Journal #7

Thanks to the wonderful Walsh librarian Melissa Bauer, who helped me navigate the completely foreign PsycINFO database, I was able to find some very interesting case studies/articles about bibliotherapy and adolescents.

1) Gregory, Katherine E., and Judith A. Vessey. “Bibliotherapy: A Strategy to Help Students with Bullying.” Journal of School Nursing. 20.3 (2004): 127-133.

            While a little juvenile, this article is great because it looks specifically at the effect bibliotherapy had on students in about 1^st-5^th grade and their responses. This article’s main audience is school nurses, but it is clear that there can also be a larger audience to this discussion as well. For your enjoyment, I’ll conclude this portion of my journal with some words of advice from kids about bullying (sorry Ron, this makes my word count go sky high):

• “If you are a bully, you won’t make any friends.”  Loud Mouth George and the Sixth Grade Bully, reviewed by Andie, age 7, Montana
• “To fight with your wits instead of your fists.” King of the Kooties, reviewed by Emmett, age 10, Missouri
• “When you see someone fall or look different that you shouldn’t laugh at them.” Don’t Laugh at Me, reviewed by Suzana, age 7, Maine
• “I learned that bullies aren’t really the mean person that you think they are inside.” How to Handle Bullies, Teasers and Other Meanies: A Book that Takes the Nuisance Out of Name Calling and Other Nonsense, reviewed by Melissa, age 10, New Hampshire
• “People and animals come in all different shapes, sizes, and looks, and that no matter your skin color, everyone has feelings.” Nothing Wrong With a Three Legged Dog, reviewed by Bryan, age 11, New York
• “Not to bully around other people just because they are different.” Robbie and Ronnie, reviewed by Kienan, age 8, Missouri
• “I learned that being cool isn’t about the clothes. It matters about how you treat people and how people like you.” Pinky and Rex and the Bully, reviewed by Sydney, age 9, Montana 

2) Tussing, Heidi L., and Deborah P. Valentine. “Helping Adolescents Cope with the Mental Illness of a Parent Through Bibliotherapy.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 18.6 (2001): 455-69.

            This article is interesting because Tussing and Valentine look at adolescents who are struggling with a parent’s mental illness (which you undoubtedly saw in the title). While they do not specifically do a study of these adolescents, they do review 11 books that could possibly be used to help these individuals via bibliotherapy. After further review, seven are selected as being helpful; the other four are rejected (poor unhelpful books! L) The reviewers pay special attention to certain aspects of the books, including the characters’ socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and the family life (blended families, single parent homes, etc). Unfortunately, I’ve never heard of any of the seven books chosen. This article helped shape my argument because it is interesting to see some of the criteria the books had to meet in order to be selected.

3) Tamara Robinson, et al. “The Process Of Personal Change Through Reading Fictional Narratives: Implications For Psychotherapy Practice And Theory.” Humanistic Psychologist 37.4 (2009): 326-352.

            Despite the overly flowery title (my suggestion: Helping People via Novels in Therapy?) this article is very helpful. According to Robinson, bibliotherapy “appears more successful with depression, anxiety disorders, and alcohol abuse, and less so with severe alcohol abuse or smoking cessation” (328). A recent survey (around 2009) found that 68% of therapists use bibliotherapy. They cite the benefits of it as self-awareness, emotional adjustment, and self-control, while also stating “age-appropriate readings appear to extend the period of clients’ self-reflection beyond the counseling session” (329). Robinson’s study, while helpful with basic facts, does not fit with my argument completely because it looks at six individuals of various ethnicities/religions/etc between the ages of 25-60. However, it does offer a sort of helpful background to my argument overall, especially when it comes to how this whole “case study” thing works.