Bibliotherapy definition

Bibliotherapy definition:

“Integrating reading, writing, and drawing to address and attend to emotional issues and personal challenges.” -Susan Ward

It’s not just reading books, but responding to them through the creation of prose, poetry, stories, and drawings, usually in the form of a journal. The creative work may be followed by discussion, thought, prayer, or meditation, weaving these new insights into one’s worldview.

Other, more traditional definitions of bibliotherapy state:

-Bibliotherapy is an expressive therapy that uses an individual’s relationship to the content of books and poetry and other written words as therapy (Wikipedia)

-The use of reading materials for help in solving prersonal problems or for psychiatric therapy (Merriam-Webster)

-The use of books (usually self-help or problem-solving works) to improve one’s understanding of personal problems and/or to heal painful feelings (Gale Encyclopedia of Medical Terms)

My definition, which moves beyond reading to include creating a journal, encompases the early Greek meaning of the word bibliography which mean to copy books by hand, and the later 12th century use of the word which meant the intellectural process of composing books (Bibliography: An Inquiry into It’s Definition and Designations by Rudolf Blum). Also, the original Greek word for therapy, therapeia, meant to care for or attend to.

In many ways, my process of bibliotherapy expands biblio- and therapy to include self (auto-), writing (graph-), and study (-ology). I guess you could say I advocate therapeutic auto-biblio-graph-ology or, a therapeutic self study using books and writing. But, until autobibliographology catches on, I’ll keep calling it bibliotherapy plus!