What is truly liberating in bibliotherapy is the fact that reading books helps us externalise our problems
Another aspect of bibliotherapy that can be healing is building an emotional connection with book characters and plots
What helps the healing process or the process of finding solutions to our challenges is literary thinking
It may sound simple at first: books supporting healing, how does it really work?
This month we are celebrating #WorldBookDay, so we are bringing in a therapeutic approach called bibliotherapy.
There is so much misconception about trauma work and handling heavy feelings. Traditionally we were told to open things up and assume that they will fall into the right places and we can move on. Or that those traumatic experiences of others do not touch us, and we can act as a blank page.
For those of us who work in coaching and counselling, primarily if we work in a group setting, facilitating endings is quite common, but I think it is a skill we can all benefit from. Helping others move through endings is a beautiful skill – it allows for safe spaces, kindness, understanding and sometimes a bit of challenge (in a good way).
Asking for help takes courage, but it pays off. You do not have to suffer alone; you do not need to carry a load of heavy feelings on your own. Reach out, ask for help, and ask for specific tips or practical help. Whatever you need to process the ending you are going through.
Earlier, I mentioned discussing endings, but sometimes the emotions are so tangled and heavy that it may be challenging to vocalise them. We may need other forms of communication – we can use creativity to express them or maybe work with our bodies – go for a walk, dance, shake it out or sit still and hold those feelings in our awareness. Remember that becoming aware of our emotions and finding ways to express them can feel healing.