WHAT IS BIBLIOTHERAPY AND DO YOU NEED TO GIVE IT A GO?
- Helen Dugdale
- Nov 21, 2024
- 5 min read
We all do it, add yet another book to our Amazon basket mindlessly or wander around Waterstones when we need that ‘just published’ novel fix, even though the bedside table is overflowing with half-read books.
Do you ever feel like you’re trapped in a literary loop or stuck reading the same genre just because it’s safe and you know what you’re getting?
Be honest, when was the last time you read a book that was from a new author?
The connection between reading and good mental health isn’t new, even though not many people will admit it, getting lost in a story for a few hours makes you feel much better than the same time spent doom scrolling on your phone.
So, what to do if your mental health could do with a helping hand and you’re bored of all your favourite authors?
Enter stage right bibliotherapy the practice of using books as a tool for wellness.
Readers looking for guidance on who and what to read to improve their mental health can work with a ‘prescriber’ who can create a flashy new reading list.
Lucy Pearson, founder of the award-winning blog The Literary Edit has been offering bibliotherapy services since the pandemic and believes it can be for everyone.
Lucy Pearson.
“I’m the vehicle through which people find more books. I like to think that everyone I’ve spoken to has found something through the sessions with me. Whether that is a book that they would never have otherwise read, the impetus to cultivate better reading habits and spend less time on their phones.”
Lucy compares using a bibliotherapy service to hiring a stylist or interior designer.
“It’s about a more curated, bespoke and personalised experience for someone wanting to understand books and literature. The way I use it is with clients who might be going through a break-up, grieving a loved one or suffering from anxiety. Someone may want to discuss how to diversify their reading, or they might want to read a classic for the first time, or to just learn how to find time to carve out to read more.”
Avid reader Lisa Wlodyka, worked with Pearson when she decided to get more intentional with her love of literature.
“I've always enjoyed reading but with the stresses and pressures of everyday life, it's fallen by the wayside. Like many people, I spend too much time on my phone, and I hoped that a bibliotherapy session would give me the motivation I needed to swap scrolling for a good book,” she said.
Lisa Wlodyka.
Wlodyka answered a series of questions to uncover what she wanted to achieve through her reading and then Pearson provided a tailored list of recommendations.
“The session with Lucy deepened my relationship with books and introduced me to authors and genres I wouldn't have discovered otherwise. It’s made my reading more purposeful and, in many ways, more therapeutic. I’d absolutely recommend it to anyone who wants to find more joy, clarity, or direction in their reading life—or even for someone who, like me, simply wants a bit more guidance when it comes to what to read next,” continued Wlodyka.
Although the practice of bibliotherapy is a growing field, in the UK there is currently no official body that prescribers are required to register with.
Elaine Bousfield, chief executive officer (MBE) at ZunTold is working to change this. The Manchester-based publishing and bibliotherapy company uses the power of fiction to support young people’s mental health and physical wellbeing. Bousfield and her team are seeing the benefits of bibliotherapy first-hand through their work with young people across Knowsley.
Elaine Bousfield.
“The connection between therapy and storytelling has always been strong. With ZunTold we’ve created a place where young people can come to meet a therapist, we do an assessment and then create a personalised book list for them that also includes activities and reflections that they can share with their therapists,” she said.
Bousfield would like to see an official qualification developed in bibliotherapy that therapists and counsellors could train for, like art therapy.
“A lot of the information about bibliotherapy is very academic. There is still a great deal of learning to do around it. Lots of research is focused around the benefits of non-fiction and self-help books rather than fiction and poetry - which is where our work fits.”
ZunTold’s ethos is that people go to counselling to tell their stories, to unpick their lives and to explore them. They learn to retell different stories about themselves until the story gets more and more positive.
“We’re trialling a new feature called ‘Storyteller’ where high school students write their own stories and then we provide editorial feedback. We’re hoping to show young people how to turn negative experiences into a story with a therapist. We’re already working with the NHS and are now looking at ways to allow more people to access our services,” finished Bousfield.
For Cheshire-based author and storyteller Jude Lennon, the grand-sounding title of bibliotherapy isn’t the important thing. What matters most is the act of just encouraging more people to pick up a book and put down their phones on the hunt for ways to improve their mental health.
Jude Lennon.
“There’s almost an unending list of the benefits of books and reading. They can be healing and cathartic, comforting, relaxing and educational. They can also make people feel seen when a character goes through the same thing as them,” she explains.
Whereas a lot of people head straight to the self-help section when looking for something to read to soothe their thoughts, diving into a comedy, short story or even revisiting your favourite children’s book can make a massive difference. One genre that is growing in popularity among people looking for escapism is cosy crime, which makes total sense. Something is calming knowing there is going to be a resolution, you know the bad guy is going to get caught and that normality will be restored. This genre offers the audience a level of comfort as the narrative is stable and the outcome expected.
Lennon offers this final piece of advice, “Reading not only helps with mental health but concentration and learning new vocabulary. It takes you to new places, and you can create your pictures in your mind from the story the author has crafted. Aside from doing the reading, we should all be spending more time in libraries – they’re warm, free, safe and welcoming and are full of adventures just to be found.”
By Helen Dugdale. Check out all of her amazing platforms! https://scribbleaway.com/
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