Using self-help bibliotherapy in counselling

Abstract

Bibliotherapy is the use of books in counselling to support client change. Self-help books make up a significant proportion of the materials used in bibliotherapy. However, counsellors are rarely taught how to use bibliotherapy and therefore may not appreciate the many factors that need to be considered when using this intervention. In this paper, the term self-help bibliotherapy refers to the use of self-help books within a face-to-face counselling context. The literature on the effectiveness of self-help book use in counselling and recommendations for implementation are reviewed and summarized. A manual for counsellors describing guidelines and recommended resources is included.