Dear Librarian: On Bibliotherapy

Kevin Dhale dela Cruz, a LIS student from UP Diliman sent questions regarding Bibliotherapy. I answered them and sent him links on Bibliotherapy published in the blog.

What is the history of bibliotherapy in your area or in your institution?

The school is pretty new, just three years old, as well as the library. We've only started with a Bibliotherapy collection this school year.

How long has your institution been offering bibliotherapy? (if applicable)

The library is starting with a bibliotherapy collection. The guidance counselor has not used the collection yet. There are no sessions yet for bibliotehrapy in the library.

How long have you been in this field?

I have been a school librarian for nearly two decades already. I started bibliotehrapy, formally in 2009.

What kinds of patron avails your services?

High school students. Guidance Counselors. Teachers.

What are the schedules and the intervals of the sessions for bibliotherapy?

NA

Is there a fee for your services? If yes, how much?

          
            NA

What are the processes involved in conducting bibliotherapy?

Bibliotherapy is developmental and clinical. Developmental bibliotherapy can be done side by side with Reading Guidance. This should also be in collaboration with guidance counselors. Begin by identifying a need or a problem of the child. A book or books are recommended for reading. When the child engages in the text, the guidance counselor receives responses from the reading experience. If mirroring happens, then it is a sign that the techniques made an impact.

Two important things to see in a bibliotherapy process: catharsis (mirroring) and response that is proactive.

What kind/s of librarian/s can practice bibliotherapy?

Librarians who are interested in readers services and user centered programs are the better ones to practice bibliotherapy.

What are the advantages of being a bibliotherapist? Are there also disadvantages? If yes, what are those?

The advantages are: knowing the reader and what book he/she finds helpful; the image of a librarian doing bibliothsrapy conveys a caring and compassionate professional; use of books and literature is authenticated. The disadvantage is, no concrete measure or statistical data can prove that a bibliotehrapy session is successful. As therapy, bibliotherapy is just one way to heal or solve problems.

What other institutions can you recommend that offer bibliotherapy?

Counseling centers may use bibliotherapy, but I do not know of any. You may wish to contact Eric Ramos for he has done bibliotherapy in the college level. San Beda Grade School and High School libraries have bibliotehrapy collection, as well as Miriam College.

For those interested in Bibliotherapy, here are links to my blog posts on the topic:

bibliotherapy

-powerpoint-slides.html">Bibliotherapy Powerpoint

PAARL Bibliotherapy
bibliotherapy-collection.html