What Is Bibliotheraphy

What is Bibliotherapy? * Bibliotherapy – the use of literature to help people cope with emotional problems, mental illness, or changes in their lives or to produce affective change and promote personality growth and development. * The underlying premise of bibliotherapy is that clients identify with literary characters similar to themselves, an association that helps the clients release emotions, gain new directions in life, and explore new ways of interacting * E. g. Teenage readers may feel relief that they are not the only ones facing a specific problem. They learn vicariously how to solve their problems by reflecting on how the characters in the book solve theirs Some approaches in Bibliotherapy * Traditional bibliotherapy * Tended to be more ‘reactive’ * Focused on getting individuals to react positively or negatively to the reading material. * Therapeutic process * More interactive one: the reader becomes part of the unfolding intellectual and emotional process of the story, and in struggling to understand what is being communicated at the deepest levels, the reader responds by making a positive alternation or modification in behavior or attitude. Interactive bibliotherapy * Help them reflect on what they read, such as group discussion and dialogue journal writing. * In clinical bibliotherapy and bibliocounseling * Skilled practitioners use therapeutic methods to help individuals experiencing serious emotional problems. * Developmental bibliotherapy * Classroom teachers are more likely to use this method * Involves helping students in their normal health and development * Advantage – teachers can identify the concerns of their students and address the issues before problems arise. Students can also be guided through predictable stages of adolescence Basic stages in Bibliotherapy Generally, activities in bibliotherapy are designed to: * provide information * provide insight * stimulate discussion about problems * communicate new values and attitudes * create awareness that other people have similar problems * provide realistic solutions to problems Four basic stages: identification, selection, presentation, and follow-up. * First two stages – the clients’ needs must be identified, and appropriate books selected to match their particular problems. The books must then be presented carefully and strategically so that the clients are able to see similarities between themselves and the book characters. * Once the clients can identify with the main character, they enter the follow-up stage during which they share what they have gained. * They express catharsis verbally in discussion or writing, or nonverbal means such as art, role-playing, creative problem solving, or self-selected options for students to pursue individually * Once catharsis has occurred, the clients can be guided to gain insight into the problem. Catharsis – the process releasing strong emotions through particular activities or experience) Benefits and limitations of Bibliotherapy * BENEFITS * Provides the opportunity for the participants to recognize and understand themselves, their characteristics, and the complexity of human thought and behavior. * Promote social development as well as the love of literature in general, and reading in particular. * Reduces feelings of isolation that may be felt by people with problems. * LIMITATIONS * Availability of materials on certain topics Lack of client readiness and willingness to read. * Clients may also project their own motives onto characters and thus reinforce their own perceptions and solutions – participants may be defensive * Facilitators may have limited knowledge of human development and developmental problems, and inadequate knowledge about appropriate literature. * Clients may be unwilling to discuss areas that are uncomfortable * Facilitators may insist on making a point at the client’s expense. http://www. cyc-net. org/cyc-online/cycol-0105-biblio. html Selection of books

When choosing stories for bibliotherapy there are specific criteria : * The child’s emotional and chronological age should be taken into account * The librarian should know the material * It should be related to the child’s circumstances and feelings * Illustrations should be clear and colourful. * Characters should model healthy adaptation patterns * There should be a character suitable for identification. * The hero in the story should also be portrayed realistically, for instance s/he must have feelings such as uncertainty, fear and anger.

S/he must portray unacceptable behaviour such as being naughty, while people still accept him/her. * There should be other characters in the story that are more or less the same as those in the client’s situation * The librarian should know the client’s reading ability * In using bibliotherapy with small groups of children, the same principles of book selection * Any books selected will be suited for all group members. BIBLIOTHERAPY!! THREE STAGES of BIBLIOTHERAPY 1. IDENTIFICATION.

The child identifies with a character, a story line, SOMETHING in the book that  catches their attention. This identification (discovery) can be by the child, or staged by the therapist or  teacher. 2. CATHARSIS. The child is able to release emotions when he/she becomes emotionally involved in  the story. The classroom or office provides a safe place for the child to release (in a classroom, make  sure to guard the child’s privacy and confidentiality). The child can release any of several ways, such  as discussion, art work, music . . 3. INSIGHT. With the therapist’s help, the child can come to possible solutions to their problem. Or  sometimes, there is no solution, but coping strategies can be suggested and goals made. The  book’s suggested solution or coping strategies can be used, if appropriate. | BIBLIOTHERAPY can be done in group settings or with individuals alone. Books that address problems common to childhood can be read  to groups, even when there aren’t any apparent problems. Sometimes a group reading can open discussion and reveal issues.

While BIBLIOTHERAPY is a good way for children to release pent-up emotions, it should not be considered a cure. Deep psychological  problems can’t be resolved or even handled in a classroom setting — these need to be addressed in more intense therapy. | HOW TO USE BIBLIOTHERAPY!!!! (yahoo) 1. Identify your children’s needs through observation, parent conferences, classwork, official records, etc. 2. Match the problems with the appropriate books. Make sure that the book is appropriate for the child’s reading  level and maturity. 3.

Decide on the settings and time for the therapy, and how you will introduce it to the student. 4. Design follow-up activities after the reading. 5. Motivate the child with introductory activities. 6. Engage in the reading, viewing, or listening phase. Ask leading questions. 7. Take a break for reflection. 8. Introduce follow-up activities: ~retelling of the story ~in-depth discussion of the book ~art activities ~creative writing ~dramatic activities 9. Discussion and possible solution finding. | http://www. catherineshafer. com/biblio. html Developmental Interactive Bibliotherapy Bibliotherapy is generally defined as the use of literature to promote mental health * Bibliotherapy has been found effective for a number of domains, such as attitude change, self-concept development, fear reduction, problem-solving ability, prosocial behavior, values development, and interpersonal relationship. * Bibliotherapy can offer a wealth of resources not only for problem-centered interventions but also for classroom guidance. Children’s Social-Emotional Development * The concept of emotional intelligence has been widespread in recent educational literature. Emotional intelligence involves the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotion; the ability to access and/or generate feelings when they facilitate thought; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; and the ability to regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth. ”(p. 10) * Even in the reading lessons that involve only engaging stories, children can learn about how the characters feel and how the characters perform in response to such feelings. * Children learn these social-emotional skills through various medium, such as, literature, art programs, music, and so on. Lang (1998) suggested that a curriculum of social-emotional development should generally cover a wide range of issues. It should involve a concern for the personal and social development. The Transactional Model of Stress * People also differ in their coping patterns. * Emotion-focused coping – avoidance, minimization, distancing, selective attention, and positive comparisons, are likely to occur when there is nothing that can be done to modify harmful, or threatening conditions. * Problem-focused coping – amenable to change. * No single strategy that is considered inherently better than any other. Transactional model suggests that to result in emotions and to cope appropriately with the realities of the situation we are facing, we need to appraise correctly. * the concepts of “appraisal” and “coping” to the elementary school students is through children’s literature – pertaining to stressful plots and various forms of coping processes and strategies were selected and analyzed Educational Importance of this Study * School counselors to use literature as a method for nurturing children’s social and emotional development. Facilitate discussions with good quality in interactive bibliotherapy, professional skills including active listening, clarification of content, and reflection of feeling are crucial. * Select quality literature-counselors need to expand their collections in various stories pertaining critical issues to children’s social-emotional development at each stage. * Useful to collaborate with other practitioners, such as media specialists, classroom teachers, librarians, and parents. In addition, further knowledge for selecting children’s literature is especially needed.