Tailoring the approach to the specific client or group makes bibliotherapy in the context of the play therapy relationship incredibly powerful. The combination of books and play adds value to the therapeutic process and aids in the progression of treatment by encouraging the expression of emotions, making meaning of life events, relationships and self, and, ultimately, fostering growth and healing.
Clinical Practice Examples When working in a residential facility many years ago, the second author led a social skills group to a classroom of six 8-to-10-year-old children. These children loved to be read to, and the play therapist later discovered that the simple act of reading a story to a child was applicable to most children. It did not matter if the story was an imperfect fit for their age or their life circumstances; there was something in every book for each child to connect with and enjoy. One book shared was a personal favorite, Ish, by Peter H. Reynolds (2004). This book was about shifting the mindset and, not only accepting, but embracing imperfections, which was a powerful choice to share with this group of children. It allowed each child to see parts of themselves in the characters of the book and use those parts and similarities to draw their own conclusions about how to be kinder to themselves and to one another.
The play therapist asked the children to create Ish drawings, which involved: drawing a picture of their choosing with the freedom to make it “imperfect.” Oohing and ahhing in prosody upon seeing others’ works, each of them felt confident and excited to share their art in alignment with the book’s message. They even adapted this Ish language in their play throughout the school year: using this suffix to further define feelings (e.g., mad-ish, sad-ish) and play expression (e.g., describing what family-ish means to them, playing something they named “Simon Says-ish”). This example illustrates that groups or families can experience the power of bibliotherapy through participating in play therapy exercises directly tied to the message of the chosen book.
Bibliotherapy also can help a child feel empowered to tell their own story. In the past, the present authors have worked with children who read several therapeutic books to gain insight into how book authors tell the story of the characters. These play therapists then used that information as a starting point to help children create their own story, including trauma narratives to address loss, abuse, neglect, or family transitions. It can also help a child progress to a place of feeling hope and resiliency in their own experiences.
One clinical example of this involved the second author’s work with a nine-year-old boy who was coping with the sudden loss of his father. We discussed how trauma narratives can be helpful in processing grief and loss. That child felt stuck about how to get started and used bibliotherapy as a starting point. The play therapist and child read every book that was available related to grief, loss, death, and dying, and the child created a ranking system to notate what he enjoyed and disliked about each book. The child’s highest-ranking book was The Fall of Freddie the Leaf: A Story of Life for All Ages, by Leo Buscaglia (1982). Inspired by this book, the child created his own trauma narrative.
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Another client, a six-year-old girl, could not find a book about a rare genetic disease that fully captured her own symptoms and experience of the illness. That child’s favorite book is entitled It’s Okay to be Different, by Todd Parr (2009). She seemed drawn to it because of the simple, playful messaging about how people can be unique in a myriad of ways. Play therapy sessions were used to create a personalized book about her illness that incorporated her drawings, sandtrays, pictures of puppet shows, and a staged playhouse scene. According to the child, her book depicted a true account of her personal experiences with this illness. With both of these clients, bibliotherapy served as a starting point to help them process their own life experiences.
Selecting Bibliotherapy Material Like toys in the playroom, books used in bibliotherapy should also be carefully selected, and not just collected. The best title with which to start your booming bibliotherapy bookshelf may be the one that was your own childhood favorite. From there, best practice would be to continue finding and selecting high-quality, well-written stories that would add value to the bibliotherapy collection. The present authors’ shelves are stocked with personal favorites and they continue to build with titles that fit their client populations. The authors’ collections have grown over the years, giving them a curated selection to fit most presenting problems and developmental stages. When building a catalogue of books, it is important to have titles that would be helpful to specific diagnostic categories and a range of topics, such as feelings identification, self-image, family issues, abuse/maltreatment, social issues, empathy, diversity/acceptance, and trauma. As evidenced in the above case examples, selected books were integrated with play therapy techniques (e.g., creative arts, sandtray, games, fantasy/puppet play, role-playing, and relaxation/mindfulness activities). By doing so, the authors combined knowledge and experience of the benefits of bibliotherapy with their deep belief in the healing power of play.
In play therapy, it is believed that “play is a child’s language and toys are a child’s words” (Landreth, 2012, p. 16). Although words may come from toys in the playroom, they also may be found in the pages of a book. When integrating bibliotherapy and play therapy, the authors believe that play is a child’s language and books can help children find their own words.
Top 5 Favorite Books Danielle: Thotso by Rachel Robb Avery Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud Frederick by Leo Lionni Kona and His Hard Shell by Crissy Miyake
Megan: Ish by Peter H. Reynolds The OK Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal Invisible String by Patrice Karst Sometimes I’m Bombaloo by Rachel Vail Double Dip Feelings by Barbara S. Cain
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