THE HEALING POWER OF WORDS: WHY BIBLIOTHERAPY CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

What connects us to others when we can’t be with them? How can humans empathize with the past? How do victims get through PTSD when no one is around? This presentation is to show how words not only tear people down, but they can also build them back up again. Bibliotherapy is not only good for cognition, but it also can aid in our mental and physical health.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide prevention, “In 2017 there were an estimated 1,400,000 suicide attempts.” How many of these could be prevented by Bibliotherapy? The problem here is that Bibliotherapy is not widely known as it is very specialized. Why is that? Words have the power to hurt a person to the core. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? The purpose of the research paper is to explore the effects of Bibliotherapy on both the mind and the body. I will be exploring this problem in a variety of means. In the research, I will be using mixed methods in both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This will be through a transformative lens to seek out answers. By creating questionnaires for demographics of academics, medical practitioners, and students, I will be able to create a program that emphasizes healing. With this research I will be looking at tentative findings of 1. Who will benefit the most from Bibliotherapy? 2. Does Bibliotherapy help with physical health ailments as well as mental health? 3. If Literacy was prescribed, would there be more emphasis placed on it?

AUTHOR: Sarah Warring

Sarah Warring has her MS in Literacy from University at Albany- State University of New York. She also has her BS in English Education at Utica College, where she was certified as a teacher in English for grades 7-12.

Sarah Warring has been writing for over 10 years. As well as teaching in high school and college classrooms, she has run writing workshops local groups and classes. Currently, she is an Adjunct Professor of Reading and Writing at both Mohawk Valley Community College and Herkimer County Community College in Upstate NY.

She has been a member of local national, and international organizations associated with reading and writing such as International Literacy Association, National Council of Teachers of English, and the Utica Writers Club.

Email: Sarah.Warring@gmail.com
LinkedIn: sarah-warring-87bb824b