Various aspects of using bibliotherapy in the field of education and rehabilitation

Abstract

Bibliotherapy represents the planned use of literary texts and devices to encourage awareness and processing of emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal problems in individuals with different types of psychosocial distress. As a part of expressive arts-therapies, it includes precisely formulated goals, basic stages, and methodology that are described in this paper. In addition, an overview of recent scientific research on this topic is provided in order to gain insights on the most commonly used approaches, methodologies, and outcomes obtained, as well as the effectiveness of bibliotherapy. Based on our evaluation, we concluded that the use of bibliotherapy is an appropriate complementary approach in educational settings, for children with special needs, as well as for maintaining mental health. Considering the limitations of bibliotherapy, we emphasise the need for further research with the aim of improving practical models and assessment tools. Bibliotherapy can be a promising part of a multimodal educational and rehabilitation approach that recognises the power of language arts, which simultaneously supports both realistic and transcendental aspects of human existence.