The Efficacy of Bibliotherapy in Rehabilitation Context

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to explore the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in rehabilitation settings. The term bibliotherapy, coined in the 1930’s by the psychiatrist William Menninger, conveys the importance of reading as a tool for cultural promotion and growth, as a means through which to acquire knowledge, enhance one's cognitive and emotional abilities, develop strategies for managing discomfort, as well as a psychoeducational and cognitive technique in the psychotherapeutic field. A study carried out on Pubmed showed that recent research on bibliotherapy, in particular experimental research, would be lacking and requires a humanistic medical approach, drawing on the knowledge and methods of psychology and cognitive literary studies, as well as clinical disciplines to broaden our understanding of how the dynamic processes of interpretation mediate between the textual and characteristic structures of mental health and illness. This narrative review was conducted on PubMed database and used two key terms “Bibliotherapy” AND “rehabilitation” AND “prison”. Studies in line with this specific issue were included. The search of PubMed database provided a total of 470 items recruited online; of these 464 studies were excluded according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. After the screening, a total of 6 studies assessing the bibliotherapy in rehabilitation setting, met the inclusion criteria and were included in the narrative review. Bibliotherapy as a self-help approach also in psychotherapeutic treatments can activate the desire to seek changes in attitudes and behaviour, to acquire knowledge of symptoms, and the value of self-care. A psychological intervention self-administered through ACT bibliotherapy with minimal therapeutic support can improve the physical and emotional functioning of adults with chronic pain. If studies report the efficacy of parent-mediated bibliotherapy in situations of childhood anxiety, nocturnal fears, specific phobias, in adolescence chatbot-delivered self-help depression intervention was proven to be superior to the minimal level of bibliotherapy in terms of reduction on depression and anxiety. Bibliotherapy interventions may be helpful to fight against weight gain and potentially facilitate smoking cessation.

Keywords

• bibliotherapy, rehabilitation, prison