Part of my practice is now devoted to training people who want to become Certified Applied Poetry Therapists (CAPFs) through the International Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT). Please schedule a free 30-minute consult below to learn more.
Bibliotherapy can teach us a new way to focus. There are connections to be drawn between reading and mindfulness. Reading, much like meditation, can teach us how to breathe in a different way. This is especially true when reading is done aloud, where one is forced to breathe, and to focus on listening and absorbing what is being read. Reading thus becomes a particularly mindful, focused activity.
The intent of bibliotherapy is to explore what the response of the participant is to the chosen text and, most importantly, to the dialogue elicited by the participant's feeling-response. Sometimes a single line can be a trigger, a catalyst. Arlene Hynes, one of the pioneers in the field of bibliotherapy, defines catharsis as "a profound experience of recognition."
My goal as a facilitator is to choose texts that inspire deep and meaningful dialogue about the chosen literature, allow the participant(s) to recognize what is profound about the work being discussed, and most importantly, to give clients the ability to apply the issues raised by the ensuing dialogue to their own selves.