Bibliotherapy in practice : An investigation at Växjö Hospital

This study examines how a hospital chaplain, a children therapist, the therapy group Children in grief and a hospital teacher use words in their activities with mourning children and adults. The aim of this study was to learn more about bibliotherapy, how words can assist in diminish the distress of being in a very stressful situation such as grief and sickness. Beneficial to the whole community, bibliography can also be used by libraries as a preventive tool to promote mental health. The research questions studied were: What do you think about bibliotherapy and do you consider bibliotherapy as a part of your work in your clinic? How do you use texts in your activities? How do you select suitable literature for your clients? The focus was not upon which literature used. To examine these questions semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews took place at Växjö Hospital during March 2017. Through the interviews the answers have been showing the forms of activities used to soothe the suffering for children and adults, and how important the reading is as a complement to their other therapies. None of the interviewees used the term bibliotherapy, but the study shows that they all use bibliotherapy in different forms: creative bibliotherapy, informal bibliotherapy and clinical bibliotherapy