Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading

Bibliotherapy: the Healing Power of Reading / Bijal Shah
Piatkus, c2024.
320 p.

Long time readers may know that I have been interested in bibliotherapy for a long while. I used to run workshops using this technique alongside journaling and meditative arts, at least a decade ago now. But it's still a topic that fascinates me! I have been following Bijal Shah online for a long time also, and when I saw that she wrote a book I knew I had to have it. 

This is a compilation of her expertise on the subject, more than just a list of books to read. It starts out by explaining literature as therapy, how it is applied, and the various other modalities than can be incoporated into bibliotherapy, like journaling, letter writing or other narrative responses. Shah is a therapist as well as a book lover, and she uses this therapeutic technique from that perspective. It is really informative for those of us who are not therapists, but maybe just librarians or readers, who believe in the power of literature to develop empathy and meet us in a time of life crisis or transition. 

She uses case studies to demonstrate how to use books in this way, from romantic issues to dyslexia and beyond. And then the book concludes with a large section of lists of suggested reads for topics running from A-Z, and suggestions on how to build your own list for yourself. It's useful and encouraging, and I really appreciated the professional tone and expertise behind this book, which was still an engaging read. It's the starting point for a lot more exploration.