the facilitator. The program was made available to all residents at Nkosi's Haven, including orphans and those who were free of HIV/AIDS in order to increase overall awareness. Results of the program showed success among residents, with 92% of young participants demonstrating increased knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS related issues, 78% demonstrating an increase in comfort and decrease in fear around HIV/AIDS related issues, and 91% of adults demonstrating an improvement in self-esteem and optimistic attitudes.
Nkosi's Haven
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In the early nineteenth century, Benjamin Rush favored the use of literature in hospitals for both the "amusement and instruction of patients". By the middle of the century, Minson Galt II wrote on the uses of bibliotherapy in mental institutions, and by 1900 libraries were an important part of European psychiatric institutions.
Bibliotherapy
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Bibliotherapy has been studied by Jennie Bolitho (2011) in relationship to libraries, health and social connection for the elderly. Bolitho set up a pilot reading program where she read the text aloud to a group of participants at a local aged care hostel. (She described "being read to as part of the nurturing experience".) Her evaluation at the end of the 12-week program described all responses as positive and participants commented that they "look forward to the group as it made them think for themselves and gave them something to think about aside from their ailments and the monotony of the day" (p. 90).
Bibliotherapy
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Bibliotherapy is an old concept in library science. According to the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, in his monumental work "Bibliotheca historica", there was a phrase above the entrance to the royal chamber where books were stored by King Ramses II of Egypt. Considered to be the oldest known library motto in the world, ψγxhσ Iatpeion, is translated: "the house of healing for the soul". Galen, the extraordinary philosopher and physician to Marcus Aurelius of Rome, maintained a medical library in the first century A.D., used not only by himself but by the staff of the Sanctuary Asclepion, a Roman spa famous for its therapeutic waters and considered to be one of the first hospital centers in the world. As far back as 1272, the Koran was prescribed reading in the Al-Mansur Hospital in Cairo as medical treatment.
Bibliotherapy
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Implementing bibliotherapy in an elementary classroom can be very beneficial to both the students and the teacher. Teachers who use bibliotherapy in their classroom also learn much about the children they teach. Teachers as practitioners of bibliotherapy select appropriate reading materials and match them to the needs of individual students to assist them in the development of self-awareness, problem-solving skills, perspective-taking, and understanding of problems. The materials may include "any literacy activity, including reading (fiction, nonfiction, or poetry), creative writing, or storytelling." Teachers that select appropriate literature for their classroom needs may provide a child with a "character in a story to help the child understand himself Classroom story time and a guided discussion allows students to "become aware of problems of other children and develop empathy".
Bibliotherapy