Reading against mental illness: "A complement to conversation therapy"

Two years ago, the country's first college education in library therapy started. Since then, interest has increased. Library therapy has been used in dementia, post-traumatic stress and various forms of alcohol and drug addiction.

- A large part of the library therapy also applies to people who end up in a life crisis, such as divorce or loss of a close relative, says Cecilia Petterson, a researcher at Gothenburg University

According to socio-economist and librarian Pia Bergström, literature can act as a tool for processing thoughts and feelings.

- The words come from someone else first and it can feel like a security. You can start talking about character characters or romance characters. And then test when you are ready to talk with your own words and tell about your own experiences, she says.

Cecilia Pettersson is a literary scientist at the University of Gothenburg and has researched on library therapy and mental illness. She believes that library therapy could be incorporated into health care and that in some cases it could replace medication.

- Not all treatments are suitable for everyone. Many people do not respond as they should for example to antidepressant drugs, so it is very possible that library therapy could replace some treatment, but most often you see it as a complement to either medication or regular talk therapy, she says.

- An important question is whether bibliotherapy can be a form of treatment that is recommended in healthcare, literature on prescriptions for example. It is cost effective, simple and utilizes the potential that exists within the culture.

See a longer report on library therapy in Babel on Sunday, November 17.