Bibliotherapy can be defined as the use of guided reading for therapeutic ends. And though you might not be a licensed mental health professional, you can--and do, even without knowing it--support mental health and personal growth by connecting patrons to books that heal. Regardless of your previous experience or existing skills, this guide will empower you to make “shelf help” a part of your library's relationship with its community. Drawing on Reading for Recovery, the authors' own Carnegie-Whitney grant-funded project, this guide
begins with an overview of bibliotherapy, including its concepts and history, and sketches out how its various approaches can be adapted for library settings;
explores the potential of bibliotherapy as an add-on to existing skills, services, practices, and collections;
demonstrates how bibliotherapy-inspired initiatives can address the needs of diverse communities, thus advancing libraries' commitment to EDISJ;
offers techniques for selecting reading material for your audience with bibliotherapy in mind;
provides a range of possible programs, from group discussions and public events to book displays and reading lists, along with a step-by-step approach to planning and implementing them;
shares outreach tips, tools, and branding ideas to make the most of your resources and effectively reach your audience;
demonstrates how to use assessment tools to test and tweak your program at every stage to achieve the results you want; and
inspires you to take your offerings into new directions, such as creative writing and visual art programs, that fit your library and community.