Reading the Child Within: How Bibliotherapy Can Help the Victim of Child Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT

Bibliotherapy, the use of storytelling as part of the healing process, has been successfully incorporated into clinical practice for a variety of indications including psychological trauma. This therapeutic modality, which incorporates mindful meditation, non-threatening use of metaphor, and autonomic regulation, can help children and adults alike, who are willing to engage in a story. Yet, bibliotherapy has not been widely adapted as a routine part of the therapeutic toolbox in the context of sufferers of childhood sexual abuse. Here, we review current practices regarding the adjunctive use of bibliotherapy for victims of child sexual abuse, touch upon the theoretical basis of bibliotherapy, and lay out a number of readily-useable strategies for implementing bibliotherapy in one’s practice.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• adult survivor
• adolescent
• sexual abuse

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Howard Kirschen, MD for his critical feedback on this manuscript.

Disclosure of Interest

Agnes Wohl receives financial compensation for sale of Fawn’s Touching Tale.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Agnes Wohl

Agnes Wohl, LCSW, ACSW is a practicing psychotherapist in Jericho, NY who treats emotional, behavioral, and social problems of children, adolescents, and adults. She specializes in the treatment of children and adults who have been sufferers of childhood trauma and sexual abuse.

Gregory W. Kirschen

Gregory W. Kirschen, PhD is an MD/PhD candidate at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY, who completed his dissertation in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology and is currently in his final year of medical school at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, applying for residency in obstetrics and gynecology.