Bibliotherapy practices with children: Cautions for school counselors

Abstract

Although a counselor and a teacher share many responsibilities, their roles differ in important ways and when a teacher makes the transition to a school counselor, roles often become blurred. The clarification of roles becomes a particular concern when the school counselor employs books as part of the counseling program. Bibliotherapy and reading instruction both utilize literature and a counselor may believe some practices for teaching reading are applicable in the counseling setting. However, the goal of improving reading may interfere with goals for counseling. The authors outline cautions for school counselors especially as they relate to role confusion and teaching practices that may be questionable or even harmful for some children. Suggestions for therapeutic goals and role clarification for counselors in the use of bibliotherapy within school contexts are also provided.