McVicar and Willows Deliver Bibliotherapy

By Rick McVicar        

  My book project with Amelia Willows, formerly known as M., has now reached the halfway point.  

  The project, which we are calling, “Finding Common Ground,” is the reason why new entries have been absent from this website.   

  The book’s format is that Amelia writes short stories on how she finds recovery from borderline personality disorder. Following her stories, I write about how I have found recovery from schizoaffective disorder. The stories go back and forth between us.   

  Although our psychiatric disorders are completely different, Amelia and I are discovering a lot of commonalities between us, hence the title of the book.  

  As we have come to the halfway point, I thought I’d hit the pause button and write a blog entry on bibliotherapy. It is a form of therapy that uses literature to further recovery.  

  According to the PsychCentral website, found at psychcentral.com, bibliotherapy is the practice of “using literature to encourage cognitive change.”

  It was first written about in the 1950s by Caroline Shrodes. The term, “bibliotherapy,” was accepted into medical vocabulary in 1966, the website states.  

  All types of literature can be used. The use of fiction is called “creative bibliotherapy,” while the use of nonfiction literature is called “prescriptive bibliotherapy.” Any form of literature can be used, whether it’s a book or a pamphlet. Digital material, such as blogs, can be used as well.  

  For instance, this website, Artful Brain Health, is intended to be used for bibliotherapy. The site offers a wide range of nonfiction information, along with poetry, short fiction stories, music and artwork. Amelia offers her own personal stories of recovery, which is what gave us inspiration for writing our book.  

  If you enjoy reading Amelia’s stories on this blog, found on the page, “Amelia’s Words of Wisdom,” then you should love our book. If you have ever been curious about my path on recovery, then you will want to buy our book.   

  Please be sure to comment or share on social media. Thank you for taking to time to read this blog.