Bibliotherapy
The Use Of Literature To Support Good Mental Health
In 1916, Samuel Crothers combined the Greek word for book ‘biblion’ and healing ‘therapeia’ to describe the process in which specific literature, both fiction and non-fiction, was prescribed as medicine for various ailments.
During World War 1, libraries were set up in veteran’s hospitals and bibliotherapy was used to help the intensification of emotional trauma in veterans. At its beginnings, bibliotherapy was mostly found within hospital and institutional settings. However, once mental health care was deinstitutionalised, it found popularity with a wide range of populations. It was then found in libraries, family medical practices, educational settings, the penal system, psychology, social work, nursing and various other settings. In all settings, bibliotherapy was used to help people deal with
This type of therapy is most often used in addition to another type of mental health therapy as it can enhance the healing effect of those therapies. Reading is also a form of empowerment and continual learning. Herewith listed are my personal collection of books that have helped me learn from others, and that I regularly recommend to my clients. It does not matter how many books I have read on grief and loss; every single book offers new nuggets of wisdom and I am so grateful for this shared knowledge.
• I Wasn’t Ready To Say Goodbye, authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair. One of the most comprehensive books on loss I have read, covering all kinds of losses and with many practical ideas of how to cope. I highly recommend this book.
• It’s OK That You’re Not OK author Megan Devine. Megan is at the forefront of providing education in a culture that does not understand grief after loss. A book that completely resonates and provides compassionate care for those that have had their world’s turned upside down. Highly recommended.
• Bearing The Unbearable, author Joanne Cacciatore. Dr Cacciatore has the gift of a wordsmith and is able to put words to the anguish of loss. Highly recommended.
• Finding Meaning, The Sixth Stage of Grief, author David Kessler. I found this book to be very comforting. Highly recommended.
• When Breath Becomes Air, author Paul Kalanithi. A beautifully written memoir by Paul who goes from being the doctor to the patient. It will touch you deeply. High recommended.
• The Year Of Magical Thinking, author Joan Didion. A reminder how life can change in a flash.
• A Manual For Heartache, author Cathy Rentzenbrink. A different view on heartache, and amazingly easy to read.
• The Last Act Of Love, author Cathy Rentzenbrink. This is the first book by the author, a heart-breaking read of anticipatory grief and living loss after her brother was injured in a car accident and was kept alive on machine for several years.
• The Smell of Rain On Dust (Grief and Praise), author Martin Prechtel. Lots of wisdom to absorb in this beautiful read.
• Notes for The Everlost. A Field Guide To Grief, author Kate Inglis. A powerful memoir of parental bereavement.
• When A Soulmate Dies, author Dr Alan Wolfelt. Any book written by Dr Wolfelt is a balm to the broken hearted. This one focuses on your soul mate, not only in the capacity of a partner, but also as a friend.
• Motherless Daughters, The Legacy of Loss, author Hope Edelman. Always a profound loss in one’s life, irrespective whether the relationship was a positive one or not. Highly recommended.
• Visions, Trips, and Crowded Rooms. Who And What You See Before You Die, author David Kessler. A very encouraging read about the things we do not always understand.
• Wishes For The Grieving And Healing Heart. Why The Dragonfly Cries, author Tricia LaVoice. A comforting and loving book on grief.
• Chronic Sorrow, A Living Loss, author Susan Roos. This is more textbook material but covers the especially important topic of loss with no end, such as in mental and physical disability. A topic that is not often discussed.
• Experiencing The Loss of A Family Member, Discover the Path to Hope and Healing, author H. Norman Wright. This book is written with a Christian approach to help those who have lost a family member.
• Life After Baby Loss, A Companion Guide for Parents, author Nicola Gaskin.
• Pregnancy after a Loss, A Guide to Pregnancy after a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Infant Death, author Carol Cirulli Lanham.
• The Wild Other, A Memoir of Love, Adventure and how to be Brave, author Clover Stroud. The tragic consequences of a horse-riding accident.
• Safe Passage, Words to Help the Grieving, author Molly Fumia.
• We Need to Talk About Grief, author Annie Broadbent.
• The Many Faces of Grief, Finding Hope and Healing Through Your Pain, author Nola Shaw.
• The Secret Life of Grief, author Tanja Pajevic. This book is written in fierce, honest prose and is for anyone who isn’t willing to ‘pull it together’ and act like nothing’s wrong after loss.
• Finding a Way to Live After Loss, author Hope Edelman.
• When Words Are Not Enough, Creative Responses to Grief, authors Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds.
• The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief, author Francis Weller.
• A Matter of Life And Death, author Rosalind Bradley. 60 Voices share their wisdom in this compilation on mortality.
• On Life After Death, author Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.
• Before Forever After. When Conversations About Living Meet Questions About Dying, author Helene Dolny. Challenging the taboo about not discussing the topic of dying.
• Sacred Dying. Creating Rituals for Embracing The End Of Life, author Megory Anderson. A most beautiful handbook for creating a dignified, peaceful and sacred end to life. Highly recommended.
• The Grace in Dying. A Message of Hope, Comfort and Spiritual Transformation, author Kathleen Dowling Singh. How we are transformed spiritually as we die.
• A Safe Journey Home. A Simple Guide to Achieving a Peaceful Death, author Felicity Warner. A guide to help people prepare for death, as they would for a birth. www soulmidwives.co.uk.
• No One Has to Die Alone, Preparing for a Meaningful Death, author Lani Leary.
• A Sacred Passage. How to Provide Fearless, Compassionate Care for the Dying, author Margaret Coberly. This book shows how terminally ill people can experience emotional and spiritual healing, even when they cannot be physically cured.
• Life After the Diagnosis. Expert Advice on Living Well with Serious Illness for Patients and Caregivers, author Steven. Pantilat. An invaluable book in time of uncertainty and fear.
• Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Dread of Death, author Irvin Yalom. The author is a world-renowned psychiatrist and author and this book covers the topic of death anxiety and how oftentimes people in mid life present in therapy with an issue, which then links to the fear of death and time running out. Highly recommended.
• The Five Invitations. Discovering what Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, author Frank Ostaseski . Beautiful book and required reading for all.
• Being Mortal, Illness, Medicine and what Matters in the End, author Atul Gawande. Highly recommended.
• Dying, A Memoir, author Donald Horne and Myfanwy Horne. On learning his illness was terminal, Donald Horne began dictating his experience of dying, and his resulting journal is full of courage, honesty, insight and humour. Highly recommended.
• God, Medicine and Suffering, author Stanley Hauerwas.
• A Beginner’s Guide to the End, How to Live Life and Face Death, authors B J Miller and Shoshana Berger.
• Extreme Measures, Finding a Better Path to the End of Life, author Jessica Nutik Zitter.
• Lessons For The Living, Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Courage at the End of Life, author Stan Goldberg.
• Dying A Practical Guide for the Journey, authors Sue Wood and Peter Fox.
• The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleansing, author Margareta Magnusson. How to free yourself and your family from a lifetime of clutter.
• Life Lessons, How our Mortality Can Teach us about Life and Living, author Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
• How to Have a Good Death, preparing and planning, with informed choices and practical advice, author Esther Rantzen.
• What to Do About Your Brain-Injured Child, author Glenn Doman. Glen Doman is the founder and head of the world-famous Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential. A highly informative book.
• A Matter of Dignity. Changing the World of The Disabled, author Andrew Potok. A reminder of our shared humanity.
• A Different Kind of Perfect. Writings by Parents on Raising a Child with Special Needs, author Dowling, Nicoll, Thomas. The first book I read about special needs and drew me into a different world. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
• Move into Life with The Anat Baniel Method, author Anat Baniel.
• Expecting Adam, author Martha Beck.
• Far From the Tree, Parents, Children and the Search for Identity, author Andrew Solomon.
• Autism from Within, A Handbook, author Hilde De Clercq.
• The Everyday Advocate. Standing Up for Your Child with Autism or other Special Needs, author Areva Martin.
• A Mother Like Alex, author Bernard Clark. One defiant woman who adopted nine special needs children.
• The Everything: Parent’s Guide to Children with Asperger’s Syndrome, author William Stillman.
• The Out of Sync Child, Recognising and Coping With Sensory Processing Disorder, author Carol Stock Kranowitz.
• The Diving. Life, Loss and everything in-between, author Helen Walne.
• The Art of Misdiagnosis. Surviving My Mother’s Suicide, author Gayle Brandeis.
• Fly Fishing for Sharks. A Memoir of Life with OCD, author Andrew Alexander.
• Project Semicolon. Your Story Isn’t Over. Essays and Photos from the suicide awareness organisation that has helped millions.
• A Quest for Identity. A logotherapeutic guide to meaning-centred living, therapy and counselling, author Teria Shantall. The Quest for destiny is the theme of this book, based on Victor Frankl’s logotherapy.
• Losing A Son to Suicide, A poetic journey through grief, author Randall Stepp. Heart wrenching poetry from a dad to his son, lost to suicide.
• Surfacing: People Coping with Depression and Mental Illness, author Marion Scher. A helpful resource book filled with individual stories of people struggling with mental health and each chapter has a resource inventory to assist.
• Boys Don’t Cry, author Tim Grayburn. A book that addresses mental health stigma that men experience.
• The Heartland, Finding and Losing Schizophrenia, author Nathan Filer. This will give you insight into schizophrenia and change the way you think about it.
• Understanding Your Suicide Grief, Ten Essential Touchstones for finding Hope and Healing Your Heart, author Dr Alan Wolfelt. This is the book I use for my 12-week course on suicidal grief, and I highly recommend this. This book addresses the very unique process of suicidal grief and all the conflicting emotions that arise from this kind of loss.
• Finding Your Way After The Suicide of Someone You Love, authors David.B.Biebel and Suzanne L. Foster. A Christian approach to managing suicidal grief.
• A Very Human Ending, How Suicide Haunts Our Species, author Jesse Bering. Psychologist Jesse Bering looks at this taboo subject, examining the suicidal mindset from the inside out to reveal the subtle tricks the mind can play when we are easy emotional prey.
• Emotional Intelligence, author Daniel Goleman. Why emotional intelligence can matter more than IQ.
• The Road Less Travelled, The New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth, author M.Scott Peck.
• The Book of Forgiving, authors Desmond and Mpho Tutu. The fourfold path for healing ourselves and our world.
• A Walk In The Wood, Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear named Pooh, authors Dr Joseph Parent and Nancy Parent. Deceivingly simplistic, this book presents mindfulness in an a format that is easy to relate to.
• Healing Trauma, A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of Your Body, author Peter A. Levine.
• The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog, author Bruce D. Perry and Maia Szalavitz. What traumatised children can teach us about Loss, Love and Healing.
• The Body Speaks Your Mind, Understanding How Your Emotions and Thoughts Affect You Physically, author Deb Shapiro.
• The Broken Mirror, Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder, author Katharine Phillips.
• An Unquiet Mind, author Kay Redfield Jamison. A definitive examination of manic depression from both sides, doctor and patient, the healer and the healed.
• Man’s Search for Meaning, the Classic Tribute to Hope from the Holocaust, author Viktor Frankl.
• It’s Not Like That, Actually. A memoir of Surviving Cancer, and beyond, author Kate Carr.
• When It Is Darkest: Why People Die by Suicide and What We can Do to Prevent it, author Professor Rory O’Connor.
• Darkest before Dawn: True Accounts of the Moral Injuries of Service, author Dr Nikki Jamieson.