3.1 In 1840 John Gait 11 of Williamsburg,
Virginia, USA, published a book on the therapeutic nature of library service,
which prompted a survey of American asylums. This led to his drawing up
guidelines governing patients' reading and book selection.
3.2 In the 20th century, trained librarians
began to administer hospital libraries.
3.3 The American
Library Association (ALA) sponsored programmes for the Armed Forces in WorldWar
I.
3.4 In 1916, Samuel Crothers used the word
"bibliotherapy" for the first time.
3.5 On
March 3, 1931, the American Congress passed legislation bringing library
services to the blind through Braille books.
3.6 After World War II, bibliotherapy moved
into educational and psychosocial areas.
3.7 In
1949, Carline Schrodes discussed in her doctoral dissertation the use of
bibliotherapy as a treatment method of psycho-therapy.
3.8 In 1962, Ruth Tews wrote an article for Library
Trends regarding bibliotherapy.
3.9 ALA
had the following professional representation at its annual conference in 1964
where an entire workshop was devoted to bibliotherapy, psychiatry, clinical
psychology, psychiatric nursing, social work, occupational therapy and of
course libraries.
3.10 In
June 1966 Congress passed the Library Service and Construction Act for the
improvement of both state institutional library services and services offered
to the physically handicapped.
3.11 An
information explosion has provided us with many forms of information media, i
e, printed and audio-visual materials which are used by counsellors and
therapists as tools for helping clients gain perspectives on their problems and
goals.
3.12 Bibliotherapy
has filtered into areas other than librarianship and the medical field, e g,
educational institutions.
The
brief review of the history of bibliotherapy demonstrates its continuing
vitality. It can be concluded that although the ancients were aware of the
therapeutic effects of reading, the practice of bibliotherapy is a relatively
now science. In order to understand better the evolution of bibliotherapy into
its present form, i e, that of directed reading and group discussion, one must
trace the roots of bibliotherapy in both library science and psychology.
4. ROOTS OF BIBLIOTHERAPY
4.1 In Psychology
Group
therapy was advocated in the 1920's by Burrow and Adler (Rubin: 1978), but it
was in the World War II era of 1939-1945 in which group therapy flourished. The
number of wounded soldiers needing therapy was overwhelming and there were too
many patients and not enough medical staff.
4.2
In Library Science
Margaret
Monroe (in Rubin: 1978) views bibliotherapy as part of the continuum of library
services. Reference services, reading guidance and bibliotherapy are closely
related functions, i e, all serve informational, instructional and guidance
needs. Unlike reference services and reading guidance, bibliotherapy is a
long-term approach to library services used for therapeutic purposes.
Librarians were also serving patients in hospitals and veterans on the streets.
The
following diagram summarizes the roots of group bibliotherapy (Rubin: 1978:
18):
ROOTS OF GROUP BIBLIOTHERAPY
5. BIBLIOTHERAPY AND THE INTEGRATION OF
FAITH AND LEARNING
The question may be posed as to what bibliotherapy has to do with the integration of faith and learning, and this will now be considered.
5.1 Once we accept that all truth is God's truth, we are committed
to do something, i e, not only words but also deeds. Integration of faith and
learning can take place on an individual level, i e, the teacher (Gaebelein:
1968). Ellen White also stresses the personal element in education:
"Christ in His teaching dealt with men individually.... The same personal
interest, the same attention to individual development, are needed in educational
work today" (1952: 231/2). In this process, the teacher is the
facilitator: "The educator's task is to inspire and equip individuals to
think and act for themselves in the dignity of persons created in God's
image" (Holmes: 1975: 16). One of the ways in which this may be done is
through discussion of books specifically chosen for certain individuals in
order to help them overcome emotional and behavior problems. Altmann and
Nielsen (in Marock,: 1983) claim that research substantiates this.
5.2 The purposes of educational bibliotherapy are diverse: to
impart information; to provide insight; to stimulate discussions about
problems; to communicate new attitudes and values; to teach new solutions to
problems; to enhance self-esteem; to furnish relaxation and diversion (Coleman
& Ganong: 1988).
5.3 In the educational situation,
bibliotherapy can be of two types, viz, corrective and preventive. In the
former, a teacher, counselor, or librarian attempts to solve an actual or
perceived problem of the student by presenting a book depicting a similar
situation. By reading the book the student gains insight, which may enable him
to solve his own problem. In the latter, a student is requested to read a book
containing a problem he may have to deal with in the future. In the reading of
the book, he may be better able to adjust, should a similar situation arise in
his own life (Stoneburg in Swart: 1984).
5.4 Literature abounds with information on reading as a therapy
(Stoneburg, Hutcheson, ALA in Swart). In summing it up, reading:
5.4.1 has a positive effect upon personality;
5.4.2 helps persons solve personal problems and
concerns;
5.4.3 Expands potential for growth and
development;
5.4.4 Provides instruction, knowledge,
understanding and inspiration.
6. COMPONENTS OF BIBLIOTHERAPY
The following
components will be discussed in turn:
*Aim
and related objectives
*Different
categories
*Types
of information media used
*Dynamics
of the aesthetic experience
6.1 The Aim and Related Objectives of
Bibliotherapy
Moses
(in Marock: 1983) lists the following aims of bibliotherapy:
6.1.1 To
give the person insights and solutions to his problems through identification
with the characters in the books he reads;
6.1.2 To inform and to explain to him the
complexities of human behavior;
6.1.3 To afford him the opportunity of liberation
from stress.
According
to Cilliers (1980), the main aim of bibliotherapy is to give insight and
discernment of problems so as to bring about a change in attitude and behavior.
Attitude is the way one thinks and feels and then reacts, while behavior is not
only conduct but what a person thinks he should do, i e, social norms, what
they normally do, i e, habits, and the results of the behavior.
THE AIM OF BIBLIOTHERAPY
|
Gaining
of comprehension and insight |
||
|
Change
in attitude and behavior |
||
|
Therapy |
Education |
Relaxation |
|
Emotional/Social |
Intellectual |
|
The
three long-term objectives shown diagrammatically, viz, therapy, education and
relaxation can be considered on three levels, i e, intellectual, social and
emotional. In other words, the therapy objective relates to the social and
emotional level, while the education objective to the intellectual level. The
objective in the area of relaxation is to make available to the client as a source
of compensation or reward information media to be utilized in his free time.
6.1.3.1 Therapy on the emotional level helps the client
to understand his psychological and physical reactions to frustration and
conflict and to gain a clearer understanding of his motives and needs. Help is
obtained through different types of information media, e g, books and films,
where he can read and see how others have handled problems similar to the ones
he is facing. As Schlabassie (in Cilliers: 1980: 30) stated succinctly, it is
"providing vicarious experience without immediately exposing oneself to
the dangers of actual experience." The client is then encouraged to
discuss his problem freely.
6.1.3.2 Therapy on the
social level involves the evaluation of values through information media.
Through constant contact with characters in the information media, he develops
a social sensitivity and through observing their needs and aspirations, he
makes application in his own life. The family and the church can provide assistance
by helping him to absorb cultural patterns.
6.1.3.3 Education on the intellectual level concerns
the stimulation of new creative interests, development of the idea that there
is more than one solution to a problem, and encouragement of positive and constructive
thinking. Through the information media, the client is faced with the problem
he is experiencing and it is discussed objectively with a view to finding a
possible solution (Cilliers: 1980).
6.2
Categories of Bibliotherapy
Three
categories of bibliotherapy may be distinguished, viz, institutional, clinical
and developmental (Cilliers: 1980).
6.2.1 Institutional
bibliotherapy uses didactic information media for individual institutionalized clients. It embraces
the medical and psychiatric use of bibliotherapy, with a person-to-person
situation through a bibliotherapist working with a medical team.
6.2.2 Clinical
bibliotherapy uses imaginative information media for groups of clients with
emotional and behavioural problems. The team is made up of a bibliotherapist
and a clinical worker seeking the attainment of insight and change in conduct
and behavior.
6.2.3 Developmental
bibliotherapy uses imaginative or didactic information media or a combination
of both with groups of normal individuals in the community. The bibliotherapy
group is led by a bibliotherapist and an educator to foster normal development,
self-realization and mental health.
A
noticeable characteristic common to all categories is that a discussion must
take place about what is read, seen or heard.
6.2.4
Summary of the Categories of
Bibliotherapy (Rubin: 1978: 7)
|
|
Institutional |
Clinical |
Development |
|
Format |
Individual or group; Usually passive |
Group-active; Voluntary or involuntary |
Group-active; Voluntary |
|
Client |
Medical or psychiatric Patient, prisoner, or client in Private
practice |
Person with an emotional or behavioral problem |
"normal" person, often in a crisis
situation |
|
Contractor |
Society |
Society or the individual |
Individual |
|
Therapist |
Physician & librarian team |
Physician, mental health worker, or librarian,
often in consultation |
Librarian, teacher, or other |
|
Material used |
Traditionally didactic |
Imaginative literature |
Imaginative literature and/or didactic |
|
Technique |
Discussion of material |
Discussion of material, with emphasis on
client's reactions and insights |
Discussion of material, with emphasis on
client's reactions and insights |
|
Setting |
Institution or private practice |
Institution, private practice or community |
Community |
|
Goal |
Usually informational, with some insight |
Insight and/or behavior change |
Normal development and self-actualization |
6.3 Information Media Appropriate for use
in Bibliotherapy
6.3.1 Principles of selection of materials (Rubin:
1978):
6.3.1.1 Materials with which the therapist is familiar
must be used, i e, literature
suggested
must have been read, videocassettes previewed.
6.3.1.2 When selecting
materials, the therapist should be conscious of length short works are
physically easier to read and recall.
6.3.1.3 Materials should be applicable to the problem
but not necessarily identical to it.
6.3.1.4 Choice of materials should be influenced by the
reading ability of the client.
6.3.1.5 Chronological
and emotional age is an important factor and should be reflected in the
sophistication of the selected material.
6.3.1.6 Reading
preferences are also a guideline for selection, e g, children and adolescents
go through different stages and reading preferences change. For example, during
the early stages, interest is in animal and adventure stories, etc, and later
the interest changes to stories of romance, war, and adolescent life.
6.3.1.7 The therapist
should learn to know the client well so that materials expressing the feeling
or mood of the client can be selected.
6.3.1.8 Cartoons and comics, which have been carefully
considered, may also be used.
6.3.2 Media suitable
for use in bibliotherapy include written and audio-visual materials, both
subject and imaginative.
6.3.2.1 Subject literature can be divided into
empirical, natural and social sciences, technology and humanities. The goal of
this type of literature is to help the client to a better understanding of his
environment and of reality.
6.3.2.2 Imaginative
literature (belles-lettres) is made up of novels, drama, poetry, short stories
and essays. This type of literature is concerned with the affective reactions,
and imagination incorporating the will and intellect. This type of literature
has a greater potential than subject literature to change an individual. It
broadens the understanding of personal motivation and cultural conflicts.
Schrodes (in Cilliers: 1980: 37/38) states that "psychiatrists and
psychologists generally acknowledge that great artists are penetrating
interpreters of the personality ... have intuitively plumbed the depths of the
human psyche and emerged with incisive descriptions of the dynamics of the
personality."
6.3.2.3 Audio-visual media are also used in
bibliotherapy and here we also have subject and imaginative information. Forms
are films, record players, tape recorders, videocassettes, radio and television
programmes. At times this is the only form of information media that can be
used for certain
client groups, e g, illiterates, those with low educational levels, and the
bored. Audio-visual media are non-demanding and non-anxiety provoking. They can
be used for large groups of clients and the reaction is instantaneous and
intense but not long lasting. Films are more direct and immediate than books
and elicit a high degree of recall. Music can also be used and as Juliett Alvin
(in Cilliers: 1980: 30) says, "it works through the effects of sound on
man who is a resonant body able to perceive and to emit sound. ... The
influence of music on man's behavior has been used universally as a healing
power by magic, religion and medicine."
According
to Klapper (in Cilliers: 1980: 38), the radio will reach people, which
literature and films will fail to do. This audience tends to be more
suggestible than the audience of other media. Clients can listen as a group.
Television is another medium which Michael Novak (in Cilliers: 1980: 30/40)
describes as "a moulder of the soul's geography. It builds up
incrementally a psychic structure of expectation." Programmes can be
discussed and this stimulates informative needs. However, only a limited number
of personal emotions, situations and motives can be handled. No research has
yet been carried out in comparing the therapeutic effects of literature and
audio-visual media.
Loevinger
(in Cilliers: 1980: 40) postulates a reflective-projective theory of mass
communication, which is closely related to the theory of bibliotherapy, viz,
"while the mass media reflect various images of society, the audience is
composed of individuals, each of whom views the media as an individual. The
members of the audience project or see in the media their own visions or images
in the same manner that an individual projects his own ideas into the inkblots
of the Rorschach Test commonly used by psychologists."
6.3.3.4 Particularly in the context of the integration
of faith and learning, God's "two books", Scripture and nature,
provide a wide spectrum of subject and imaginative exposure, both verbal and
non-verbal, and these yield many opportunities for bibliotherapy in all its
aspects. "Nothing is so calculated to enlarge the mind and strengthen the
intellect as the study of the Bible. No other study will so elevate the soul
and give vigor to the faculties as the study of the living oracles"
(White: 1977: 93). "There is no position in life, no phase of human
experience, for which the teaching of the Bible is not an essential
preparation" (White: 1958: 599). Bible stories and especially the poetry
in the book of Psalms can be used.
6.4 Dynamics of the Aesthetic Experience
As
has been stated, didactic information media are instructive and informative,
while imaginative information media stimulate the imagination. The latter [ends
itself more to the accomplishment of an emotional experience where the
emotional processes develop parallel with the primary phases of traditional
psychoanalysis (Cilliers: 1980): identification, projection, introjection,
catharsis, insight.
6.4.1 In identification the client identifies himself with the chief
character under study. As a result, the formation of values and social attitudes
occur.
6.4.2 Through
projection, the problem is projected outside the personality; blame can be
placed on someone else.
6.4.3 The opposite
of projection is introjection and here mistakes are accepted and placed on
oneself instead of on others, i e, we internalize and put into ourselves the
superego whose still, small voice reminds us of the values of our parents and
society. A common example here is the identification with heroes and heroines
who are admired.
6.4.4 The concept
"catharsis" originated with Aristotle who looked upon it as a
cleansing and purging through the expression of feelings. One reacts to the
symbolic experience in literature as if it is an actual experience.
6.4.5 Finally, insight and integration start the
change of personality (Cilliers: 1980, and Lewin:
1981).
6.4.6