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 Department
of Language EducationPracticum in Language X425/L525 Dr. Hope Elkins, Ph.D. |
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1. WHAT IS BIBLIOTHERAPY? Stated most simply, Bibliotherapy is the use of books for healing (biblio=book; therapy=healing). The notion that the reading of books can help people solve their problems is not at all new; indeed, books have long been considered a kind of "medicine" for the mind. The fundamental theory behind this concept is that guided reading of carefully selected literature can help readers gain insight into their own problems and thereby modify their attitudes and behaviors.
2. WHY SHOULD EDUCATORS, ESPECIALLY READING TEACHERS, KNOW ABOUT BIBLIOTHERAPY? Bibliotherapy is emerging as a discipline in the reading field, judging by the increasing numbers of educational journal articles written about it and by the exponential growth in children's and young adult books dealing with sp jecific issues (AIDs, divorce, substance abuse, mental illness, etc.) In Young Adult Literature (YAL), these types of stories are called "realistic modern fiction" or "problem novels." Recent surveys also indicate increased interest in bibliotherapy on the part of clinicians and educators.
2. WHO "INVENTED" BIBLIOTHERAPY? No one person or institution can be credited with the concept of bibliotherapy. Although the term has been around for over 80 years, it did not begin making its appearance in print until articles by Samuel McChord Crothers and G.O. Ireland were published in 1916 and 1930, respectively b. In this era, bibliotherapy was also called "therapeutic reading," and it was later called "bibliocounseling" as well. Systematic use of books to treat clinical problems, including emotional ones, is relatively recent. The American Library Association (ALA) was one of the first professional organizations to actively promote bibliotherapy through its creation of hospital and other institutional libraries in the early 20th Century. Drs. Karl and William Menninger conducted clinical research studies on the effectiveness of this "book healing" in their five-year study in the 1930's (Menninger, 1937). The Menningers' interest encouraged many similar studies over the next several decades, most notably those of Shrodes (1949), Russell (1970), Jalongo (1983) and Pardeck and Pardeck (1987, 1993). Note: More will be said about bibliotherapy research findings later in this article.
3. WHAT, EXACTLY, IS BIBLIOTHERAPY SUPPOSED TO DO? In bibliotherapy, books are seen as powerful tools with which to guide readers' thinking, particularly in the case of children and young adults, but not excluding adults themselves. Historically, literature was thought to help "mold" the minds of the young and children's and young adult stories routinely had a moral lesson behind them. The newer emphasis in literature for children and teens is on using books and stories to help young people think about, cope with, and solve their own problems. In the Dictionary of Education, bibliotherapy's goal is: "to influence total development, (through a) process of interaction between the reader and literature which is used for personality assessment, adjustment, growth, clinical and mental or psychological ills of the mind." That's a very ambitious list. How can reading a book possibly begin to accomplish any or all of that? Read on!
4. HOW CAN BIBLIOTHERAPY HELP THE READER SOLVE PERSONAL PROBLEMS? Bibliotherapy is supported by psychology's theory of personality development, which says, in part, that an individual's perceptions are shaped by his/her interpretations of life events. These subjective interpretations influence the choices the individual makes. Altering an individual's perceptions can alter or at least influence behavior (Adler, 1930; Dinkmeyer, Pew, and Dinkmeyer, 1979). This is called AFFECTIVE LEARNING. Self-development has three interdependent stages which are associated with the interactive bibliotherapeutic process (Shrodes, 1949). These stages can be viewed as steps, all of which must occur in specific sequence during effective bibliotherapy (Cornett, Cornett, 1980).
5. WHAT ARE THE STEPS, or STAGES, IN THE BIBLIOTHERAPEUTIC PROCESS? Shrodes identifies these three steps as: * Identification IDENTIFICATION occurs when the reader associates him or herself with a character and/or situation in a book. Obviously, this points to the importance of the book itself, it's themes and characters. Ideally, students are "matched" with a book based on their needs. (A youngster whose parent has just been diagnosed with cancer might be given a novel featuring a young character in a similar situation.) It isn't as simple as matching student and theme, however; the book must also have literary merit. In other words, is the story told realistically with believable characters and plot development? A poorly written work is one that contains stereotypical characters, inconsistent plots and is unsatisfactory in other ways (ERIC Digest, "Bibliotherapy."). Another consideration is the reading level at which the book is written. Does the reader have the decoding, comprehension and vocabulary skills to read the book successfully? CATHARSIS, the second step of the bibliotherapeutic p rocess, occurs when the reader experiences an emotional release (expressed verbally or nonverbally) just as the character he/she identifies with does the same after working through the problem. Cianciolo asserts that literature can have the effect of purging or purifying readers' emotions after they are emotionally involved (Cianciolo, 1965). INSIGHT is the ability of the reader to reach a better understanding of his or her own situation following identifiction and catharsis. The reader may be able to see the motivations behind his or her actions, and/or to see new ways he or she can address his or her own problems in order to resolve them. This insight is a means of giving control to a reader: control over situations and control over the outcomes of these situations (Baruth and Phillips, 1976). Cornett (1989) views this insight as "maturation from a sense of helpless submission to that of hopeful objectivity."
6. CAN YOUNG CHILDREN REALLY GO THROUGH ALL THESE STEPS DURING THE READING OF A BOOK? The you nger the child, the more guidance may be required on the bibliotherapist's part. One basic difference is that the book may have to be read aloud to the child. On the other hand, bibliotherapy can take place with older students with a read-aloud format as well. Book illustrations can greatly facilitate the bibliotherapeutic process with young children (Whipple, 1969). Other book criteria may be critical as well, such as surprise elements to create suspense and sustain interest (Gillaspie, Connor, 1975). It is important that the reading process be an interactive one, through which the reader responds to the book and receives feedback from the teacher, counselor, or clinician. Book responses can be solicited through individual and group discussion and/or writing (as in journal entries) and artwork.
7. DOES THIS MEAN THE "BIBLIOTHERAPIST" NEEDS TO BE A MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL? While there are those who would argue that certain professionals may have better training than others for guiding students through the bibliotherapeutic process, the key qualities for conducting bibliotherapy are certainly not limited to mental health professionals. Generally speaking, teachers who know their students well and are emotionally stable themselves are in a good position to use books bibliotherapeutically during whole-group classroom teaching or one-on-one with o students. Naturally this person must have read widely in children's and/or young adult literature in order to make or recommend appropriate books. Additional important qualities include good listening skills, the ability to empathize without moralizing, and other rapport-building abilities. Basically, the procedures involved in doing bibliotherapy are to: introduce the book so as to motivate the reader(s); provide reading time and support; allow for "thinking" time; provide follow-up discussion time; and conduct evaluation of the experience. Exactly WHO conducts bibliotherapy is a function, in large part, of the r therapy's ultimate goal or goals.
8. WHEN SHOULD BIBLIOTHERAPY BE USED? Bibliotherapy can have one or more than one objective, from developing a reader's self-concept and increasing his/her awareness and understanding of a problem to actually changing or modifying the reader's attitudes and/or behaviors. According to Russell and Shrodes (1950) and Cianciolo (1965), there are two ways that literature can be used for bibliotherapy. In PREVENTIVE BIBLIOTHERAPY, the reader learns new strategies for problem-solving as book characters seek solutions to their problems. This gives the reader new approaches to dealing with later problems h/she encounters. The more commonly discussed purpose is when readers attempt to solve actual problems when reading about characters with similar ones. Research indicates that bibliotherapy is best used adjunctively when a child or teen has serious psychological problems; that is, as a "side" therapy to other therapies administered by appropriately trained personnel,. These therapies might include individual, family, or group psychotherapy and/or pharmacological interventions. Three types of bibliotherapy have been distinguished by Lindeman and King (1969). These include bibliotherapy for: 1) emotionally disturbed children; 2) children with minor adjustment problems; and 3) children with basic developmental needs. Generally speaking, the classroom use of bibliotherapy involves mostly students in the third group.
9. IS THE BIBLIOTHERAPY OFFERED IN THE CLASSROOM DIFFERENT THAN CLINICAL BIBLIOTHERAPY? Schools have become obvious sites for bibliotherapy because of today's educat ional goals involving teaching students to develop the skills which will enable them to function successfully in today's world. According to Johnson A. Afolayan in his article "Documentary Perspective of Bibliotherapy in Education," the use of "both imaginative and instructive materials with groups of normal individuals" is DEVELOPMENTAL BIBLIOTHERAPY. The goal of this school-based process to promote "normal development and self-actualization, as well as to maintain mental health in stressful situations" (Rubin, 1979, as cited by Afolayan). It should be pointed out here that most teachers using bibliotherapy are teaching whole groups of students as they do so. Research shows that reading literature affects children's values (Lewis, 1968) and good literature has a value in and of itself whether a specific reader shares a character's problem. One of the goals of whole-group bibliotherapy, therefore, is building awareness of and empathy for characters and the issues with which they struggle. On the other hand ª, good reading teachers are aware that the correlation between self-concept and reading achievement is very significant. Reluctant or struggling readers are often more motivated to read materials that relate to their own lives and situations. According to one study (Jalongo, 1983, as cited in Ouzsts, "The Emergence of Bibliotherapy as a Discipline"), "Caring, competent and knowledgeable educators fully appreciate how authentic interactions with literature can contribute to overall cognitive and affective growth."
10. DOES BIBLIOTHERAPY REALLY WORK TO HELP READERS REACH A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THEMSELVES, OR, ULTIMATELY, TO HELP THEM CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR? Bibliotherapy has its limita tions and as we have said is not "the" answer to severe psychological problems. In fact, it is not considered a "science" (Heitzman and Heitzman, 1975) but a "potentially powerful device to achieve emotional and behavioral change." Research data on bibliotherapy are considered inconclusive when a broad spectrum of applications is examined. In cases where bibliotherapy was use along with other interventions, for example, there was no clear evidence that positive gains were due to book therapy and not the other interventions. Other methodological deficits in many research studies led to "mixed results" (Shank and Engels, 1981). More recent studies have found considerable support for the use of bibliotherapy in its positive impact on attitude and self-dev elopment, according to Riordan and Wilson in "Bibliotherapy: Does It Work?" Several studies concluded bibliotherapy was helpful in changing teens' inappropriate behavior and one psychiatric residential treatment facility found that reading of classic young adult literature in special discussion circles greatly decreased agressive acts by teen patient participants. In recent years, there has been some blurring of the lines between bibliotherapy and the "self-help" movement. The past decade or so, according to Riodan and Wilson, psychological research has focused more on bibliotherapeutic use of "how-to" books and manuals instead of traditional literature. Preliminary findings suggest greater success with these non-fiction works than with fiction and poetry. Comments: disted@indiana.edu Copyright 1998, The Trustees of Indiana University
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