Bibliotherapy and Beyond

TOPIC. Using literature and television to promote mental health PURPOSE. To expand readers' awareness of how literature can be used therapeutically SOURCE. The author's personal experience hosting a TV program entitled, "Best Books in Town" CONCLUSIONS. Discussing literature can promote emotional catharsis, active problem solving, and personal insight in those who chose to participate. Key words: Bibliotherapy, literature, mental health promotion As a resident of a small rural town, I chose to participate in a book discussion seminar at the local library. Often our group was fortunate to have a literary expert as guest speaker. I enjoyed being able to read good literature, expand my perspective, meet other community members, and share my expertise by offering insights on the intrapsychic dynamics of the characters from my perspective as a psychiatric mental health nurse. One of the participants in the seminar, a producer for the local cable television station, asked me to cohost a TV program entitled, "Best Books in Town." The librarian and I were to discuss, in depth, several books that would be of interest to the audience. Since literary works often serve as a projective screen in which people "see themselves" in the story, I saw the discussion of literature as an opportunity to promote mental health. By discussing various character portrayals in literary works, I was able to explore the actions, moods, and motives of others to assist audience participants to explore their own inner experiences. Bibliotherapy Literature has long been recognized as having therapeutic value, as in bibliotherapy, where reading is used as an adjunct to psychotherapy (Campbell, 1989). Literature can help clients identify with characters and vicariously experience their reality (Young-Mason, 1988; Younger, 1990). Exposing clients to situations they have not personally experienced through reading enables them to titrate their degree of personal involvement so they can relax personal defenses and grow in self-knowledge and compassion. For example, the tragedy Philoctetes has been used as a means to help nursing students understand moral and ethical decision making (Young-Mason, 1988a). In Tolstoi's The Death of Ivan Ilych, analogies are drawn between the suffering of a dying man in the middle-class society of 19th century Russia and that experienced by dying people in our own society (Young-Mason, 1988b). Bartol (1986) claims literature can help nursing students gain insight into the human behavior of ill clients, which ordinarily would be acquired only through extensive experience. Patterson and Zderad (1988) advocate using literature, including poetry and drama, as a means to counteract the depersonalization that accompanies scientific technology and mechanization. Indeed, the depictions of humankind found in poetry, drama, or literature are much closer to reality than descriptors given in typical textbooks. While I had some knowledge of how literature was used in nursing, I did not connect such ideas with the TV program until I realized how both bibliotherapy and the TV program had the common goal of improving one's insight through literary encounters. Books Discussed The first book discussed was String too Short to Save, by Donald Hall (1979). While none of the episodes in this book was dramatic enough to make newspaper headlines, the book did reflect basic issues of life. The author described his life on a New Hampshire farm as a child, recounting wonderful episodes with his grandfather. While his experiences were outside the experience of many people, such as recovering heifers who escaped their pasture, the reader can relate to the mutual sensitivity and love between the grandson and grandfather. A main theme of the book was the boy's awareness of his grandfather's approaching death, and his intense desire to cherish the relationship while his grandfather was still alive. …