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Bibliotherapy represents the planned use of literary texts and devices to encourage awareness and processing of emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal problems in individuals with different types of psychosocial distress. As a part of expressive arts-therapies, it includes precisely formulated goals, basic stages, and methodology that are described in this paper. In addition, an overview of recent scientific research on this topic is provided in order to gain insights on the most commonly used approaches, methodologies, and outcomes obtained, as well as the effectiveness of bibliotherapy. Based on our evaluation, we concluded that the use of bibliotherapy is an appropriate complementary approach in educational settings, for children with special needs, as well as for maintaining mental health. Considering the limitations of bibliotherapy, we emphasise the need for further research with the aim of improving practical models and assessment tools. Bibliotherapy can be a promising part of a multimodal educational and rehabilitation approach that recognises the power of language arts, which simultaneously supports both realistic and transcendental aspects of human existence.

Bibliotherapy utilizes storybook readings to foster expressive therapy for children. Storybooks represent a readily available yet underutilized support tool in pediatric hematology and oncology care settings. Storybooks can help explain a new diagnosis, treatment plan, body changes, and identity adjustment in a relatable way for patients to then have a safe space to process questions and emotions. This paper serves as a "how to" guide for clinicians to consider bibliotherapy for a patient, select suitable book options, and introduce and incorporate bibliotherapy as part of comprehensive care.

Histories of bibliotherapy often emphasize the importance of the First World War in stimulating the development of bibliotherapeutic theory and practice. The word itself was used in a 1916 article by the American author Samuel McChord Crothers, while histories of bibliotherapy in the United Kingdom often foreground H. F. Brett-Smith’s so-called “fever chart” of therapeutic books for treating shell-shocked soldiers. Despite this, however, we argue that a full account of wartime bibliotherapy (particularly the importance of British hospital libraries in its development) has yet to be told. This article draws on the papers of British military hospital personnel to describe the range of “literary caregiving” supporting the treatment of sick and wounded soldiers during the conflict. It traces the social and professional networks underlying these schemes. Finally, it shows how British volunteer librarians helped develop a specifically medicalized language of caregiving through books, thereby contributing to the early development of bibliotherapy.