Beat the Blues with Books: The Benefits of Bibliotherapy

Writing therapy has been shown to alleviate some symptoms associated with depression, but it appears that reading content-specific prose and poetry can also help depression-sufferers cope with their condition. While bibliotherapy is used by clinically trained professionals to treat patients with clinical depression, the practice is also used by teachers and librarians to help facilitate various aspects of development in children and adolescents. Formally developed as early as the 1930s, bibliotherapy is simply about employing books to help people.

After WWII, many soldiers found help for their depression by reading and sharing their reading experiences with others By interacting with the written word, depression sufferers feel less alone. Specific content can allow readers to relate to the author or characters in a way that reduces their sense of isolation and even their sadness While, at the very least, a book can allow a person to mentally escape from their personal circumstances, at best, a book can help eliminate feelings of depression to the same degree that some other effective treatments can.

When used as part of a treatment regimen, bibliotherapy is designed to be specific to a patient's suffering or concerns Both works of fiction and non-fiction can form part of the prescribed reading for depression sufferers When bibliotherapy works well, a person will gain a greater understanding of their particular problem.

Experts warn that people with clinical signs of depression should not try to cure themselves by a self-prescribed form of bibliotherapy; they should consult a medically trained psychiatric professional. Also, bibliotherapy has not been shown to help people suffering from psychoses or thought disorders. According to research, people that suffer from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or substance abuse can find some benefit from bibliotherapy.

While there is a plethora of books that can form bibliotherapy reading lists, there are many types of books that would offer little outside of the simple escapism that certain genres of books provide. The books chosen to enhance a person's psychiatric therapy tend to involve serious subject matter that can be discussed in a therapy session or within a therapeutic book group.