ABSTRACT
The bibliotherapeutic process begins with an initial recognition: there is something in the material that engages the participant—something that piques interest, opens the imagination, stops wandering thoughts, or in some way arrests attention. Several different kinds of self-awareness might emerge as a result of completing the bibliotherapeutic process. In fact, one of the distinguishing features of interactive bibliotherapy is that language serves as both stimulus and agent in the therapeutic process. Bibliotherapy is a particularly effective catalyst for helping participants recognize and deal with the ambiguities that normal growth demands—and that many persons never come to terms with precisely because the issues are ambiguous. The kind of wisdom that comes from bibliotherapy specifically addresses an understanding of the self rather than a grasp of the nature of the world at large. The bibliotherapy group offers a clear context in which to help such an individual recognize that his or her spontaneous response tends to be negative.
