Literature, in its purest form, serves not only as entertainment, but as a profound tool for emotional healing. Since ancient times, books have been allies to those seeking to escape reality or to better understand their emotions. Bibliotherapy, as a therapeutic practice, takes this relationship with literature and takes it a step further: it uses narrative, poetry and fiction as catalysts for mental wellbeing. In a century where anxiety, stress and uncertainty are increasingly common, books offer an unexpected but profoundly necessary emotional refuge.
Although the concept of bibliotherapy is not new, its contemporary approach has evolved into a personalised and profoundly transformative process. The practice dates back to the early 20th century, when the term was first used in a 1916 article in The Atlantic Monthly. Back then, Samuel McChord Crothers reflected on how books could be therapeutic in unexpected ways: ‘A book may be a stimulant or a sedative or a soporific… The important thing is that it should do something to you’. And more than a hundred years later, that statement remains as relevant as ever.
The art of prescribing stories
Today, bibliotherapy goes beyond recommending a random reading. The modern practice involves therapeutic sessions with specialised professionals, who work hand in hand with their clients to identify the emotional or psychological issues they need to explore or heal. Following this initial conversation, the bibliotherapist creates a personalised literary prescription, a set of books strategically selected to guide the client through their process of growth and self-understanding. Bibliotherapy then becomes a deeply introspective and healing experience that seeks to provide each individual with the tools necessary to process emotions and find renewed perspectives.
Ella Berthoud: the bibliotherapist who prescribes fiction for the soul
One of the most prominent figures in this field is Ella Berthoud, who has been practising bibliotherapy since 2007. In her words, this process is about finding the right book for the right time. ‘Bibliotherapy is the art of giving the perfect book at the right time,’ she explains. Berthoud believes that fiction has a unique transformative power, capable of illuminating the dark corners of our psyche. For her, stories have the ability to give voice to what once seemed unspeakable, and to turn the painful into a self-healing experience.
Although the bibliotherapist specialises in fiction, she also turns to non-fiction when the situation calls for it. ‘With issues such as anxiety, depression, grief or even uncertainty related to climate change, books can help to put into words what until then seemed unattainable,’ she says. According to Berthoud, each client is unique, and his or her ‘book recipe’ should be carefully tailored to his or her specific emotional needs.
Emely Rumble: bibliotherapy as a tool for social transformation
Bibliotherapy is not only limited to the individual. For Emely Rumble, a decolonial psychotherapist and literary therapist, the practice has a transformative power within marginalised communities. Through her experience, she has observed how people from disadvantaged backgrounds can find in books a tool for empowerment, a means to process their pain and find new ways of understanding the world. Rumble highlights the accessibility and adaptability of bibliotherapy, which requires no great resources, but only the desire to explore and heal through words.
‘Books, whether fiction, memoir or poetry, are an avenue for self-knowledge and healing,’ says Rumble. ‘It’s a return to the essential, to the stories that connect us across time.’ In his next book, Bibliotherapy in the Bronx, due out in 2025, Rumble will explore how literature can act as an agent of social change, particularly in communities hardest hit by injustice and inequality.
Lucy Pearson: books as an emotional compass
Lucy Pearson, librarian and curator at The Literary Edit, is another influential voice who believes strongly in the power of bibliotherapy. Pearson not only helps her clients to find emotional relief, but also to rediscover the pleasure of reading, which is essential when life seems to overwhelm us. For her, bibliotherapists are like ‘personal book buyers’, but instead of clothes or jewellery, they offer stories that touch the soul.
‘Bibliotherapy can be an amazing way to find comfort, inspiration and motivation,’ says Pearson. ‘It not only relieves anxiety, but also allows you to see the world from a new perspective or rediscover a love of reading.’ Through her sessions, she offers a space where books not only heal, but redraw the reader’s emotional map, guiding them towards a better understanding of themselves.
Bibliotherapy is thus a return to an ancient wisdom, a practice that recognises the transformative power of words and integrates it therapeutically into the emotional healing process. And today, more than ever, its ability to offer comfort and clarity is a luxury available to all.
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