The
use of books and stories for therapy go a long way back to ancient times when a
library in Thebes held the sign saying that it
is a place for one to restore one’s soul. Thinkers of long ago have
recognized the value of books and literature for one’s well-being. The idea
that books, literature and places where it can be accessed, such as the library,
contribute to a person’s growth, mindset and emotional health is as old as
humanity itself. Dr. Benjamin Rush, the Father of American Psychiatry (1811)
recommended the use of books and reading materials as additional treatment for
patients and clients in his clinic. In 1916, Samuel Crothers, a minister who
was concerned with the response and the reaction of readers to a piece of literature
defined bibliotherapy as a technique of bringing troubled persons and books
together (Wooton, 2017).
After
World War I and II, mental health clinics and hospital facilities with psychiatric
services in the US and in Europe opened medical libraries for the research and
conduct of bibliotherapy. Medical
librarians would prescribe books and reading materials as companion therapy for
patients who survived war and conflict. The Menninger Clinic, particularly, ventured
into the research, study and practice of Clinical Bibliotherapy.
Further
research in the history of bibliotherapy shows a nun, Sister Mary Agnes, used
literature as a way to reach into children and their developmental issues.
Books and stories were used to assist young readers in the understanding of their
own problems and not as tools to teach morals and values. Dr. Caroline Shrodes,
a psychiatrist, was the one responsible for laying down the process of
bibliotherapy as akin to psychonanalysis. She identified three steps in the
process namely, identification, catharsis
and insight. By 1970, practitioners in the field of psychology, child
development and education developed a growing interest in bibliotherapy. Rhea
Joyce Rubins published a book, Using
Bibliotherapy: A Guide to Theory and Practice where three different kinds
of bibliotherapy were identified. These are Institutional Bibliotherapy,
Clinical Bibliotherapy and Developmental Bibliotherapy.
It
is the later kind, which is Developmental Bibliotherapy, that school librarians
can be involved in various ways.
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