1 / 19

Bibliotherapy for all: Using children s literature about loss and grieving to increase awareness, develop coping skill

ABSTRACT. Bibliotherapy is a technique in which books are used to help individuals, including children, cope with problems in their lives. While this process is beneficial to individuals or small groups of children dealing with a common problem, there are also benefits to sharing therapeutic texts with larger groups of children in a whole-class setting. These benefits include increasing awareness, developing coping skills, and building community among elementary school students. The purpose of 140

liam
Download Presentation

Bibliotherapy for all: Using children s literature about loss and grieving to increase awareness, develop coping skill

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

    1. Bibliotherapy for all: Using children’s literature about loss and grieving to increase awareness, develop coping skills, and build community among elementary school students Adrienne S. Cleveland, M.A. Webster University

    3. WHAT IS BIBLIOTHERAPY? Stamps (2003) defined bibliotherapy as, “a strategy that helps students overcome or deal with a current problem or issue in their lives” (p.26). The goal of bibliotherapy is to help children work through the stress(es) in their lives and develop coping skills by sharing literature and having a conversation about the book together (Hendrickson, 1988; Pardeck, 1994; Roberts & Crawford, 2008). Bibliotherapy may be conducted in an individual/small group setting or whole-class setting Selecting an appropriate book to use during bibliotherapy is of great importance (Pardeck, 1993).

    4. BIBLIOTHERAPY FOR ALL Exposes children to realistic situations that may differ from their own life experiences Serves as a preventative tool, preparing students for issues that may arise later on in their lives (Knoth, 2006). Sharing these therapeutic texts in a whole-class setting helps to increase awareness, develop coping skills, and build community among elementary school students.

    5. THE BIBLIOTHERAPY PROCESS There are four stages in the process of bibliotherapy (Pardeck, 1993). 1) Readiness, in which a child’s readiness is determined and needs are identified 2) Selection, when a book is selected that will match a client’s needs 3) Introduction to the book, or Presentation, the sharing of the text 4) Follow-up, at which point the therapist and student engage in a discussion about the book

    6. THE BIBLIOTHERAPY PROCESS (CONT.) There are four stages that the student is believed to experience during bibliotherapy (Stamps, 2003). 1) Identification, when a student identifies with a character 2) Catharsis, in which the student experiences a release of emotions as he/she “follows” the character 3) Insight, at which point students connect their lives to the lives of the characters in the book 4) Universalization, the stage in which students realize people all over the world face similar life changes

    7. THE EFFECTS OF LOSS ON CHILDREN When facing the death of a loved one, children may not fully understand the situation and may have difficulty communicating their questions and reactions (Berns, 2004). Children may experience feelings of anger, anxiety, depression, have a high demand for attention, and may struggle academically when a loved one is deployed (Lester, et al., 2010). Children may struggle with how to answer questions about an incarcerated guardian, or feel they cannot speak about the situation, and therefore keep much inside (Clopton & East, 2008). As a result of divorce, children may blame themselves and experience loss as one parent is often absent or less available (Pardeck & Pardeck, 1987).

    8. METHOD Development of Evaluation Tools Two evaluation tools were created by the researcher for the purpose of identifying quality books in which students’ awareness might be increased, coping skills developed, and classroom community built. Criteria for the evaluation tools were determined from various authors and researchers. Some criteria include, but are not limited to: The book must contain an interesting, well- crafted storyline (Roberts & Crawford, 2008) The problem and solution within the story must be relatively realistic and not give a false sense of hope (Pardeck, 1994) The main character must be a positive model, demonstrating good coping skills and problem solving skills (Heath, et al., 2005; Roberts & Crawford, 2008)

    11. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ASKED ON BOTH EVALUATION TOOLS… How could this book increase awareness in children? How could this book develop coping skills in children? How could this book build community? Would you recommen this book to use with an individual/small group/whole-class of students? Explain.

    12. METHOD Identification of Therapeutic Texts Eight books pertaining to loss and grieving were selected by the researcher to be evaluated by two school counselors and two elementary classroom teachers. In an effort to include a variety of experiences with loss, four subtopics were chosen: death, divorce, incarceration, and military deployment. Two books were chosen on each subtopic. All selected texts were picture books and shared the genre of fiction Titles were chosen based on recommendations from articles, the experiences of the researcher, and general factors that may appeal to teachers when searching for these types of texts (Branch & Brinson, 2007; Heath, et al., 2005; Knoth, 2006; Roberts & Crawford, 2008)

    13. SELECTED BOOKS

    14. SELECTED BOOKS

    15. RESULTS

    16. CONCLUSION There were significant differences between all books on the same topics; therefore it was not possible to compare which topics (e.g., death, divorce, incarceration, deployment) would be best addressed through the use of therapeutic books. Instead, individual books can be compared for their value and effectiveness. An Analysis of Variants determined that Mama and Daddy Bear’s Divorce (p= 0.04) as well as Visiting Day (p= 0.02) would be better used in an individual or small group setting, as opposed to a whole-class setting. It is recommended by the researcher that professionals utilize the evaluation tools when selecting texts to use for the purpose of bibliotherapy, as book selection is of high importance

    17. ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTS Everett Anderson’s Goodbye was preferred to Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs. This may be because Everett Anderson’s Goodbye focuses more on the grieving process and has less potential to confuse a child than Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs. Was it the Chocolate Pudding?: A Story for Little Kids about Divorce was more favorable than Mama and Daddy Bear’s Divorce. This may be because it explains divorce terms in kid-friendly language. It may also be used with a wider range of ages, and focuses on the common situation of children blaming themselves for the divorce.

    18. ANALYSIS OF THE TEXTS (CONT.) Mama Loves Me From Away was preferred to Visiting Day. It was felt that Mama Loves Me From Away touches upon several realities of having a caretaker in jail and coping skills were clearly demonstrated by the main character. Love Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom was preferred over My Red Balloon. Love Lizzie: Letters to a Military Mom had the highest overall mean of all eight books. It was stated by evaluators that this book offers valuable points for discussion. Students may also find it easy to relate to Lizzie, the main character in the book.

    19. REFERENCES

More Related