r own.
- Reading can act as an education in empathy. When we engage with a novel or play, for example, we often make an imaginative attempt to identify with the characters, especially the protagonist. This can help us in two ways in our lives: a) we can become better at understanding the plight of other people, especially those different to ourselves; at the very least we can cultivate the willingness to understand difference; b) a more empathic attitude towards others can help us adopt a more compassionate attitude towards ourselves. If we see ourselves not as some deficient object to be criticised harshly (as our inner critic would have it), but as a protagonist in our life story, then we can honour the complexity of our own struggles.
- Many stories - especially of the traditional three act kind -are solution focused: the problem that the protagonist encounters in the first act is finally resolved at the end of the narrative (or in tragedy, it is not resolved satisfactorily but at least the mistakes are highlighted). Stories can therefore act as a means of gaining ideas for tackling certain life problems or for providing a catalogue of errors of judgement.
- Reading can sensitise us to the poetry of everyday life. Through reading poetry or literary fiction, we can learn to exist in a more richly textured world where objects are alive with significance.
- We do not always need to read a text with a willing suspension of disbelief. In literary studies, sometimes a more sceptical attitude is in order (a ‘hermeneutics of suspicion’, as it is called). This can be useful when we are wishing to denaturalise ideological trends that are seeking covertly to seem entirely unquestionable. To put this more simply, the literature of a historical period, especially popular fiction, tends to reproduce the dominant ideology and to engage with it (either it will reinforce it, criticise it or more likely do a mixture of both). Reading with a sceptical eye can expose the ways in which our society tries to make certain ways of living seem more ‘natural’ than others, even though there is no actual ground for this (to go with a widely known example from the movies, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is, among other things, an argument for the ideology of the family, as it suggests that bachelorhood leads to unenviable consequences personified by Mr Potter). Being cognisant of the fact that literature can be a seductive way of orientating people in a status quo fashion can provide us with knowledge of the rhetoric of streamlining. This, in turn, can liberate us to lead lives more suited to our individual situation.
- Reading can provide a privileged window into the recesses of our psyche. The books that we love, fear or detest can give us an idea about what we hope we are, what we wish to be, what we fear we are and what we hate about ourselves. Examining our reasons for our feelings towards certain books can act as a mirror to the self, and lead to productive self-examination.
If you are currently in therapy and wish to incorporate some bibliotherapy into your sessions, then you can use the above as a good grounding for how to use literature for therapeutic ends. If you are currently searching for a therapist, and wish to use literature as a key cultural resource, then look out for a counsellor who lists it as one of their abiding interests.
Counselling Directory is not responsible for the articles published by members. The views expressed are those of the member who wrote the article.
About Alexander Fox
I am a counsellor with three private practices across the country (Harley street, London; Dundee; St. Andrews). I am trained to Masters level in pluralistic counselling, and I utilize a wide variety of different therapeutic approaches when working with clients. I also have a doctorate in English literature and my literary training informs my work.… Read more
Located in London.
To book an appointment, please get in contact: