Psychological well-being, improved self-confidence, and social capacity: bibliotherapy from a user perspective

Abstract

This article in the field of bibliotherapy investigates how participation in a reading circle can contribute to psychological well-being in people with mental illness such as long-term depression and anxiety. The perspective employed is user-centered and focused on the users’ statements about their health and well-being. Through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study which the article is based on, showed that participants had short-term improved psychological well-being after participating in a guided reading circle. Interviews clarified that their social well-being had been positively influenced in various ways, including greater self-confidence and increased social interaction. The choice of – short stories and poetry – was significant to the positive results achieved by the participants, as were the discussions about the texts, the presence of a circle leader with good leadership qualities, and the opportunity to be included in a group whose membership remained constant throughout the series of sessions.