Bibliotherapy: It’s not just about self help

I often receive requests from clients for reading recommendations. And so it occurred to me recently that it could be useful to keep some notes, summaries, and questions about the books that I find useful to learning more about ourselves as human beings and how we may develop. In thinking on it a bit further, I realized that I could make some of these notes more widely available to be helpful to a broader audience. And thus, my instagram account, @storiesforinspiration was born.

Many of the books I will recommend are, of course, self-help or psychology books. There are so many out there which are a genuinely useful adjunct to therapy. They can provide information and strategies for how to heal or grow in particular situations.

But I frequently also recommend creative works of fiction or non-fiction. I find that there is so much we can learn from the characters in truly good novels. We can empathize with their struggles, examine how they deal with adversity, and feel less alone in our own moments of difficulty. There is always value in learning more about the human condition, which is something that I believe many works of well-written fiction can provide.

Take a look at some of the recent posts and follow me if you think it’s something that could be useful to you as well! Happy reading!