The purpose of this master thesis is to contribute to the research on bibliotherapy used to support and strengthen LGBTQ youth. The study also investigates the use of bibliotherapy in a school context. The basis of this study is a five week long bibliotherapeutic project with focus on LGBTQ literature, where the participants all identified as LGBTQ. In the reading group the participants read and discussed novels, short stories, comics books and lyrics. The bibliotherapeutic reading group had an interactive and developing purpose, according to the definition by Arleen McCarty Hynes and Mary Hynes-Berry. The theoretical framework consists of critical literacy, affection and emotion theory and empowerment.  The empirical analysis is based on recordings from the bibliotherapeutic sessions and from interviews with school librarians. Through the reading group the participants identified with characters, discovered new texts and discussed LGBTQ issues. The results indicate that the activity of reading and discussing LGBTQ literature can have a supportive and strengthening effect on LGBTQ youth. The social interaction and the feeling of solidarity with the group are important factors that help the participants to reach empowerment and self-reliance. To be able to use bibliotherapy in a school context the staff needs to find a suitable method to use and potentially also involve the student health.  This is a two years masters thesis in Library and information science.

Bibliotherapy as a concept and method has in recent years become increasingly established where, among other things, courses in bibliotherapy have been started. However, there is an uncertainty about the concept of bibliotherapy where some librarians are reluctant to call themselves a therapist. The aim of this study is to investigate how the concept of “bibliotherapy” is portrayed in the library sector´s journals. To do so I used discourse analysis as a theoretical and methodological foundation. When it comes to the method, I used selected discourse analytical concepts taken from Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe´s discourse theory. The empirical material of the study consists of articles from three library journals that address bibliotherapy and Shared Reading. The results of this study show how the methods in bibliotherapy differ and how this in turn creates various views when it comes to the choice of literature, the role of literature and which participants the bibliotherapy is aimed at. The study also shows that there is an ambivalence among librarians when it comes to the therapy part of bibliotherapy and that they have established different strategies for dealing with this ambivalence. When it comes to the role of libraries and bibliotherapy, the empirical material shows that it is mainly reading promotion that is mentioned as one of the main reasons why libraries should be interested in bibliotherapy. Finally, the study shows that Shared Reading, with its similarities and differences when it comes to library therapy, seems to have created a more stable foundation for its discourse compared to bibliotherapy. In the discourse on bibliotherapy, clarifying what the therapy part entails could be beneficial for those who feel uncertain about bibliotherapy and to work as a bibliotherapist.

We are currently living under a world wide COVID-19 pandemic. Due to restrictions in peoples every day life, people getting ill and dying there might be a risk of increase of mental illness in society. The purpose of this thesis is to take a closer look at how Swedish public libraries are using methods like shared reading and bibliotherapy as a way to cope with mental illness within society. What do librarians think about the possibility of using reading as a way to heal mental illness? What do they think about skill development within shared reading and bibliotherapy, and what are the opportunities for them to gain that development? What role does the librarian play in all this? Interviews with 4 librarians working within bigger and smaller city public libraries have been conducted as a method. 2 of them are working with shared reading on a daily basis, 1 of which is working within custody/prison enviroment whilst the remaining 2 do not have any experience in working with shared reading nor bibliotherapy.Theory used for the thesis analysis is David Russel and Caroline Shrode’s concepts of identification, catharsis and insight. The analysis also makes use of Elizabeth Brewster’s development of said theory and the use of 4 different kinds of bibliotherapy namely informative, escapist, social and emotional bibliotherapy. Results show how these theories are implemented in practice when used by librarians in order to help changing values, thinking and behaviour amongst inmates and people suffereing from mental health issues. Also, results show how libraries and other organizations like the public healthcare currently co-operate and how they can develop their co-operation for a future in which we might see an increase of mental health issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the thesis is to gain in-depth knowledge of how a digital reading and writing promotion library service for young people is experienced and described by the participating librarians. More specifically, to investigate the link between the service and bibliotherapy, as well as the librarians' view of communication via the service. In addition, the librarians' view of the competences and qualities required to work with the service is examined. The material for the bachelor thesis has been collected through semi-structured interviews which have then been analysed through a qualitative content analysis. The theoretical framework used in the analysis is The online disinhibition effect by John Suler, the bibliotherapeutic process described by Sarah McNicol & Liz Brewster and Arleen McCarthy Hynes & Mary Hynes-Berry's description of the interactive bibliotherapeutic dialogue and its prerequisites. The analysis has shown that most examples of Suler's disinhibition effects mentioned are benign, i.e. that the effects are positive based on the librarians' view of the service. The conclusion is that the service is at the intersection of reading therapy and interactive bibliotherapy. When asked if you need to be a therapist, the answer is that a librarian can be an important adult. You don't have to be a counselor or an educated therapist. The anonymity of the service is a unique and important aspect.

Det övergripande syftet med denna studie var att utforska det hälsofrämjande arbetet vid bibliotek som genomförs genom biblioterapeutiska metoder. Vi har utgått från följande treforskningsfrågor: 1. Vilka former av biblioterapeutiskt arbete har respondenterna erfarenheter av? 2. Vilka kunskapsbehov har bibliotekarier som arbetar med biblioterapi och hur förhåller de sig till de utmaningar som finns? 3. Upplever bibliotekarier att arbetet med biblioterapi har förändrat yrkesidentiteten? Vi har använt oss av semistrukturerade intervjuer med öppna frågor. Ett kriterium vi hade var att hitta bibliotekarier med praktiska erfarenheter av biblioterapi. Vi analyserade materialet med hjälp av tematisk analys och identifierade tre huvudteman, nämligen: 1. De biblioterapeutiska arbetssätten. 2. Erfarenhet eller kompetens. 3. Yrkesidentiteten. Vi analyserade empirin utifrån dessa teman och lyfte fram de delar från intervjuerna som hade relevans för vår studie. Resultaten visade att majoriteten av respondenterna arbetar med utvecklande biblioterapi som passar de flesta grupper av människor. Det mest framträdande från intervjuerna var att litteraturen har en central roll när det kommer till att arbeta biblioterapeutiskt, både när det kommer till val av litteratur men även hur man bearbetar den valda litteraturen. Det råder delade meningar kring vad som behövs i form av utbildning hos våra respondenter. Samtliga respondenter verkar ha uppfattningen att biblioterapi har “förstärkt” deras yrkesidentitet. Endast två av respondenterna kände att de har stöd av sin chef och en har det inskrivet i sin arbetsbeskrivning. Det råder konsensus i gruppen av respondenter om att inte använda sig av självhjälpslitteratur.

Bibliotherapy is activities centered around how texts can affect the reader rather than exploring the meaning of the text itself. There are some different theories/terminology regarding bibliotherapy presented in this thesis. Bibliotherapy can be categorized after how it is organized or the process that is thought to take place within the individual/s. This wide range of categorization offers complexity to the term.  The purpose of this thesis is to examine attitudes towards and the use of bibliotherapy as a method within Swedish public libraries. Furthermore, when used, what forms of bibliotherapy have or are occupied, as bibliotherapy is a complex term and can encompass several different methods. To answer the purpose in this thesis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six librarians who have worked with bibliotherapy or something similar at Swedish public libraries. The analysis of the interviews identified several recurring themes. These themes relate to the organization of bibliotherapeutic activities such as target groups and environmental factors or the perceptions around bibliotherapy such as importance of education and bibliotherapy as a controversial term. The most prominent form of bibliotherapy occupied by the public libraries where the interviewees work are activities organized in groups, using fiction with focus on group discussions. This can be categorized as the theoretical forms interactive and creative bibliotherapy. The interviewed librarians perceive that this activities can affect users, e.g. as developing, escapist and social, this relates to the theory about the bibliotherapeutic process.

Abstract: This Master’s thesis investigates seven public librarians’ approach to bibliotherapy in relation to their experiences of key components in their role and in relation to literature promotion, as well as how they consider bibliotherapy within the context of Swedish public libraries. Research questions used were: Which competences and characteristics do the librarians experience as key components in their role related to literature promotion? How do the librarians consider traditional forms of literature promotion in relation to bibliotherapy? How do the librarians consider bibliotherapy in the context of Swedish public libraries? Interviews were carried out with seven public librarians, two of them working with bibliotherapy. A thematic analysis was used to process the empirical material. Theoretical instruments applied in the analysis were Grøn’s three phases of literature promotion in public libraries and Brewster’s research on bibliotherapy. Six aspects of the librarians’ role in relation to literature promotion emerged from the informants’ experiences: digital tools, social competence, information seeking, literature knowledge, general knowledge and some personal characteristics. The librarians’ approach to traditional literature promotion can be found mainly in two of Grøn’s phases, the reformative and the affirmative. Bibliotherapy can, according to some informants, be related to traditional forms of literature promotion, in accordance with Brewster’s informal bibliotherapy. The study suggests that many of the librarians are positive to bibliotherapy but finds some aspects problematic when implemented within the public library. Amongst problems mentioned were: the term therapy associated with clinical environments, lack of education and general knowledge amongst librarians and users.

The point of this thesis is to determine what the effects are of bibliotherapy from both the views of the participants as well as the leaders. The basic idea of the thesis stems from several scientific articles and books on the subject matter from the past ten years that highlight the lack of empirical material regarding user intentions in bibliotherapy. The thesis is based on a deductive approach through these previous texts. The empirical material gathered through the use of seven semi-structured interviews with both leaders and users of bibliotherapy. The participants have primarily been involved with creative bibliotherapy in library settings as well as in churches. The qualitative data gathered through interviews were then analysed via several theories based on, among others, emotional response, aesthetic reading and catharsis.  It was found that while leaders initially were not in control of what impressions the potential participants initially had about bibliotherapy, or what use they thought it could bring them, they tried to mitigate it by being thorough and clear what regarding the goals about bibliotherapy were. However, it was generally concluded that whatever goals the participants originally had usually converged towards the end with the intended goals of the leaders of the various bibliotherapy schemes, whether they be personal development or emotional catharsis.

The purpose of this bachelor thesis is to gain an expanded knowledge of how some of the professions in the library field view bibliotherapy and how they describe and experience the relationship between bibliotherapy and the public libraries' activities in Västra Götaland. The bachelor thesis deals with questions about what public libraries' assignments regarding bibliotherapy activities looks like in the region, what opportunities and obstacles exist for bibliotherapy and how bibliotherapy activities can be motivated at public libraries.  The material for the bachelor thesis has been collected through semi-structured interviews which have then been analyzed through a thematic content analysis. As a theoretical framework for the study, Jürgen Habermas' theory of the public sphere and Ragnar Audunson's theory of libraries as low-intensity meeting places have been used. The results show that there is a place for bibliotherapy at the public library's arena in Västra Götaland. In order for the bibliotherapy work to be successful, three factors have been identified and these are competence development, collaboration and the need for networks. The results also shows that bibliotherapy can be used both as a health- and reading promotion method, be a reason for the library to collaborate with other professions, a tool that can be used to achieve social sustainability, a way to renew the library's activities, develop the librarianship profession and be a way for the library to reach out to new groups in society which in turn can lead to the library getting new users.

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to examine how hospital librarians experience their professional role, how they currently work with literature to promote health and well-being, as well as their thoughts and feelings about working with bibliotherapy in the future. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four hospital librarians who are working with literature to promote health and well-being, and that have thoughts about what bibliotherapy could mean as a working method. The results show that the occupational role of the hospital librarian is multifaceted and that there is a desire to locate what is at the heart of the profession. It also showed a wish for hospital libraries to have a clearer role in healthcare. Hospital librarians are now working on health promotion through literature improving happiness and strength among their visitors. A future bibliotherapeutic approach in hospital libraries could mean that they would have a more prominent role in health care.