Literature therapy is a research-backed solution to anxiety and other mental illnesses. Therapy through literature, often referred to as bibliotherapy, is a rising field of study which uses books and literature as a therapeutic tool. Bibliotherapy is based on the foundational understanding that certain reading materials can expand a person’s self-understanding and the understanding of others. In other words, reading develops empathy and creates an awareness of others. It has the possibility to change the way we think and changing the way we think, can change the way we feel, which ultimately impacts behavior. The idea of our thoughts and feelings impacting our behavior is the basis for cognitive behavioral therapy, referred to as CBT. This is the foundation of literature therapy.
The actual process of literature therapy follows four steps as described in McCulliss and Chamberlain’s research on bibliotherapy for youth.
- identifying the reader’s issue
- selecting the book to match the reader’s needs
- guiding reading based on a planned approach
- following-up on what the reader learned or gained from reading
During these steps, McCulliss and Chamberlain explain that the reader should experience five stages in order to yield results. The five stages of literature therapy are simplified as recognizing, feeling, thinking, universalization and projection.
- Recognizing is identifying with the character or situation in the story
- Feeling is connecting with the story and gaining inspiration
- Thinking is the insight which occurs and leads to motivation for positive change
- Universalization is the recognition that we are not the only one having these problems
- Projection occurs when we consider what this could mean for the future
Through this process literature therapy has been found to be effective because of the overall improvement in mental health caused by the following results:
- empathy
- positive attitudes
- personal and social adjustment
- positive self-image
- new interests
- tolerance, respect, and acceptance of others
- realization that there is good in all people
- socially accepted behaviors
- examination of moral values, which can result in character development
- enhanced critical thinking skills
- perspective and universality of problems
- insight into human behavior and motives
- increased capacity for self-evaluation
- higher-level reasoning
- careful planning before taking a deliberate course of action
- choices and alternative solutions in problem solving
Overall literature therapy is the process of developing a deeper connection with the human experience. As we better understand the emotions in others, we can better understand our own feelings. This is ultimately the response that bibliotherapy is searching to evoke.
“Every reader finds himself. The writer’s work is merely a kind of optical instrument that makes it possible for the reader to discern what, without this book, he would perhaps never have seen in himself.” -Marcel Proust
References
Melissa Allen Heath, Kathryn Smith, Ellie L. Young. “Using Children’s Literature to Strengthen Social and Emotional Learning.” 2017.
D. McCulliss and D. Chamberlain. “Bibliotherapy for youth and adolescents: School-based application and research.” 2013.
Debbie McCulliss. “Bibliotherapy: Historical and Research Perspectives.”2012.