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Teaching Resilience In Pacific Islander Children Through Culturally Adapted Stories, Isabel Medina Hull

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the efficacy of culturally adapted bibliotherapy in promoting resilience among American Samoan children aged 5-13 years in response to high adolescent suicide rates in the Pacific Islands and the need for culturally adapted and supportive interventions grounded in mental health wellness. Bibliotherapy, particularly the identification with story characters, has been recognized for bolstering mental wellness, resilience, and emotional regulation in children. In this research, the children's response to bibliotherapy was measured through card sorting and forced-choice exercises, assessing their engagement with literature mirroring their experiences. The materials were developed in collaboration with Samoan cultural brokers on island …

Body And Art As Message: An Experience With Chronic Pain, Writing, And The Mind-Body Connection, Mitchell R. James

Journal of Creative Writing Studies

This introduction to the special section of Volume 9, Issue 1 of the Journal of Creative Writing Studies on writing and mind-body connection uses memoir to emphasize the important relationship between writing and the management of chronic pain.

‘Faults To Make Us Men’: Shakespeare In The Prison System, Hannah Boyle

Honors Projects

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the positive impact of Shakespeare in prison programs on incarcerated individuals, utilizing empirical data, anecdotal evidence, and scholarly insights. It underscores the educational benefits of engaging with literature and performance arts within prison settings, as well as the various social-emotional learning opportunities, especially the ability to reduce recidivism rates and enhance incarcerated individuals' quality of life.

Drawing on the experience and narrative of many practitioners of theatre in prison and Shakespeare in prisons programs, this paper works to show Shakespeare's unique capacity to connect incarcerated populations with those who have gone through the …

Development Of Bibliotherapy For Emetophobia In Children, Katerina Levy M.S.

Selected Full Text Dissertations, 2011-

Emetophobia has been cited in the literature as one of the least understood and largely understudied anxiety disorders and is estimated to impact 2-7% of the population (Boschen, 2007; Graziano et al., 2010; Hunter & Anthony, 2009; Marks, 1987; Veale & Lambrou, 2006). Even less is known about emetophobia in children, and research has primarily focused on case studies to highlight the phenomenology of emetophobia as well as the trajectory of treatment (Graziano et al., 2010). Given the limited knowledge on emetophobia, few resources exist to aid and facilitate treatment (i.e., children’s storybooks or treatment manuals). Including children’s books in …

Grief In Children With Disabilities And How It Is Portrayed In Children's Picture Books, Erjola Gjini

Theses and Dissertations

Even though today's children's literature provides a wide range of topics, including books on death and grief, and much has been done to represent children with disabilities accurately and positively, there is still room for improvement. This descriptive study sought to understand how individuals with disabilities were represented in 177 grief-themed children's books from 1965-2023. From the results, only seven books included representations of individuals with disabilities. Additionally, the literary devices such as euphemisms or metaphors utilized in the books to describe how death was represented may inadvertently perpetuate inaccessibility to resources about grief (Berns, 2004). Thus, when choosing books …

Rethinking Bibliotherapy: Portraits Of Gifted Adult Readers, Jervaise M. Pileggi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gifted individuals have unique socioemotional needs due to their sensitivity and intensities. Bibliotherapy is often recommended to gifted persons to help them understand themselves and others and to address affective needs. However, bibliotherapy’s roots are embedded within a clinical background, thus requiring an element of discussion. Instead, I argue that gifted adults use metacognition to replace the need for discussion. Portraits of gifted adult readers (N=7) in their 30s-50s illustrate that metacognition has occurred over their lifespan regarding their reading, with only one participant actively engaging in discussion, and book selection meets the socioemotional needs of the reader. The findings …

Bibliotherapy With Children With Neurodiverse Profiles: A Literature Review, Jessica Piltch-Loeb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Expressive arts therapy interventions are continuing to gain recognition as a means of healing for individuals with a wide range of diagnoses. Bibliotherapy is a particularly under researched modality of the expressive arts, leaving ample opportunity for future research on both reading and writing interventions. While bibliotherapy may not be a widespread subject of study, preliminary research shows that reading and writing therapies can promote emotional well-being for individuals dealing with mental illness. Children with neurodiverse profiles (NP) are more likely to be diagnosed with psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, than neurotypical children. Although previous …

Art Bibliotherapy: An Integrative Approach To Art Therapy And Bibliotherapy, Haven Wright

Art Therapy Counseling Final Research Projects

Art Therapy and Bibliotherapy are both subfields in the creative/expressive arts world of therapeutic practice. Individually, art therapy and bibliotherapy have unique attributes that have the potential to improve a client’s overall therapeutic outcome. However, in pursuit of evidence-based practice, art therapy and bibliotherapy could benefit from further high-quality replicable studies. An exploration of the current research and emergent shared themes were undertaken. A single participant case study demonstrated Art Bibliotherapy in practice. Participant outcomes were increased emotional regulation, increased positive experience in therapy sessions, and increased positive self-esteem.

Bibliotherapy: A Literary And Linguistic Analysis Of Literature, Matthew Curry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bibliotherapy—the process of utilizing literature for its therapeutic properties—has been around for centuries; however, it wasn’t until a surge of research in the 1920s that the process became recognized as an adequate method of therapy. With the rising mental health crisis looming over the United States, the time to develop, establish, and advocate for a bibliotherapeutic curriculum in K-12 public education is now. Using literary works such as Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, Helena Fox’s How it Feels to Float, and Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, this thesis establishes the literary, therapeutic, and pedagogical reasoning for the implementation of such …

A Tool For Digital Bibliotherapy: Fostering Emotional Resiliency Through A Visual Novel, Joy Cooper

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Suicide rates among children have risen over the last three years. In Clark County specifically, the numbers doubled between 2019 and 2021. The research for this project sought to find the benefits of bibliotherapy and create a tool to be used for early intervention in children displaying signs of developmental emotional and behavioral concerns. Additionally, the research focused on determining the benefits of bibliotherapy across various mediums with a particular aim on the accessibility of digital formats. The research concluded that bibliotherapy in a digital format is not only beneficial but has a tendency to produce higher engagement among children. …

Exploring Bibliotherapy And Creating Family Literacy Bags In Response To Community Violence, Sierra Urbaez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis sought to aid children in coping with community violence. As violent crimes terrorize communities near and far, children are hearing about them. Children might learn about this violence on the news or by overhearing adults' discussions. Regardless, this thesis sought to help students navigate a world that may be anxiety filled. This thesis includes an exploration of bibliotherapy and discussions of the use of books in a therapeutic manner to delve deeper into its profound effects. The topics of this thesis surround social-emotional learning, which is also investigated and explained. The benefits of combining bibliotherapy and social-emotional learning …

Bibliotherapy In The Helping Professions: A Heuristic Model For Intervention Design, Natalie Marie Haney

Masters Theses

I propose a new approach to examining bibliotherapy’s usefulness in the community-based care of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI), focused on producing a heuristic that benefits helping professionals who offer non-clinical and non-psychiatric services. Meant for writers designing bibliotherapy interventions in the helping professions, I conceptualize bibliotherapy in a model against the backdrop of community-based care’s history. A model has the potential to allow each writer to conduct situation-specific inquiry, invent bibliotherapy intervention designs suited to the unique needs of the profession’s help-seekers, and reflect on knowledge generated for intervention reiteration. Referring to Dewey, Rosenblatt and Barnlund to create …

A Ruff Day On The Road: How Relocation Affects Children Pre-K Through Third Grade And How A Picture Book Can Help, Bryant Miller

Honors Projects

Moving their home from across town, a couple of states away, or overseas is something most will experience at least once in their lifetime. For all, moving is a big change, but for children, it can have lasting effects. Presumably, social skills, academic development, and family dynamics are all impacted when children move. But how and to what length are these factors influenced? This led to the original research question, how does relocation affect children and how can this transition during relocation be eased? After the first portion of the research was done to answer these questions, the research then …

A Qualitative Study Of Senior Adults’ Perceptions Of Connectedness After Bibliotherapy, Rebecca E. Fisher

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of bibliotherapy on senior adults’ perceptions of social connectedness. The research question was “What are senior adults’ perceptions of connectedness after bibliotherapy?” To explore the research question, a virtual book study was conducted via Zoom. Seven retired adults took part in the virtual book study and were interviewed at the end of the study. A qualitative phenomenological approach was used to examine the lived experiences of connectedness among participants of the virtual book study; interview responses were distilled to core meanings. Analysis of the interview data resulted in three major …

Examining The Feasibility Of Implementing A Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery Bibliotherapy For The Treatment Of Psychosocial Distress In Women With Breast Cancer, Juliana A. D'Onofrio

Theses and Dissertations

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis and the second leading cause of cancer-related death for women in the United States. Clinical depression and anxiety occur frequently within this population. Subclinical symptoms are also common and include increased sense of vulnerability, agitation, and grief as well as fears related to pain, creating a burden for one's family, and death. Due to the variety of negative implications women experience from psychosocial distress, improving quality of life and reducing symptomatology becomes imperative. A plethora of research supports the use of Mindfulness-Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR). Considering the challenges present within traditional psycho-oncological …

Anxiety Of Struggling Readers And Excelling Readers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Chelsey Taylor Lemmon

Theses and Dissertations

Anxiety is the most reported negative emotion in the academic setting. One of the specific forms of anxiety that children can experience is reading anxiety (RA). Children who experience RA are often at risk for reading failure; likewise, children who experience reading failure are likely to experience RA. Children who excel at reading can also experience anxiety, often in the form of harm avoidance. Bibliotherapy has been shown to help to mitigate the effects of specific types of anxiety in children. The purpose of this study was to understand the anxiety of children who excel at reading and children at …

Healing Stories: Bibliotherapy And Art Therapy As Tools To Support Bereaved Children, A Literature Review, Sarah K. Robinson

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

When I was interning at a bereavement center for children as a second-year graduate student, I witnessed the use of children’s books by an art therapist. This made me curious as to whether the joint use of art therapy and bibliotherapy is an effective support for this population. This critical review of the literature explored this idea by first defining art therapy and bibliotherapy, placing them within a historical context, and noting similarities between the two modalities. Recent sources regarding theories and therapeutic approaches for grief and bereavement were gathered and explored to deepen the understanding of how art therapy …

Bibliotherapy In The School Setting: A Study Of How And Why School Counselors Utilize Books With Students, Jackelyn Bekius

Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy

Bibliotherapy, or the theory that books can be used to heal the soul, has been around since ancient times. The history and effectiveness of bibliotherapy has been well documented and researchers have begun to explore what factors may contribute to a mental health practitioner’s use of bibliotherapy. However, little research has been done specific to how school counselors utilize bibliotherapy and little is known about what personal characteristics may influence whether a school counselor will choose to use books in their work with students. This study will utilize a survey sent to school counselors via professional network listservs to explore …

Application Of Bibliotherapy By School Libraries As A Tool For Enhancement Of Reading Culture And Good Behaviors Among Students, Emmanuel Chidiadi Onwubiko

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Bibliotherapy is a concept that involves the use of books to help children cope with their life and has been widely recognized as an approach that will help librarians to better address emotional, behavioral and social concerns of children while reading on the other hand, stimulates imagination, widens views, expands horizon and helps learning about different people and places. Reading is important to human development because it is essential in full participation in the modern society. This study therefore examined the application of bibliotherapy by school libraries as a tool for enhancing reading culture and good behaviors among students. The …

Impact Of The Utilization Of Bibliotherapy By School Libraries And Librarians On Behaviors Of Juveniles In Correctional Homes, Emmanuel Chidiadi Onwubiko

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

It is a globally accepted axiom that children today are leaders of tomorrow therefore have prominent role to play in the development of knowledge societies. For this dream to be realized and fulfilled it behooves parents and all stakeholders including libraries to monitor our children’s development especially in this era of globalization. In recent time it has been observed that children go through different types of experiences and challenges and there arose the need to seek for ways of helping as they grow. Bibliotherapy is a concept that involves the use of books to help children cope with their life. …

Perceived Influence Of Bibliotherapy On The Rehabilitation Of Drug Addicts In South-West, Nigerian Teaching Hospitals: An Investigative Study, Priscilla Abike Agbetuyi, Bolanle Oluwafunke Adeleye, Joseph Kehinde Omolade

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This study investigated perceived influence of bibliotherapy on the rehabilitation of drug addicts in South-west Nigerian teaching hospitals. The study specifically identified the pattern of information utilisation by drug addicts; examined approaches used by medical librarians in administering bibliotherapy and perception of drug addicts on behaviour modification using bibliotherapy. The survey research design was used for the study and the population of the respondents consisted of Forty-Eight (48) drug addicts purposively selected. Questionnaires were used as instrument for data gathering and were pretested for validity and analysed using frequency, percentages and four-point Likert scale. Hypothesis was also tested using …

Utilization Of Bibliotherapy Among Public Primary School English Language Teachers: Implications For Teaching Library Reading Skills, Gloria Chikasiemobi Ugwu Phd, Cajetan Ikechukwu Egbe Phd, Clara Odozi Ifelunni Phd

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The study was conducted to find out the extent to which guidance counsellors are aware of bibliotherapy as a library reading skills intervention service, and the extent they utilize it in public primary schools in Nsukka Local Government Education Authority of Enugu State, Nigeria. Four research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study in line with the specific purposes of the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study and population of 101 school guidance counsellors in the public primary schools were used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire of 28 items which …

Bibliotherapy Storybook Construction: A Creative Interpretation Based On Children's Goals, Wants, And Hindrances, Chelzea C. Tobias, Zirene Paz D. Umali, Eliana Daniele C. Dela Rosa, Mary Joy Jing Jing D. Gan, Alexandrea Josha A. Hembrador, Pablo Santino B. So, Marlon P. Fernandez

Sinaya: A Philippine Journal for Senior High School Teachers and Students

The difficulty to continue education in the Philippines, especially in the case of children, more often than not results from lack of motivation amid poverty. This problem brought the reason for this study — to create a way to spark motivation to continue education through a bibliotherapy storybook. Data were collected among twelve respondents, ages 6-12, through questionnaires describing their goals, wants, and hindrances, using coloring materials. Through thematic analysis, results show that most of the respondents were inclined to choose social service occupations that will help provide housing for their family. However, a considerable number of them expressed fear …

The Therapeutic Benefits Of Children’S Literature: Responding Through Making Art And Writing Stories, Janae Dueck

Art Therapy | Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the use of a children's book followed by the application of the Draw A Story (DAS) art therapy assessment tool by Rawley Silver (1988). The study takes place in three elementary school classrooms located in the greater Bay Area region. Previous literature addresses the historical uses of children’s books and their potential to offer therapeutic benefit to young readers. Through a quasi-experimental, one-group posttest only design, eighteen second to third grade level students were asked to reflect on a children’s book by writing a story of their own. Participants were between the ages of seven and nine, …

Books To Support Mental Well-Being: A Study On The Possible Challenges In Implementing Bibliotherapy In The Sri Lankan Context, R.A.P.S. Senevirathna, L.H.M.D.S. Lansakara

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

This ongoing research examines the Bibliotherapy in several aspects. Bibliotherapy is the "process of dynamic interactions between the personality of the reader and literature as a psychological field which may be utilized for personality assessment, adjustment and growth" (Shrodes, 1949). The focus of the study is on defining the concept, determining the capacity of Bibliotherapy to support mental well-being and discuss the possible challenges in applying Bibliotherapy to the Sri Lankan context. The study involved a qualitative thematic analysis concerning the selected areas. The study revealed that Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach which is assisted by the healing power of …

Parental Incarceration And Stigma: A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Children's Books, Samantha Nguyen

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Children of parental incarceration are often forgotten victims and have been noted to experience collateral consequences such as stigma, poor mental health, and isolation. Since children are often forgotten, there is a lack of information regarding their experiences, what resources are available to them, and whether or not these resources intended to be beneficial. One of the resources that are available to children, caregivers, and other adults are children’s books regarding parental incarceration. To determine whether or not these children's books act as a guide, this study examined the content and illustrations of 19 children’s books on parental incarceration. The …

Bibliotherapy As Intervention For African American Socially Aggressive Girls In An Urban School Setting: A Case Study, Deborah Kay Charaman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this collective case study was to describe how bibliotherapy among adolescent African American females in urban middle schools served as an intervention for female social aggression, or the mean girl syndrome. At this stage of the research, bibliotherapy was defined as the use of literature to support positive socio-emotional health and prosocial behavior. The theory guiding this inquiry was Rosenblatt’s (1969) transactional theory of reading. It stands to reason that if there is indeed a transaction between the reader and the text; bibliotherapy could impact the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of socially aggressive females. The central research …

Reframing Past Bullying Experiences Through The Lens Of Harry Potter, Haeeun Lee

Theses and Dissertations

Long after being bullied, many individuals find it difficult to leave their bullying experiences behind and have difficulty confidently move forward with their lives. Memories of being bullied often remain as an agitation that detracts from personal happiness and wellbeing. This study included 10 female and three male undergraduate students who reported experiencing mild to moderate bulling during childhood. Participants were self-proclaimed Harry Potter fans. All participants reported previously reading the entire Harry Potter book series. As a reframing strategy to address past bullying experiences, this research utilized bibliotherapy in addition to scriptotherapy. Participants selected one chapter from the Harry …

Very Young Child Survivors Of Parent Suicide: Perspectives On Children's Literature For Bibliotherapy, Cortland L. Watson

Theses and Dissertations

The death of a parent by suicide is especially traumatic. Researchers estimate the number of children in the United States annually who experience their parent's suicide ranges from 7,000 to 30,000. These child survivors experience more complicated grief as compared to children bereaved by a parent's non-suicidal death. In particular, very young children have difficulty understanding that their parent completed suicide. Across time they struggle with confusion and intense emotions associated with their parent's suicide. Due to the stigma associated with suicide, feelings of guilt, and intense grief, surviving family members avoid talking about the suicide. Young children are often …

The Effects Of Bibliotherapy On Students With Behavioral Problems: Combating Negative Behavior With Books, Alaina J. Peters

Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning

At the time of the study, the researcher was a graduate student serving in a yearlong clinical teacher placement. The researcher sought to find an intervention to behavioral problems taking place in a third grade classroom setting. The aim of the study was to diminish the negative behavior occurring in the classroom setting through the use of bibliotherapy. For this study, the researcher collected data through the use of surveys, document collections, interventions, and observation with the addition of field notes. Using the constant comparative method with the addition of descriptive statistics, the author found common themes amongst the data …