Have you ever read a story that you were so immersed in? You could imagine yourself as that character, living their life.
When they’re happy, you can feel that happiness. When they’re sad, you can feel that sadness. Or when they’re angry, frustrated, heartbroken, ecstatic, joyful, in love… you can feel those emotions.
That’s the whole point of bibliotherapy.
Emely Rumble, LCSW, a licensed clinical social worker with a bibliotherapy certification, says that our mind is wired for story thinking. In an interview on the Mindvalley Book Club, she explains, “When we engage with stories where we’re emotionally connected, so much has the ability to rise into our conscious awareness.”
And when a story reaches you that deeply, it can steady you, clarify you, and sometimes start real change.
What is bibliotherapy?
The “bibliotherapy” definition is a combination of two roots: biblio, meaning books, and therapy, meaning care. So, together, the “bibliotherapy” meaning is essentially reading with intention as a way to support your mental and emotional health.
Books provide us with a language we struggle to access when we are in survival mode, making our suffering a thing of beauty and nuance.
— Emely Rumble, LCSW, bibliotherapist and author of Bibliotherapy in the Bronx
It’s often guided by a therapist or educator, who carefully chooses fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoirs, or graphic novels that are specific to what you’re dealing with.
So let’s say you’re going through a breakup. You could reach for a children’s book like The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers, which gently explores emotional shutdown and loss. Or you might choose a novel like High Fidelity by Nick Hornby that helps you examine yourself and make sense of what went wrong. Or one of the many self-help books, like Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, which sits with heartbreak, confusion, and the slow work of rebuilding yourself.
But why reading? “Books,” Emely tells Kristina Mӓnd-Lakhiani, the host of Mindvalley Book Club, “provide us with a language we struggle to access when we are in survival mode, making our suffering a thing of beauty and nuance.”
In her own book, Bibliotherapy in the Bronx, Emely documents how books are used in real therapy settings, drawing from her work as a clinician and educator in the Bronx. And that process also has a biological side.
Mikael Roll, a professor of phonetics at Lund University, explains in a Neuroscience News article that reading is “likely to shape the structure of the left Heschl’s gyrus and temporal pole.” These areas support language processing and emotional meaning, which helps explain how reading can deepen cognitive empathy and self-reflection.
So your mind responds to stories as if they were lived experiences. And so, as Emely points out, “when you’re reading, you are healing.”
Types of bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy shows up in a few distinct forms, depending on who’s guiding the reading and what it’s meant to support.
Clinical bibliotherapy
Clinical bibliotherapy happens inside therapy. Your therapist assigns a specific book as part of your treatment and works with it during sessions.
This approach works when the reading comes with structure and guidance. Psychologist Pim Cuijpers found in a large meta-analysis that, in fact, guided bibliotherapy helped reduce symptoms of depression because of how the reading was supported, discussed, and reflected on, not because of the book alone.
So, let’s say, if you’re learning how to grieve, your therapist might assign The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Together, you could read and talk through passages that touch on denial, memory, and loss, using the book as a way to understand what you’re experiencing.
Developmental bibliotherapy
You’ll more commonly see developmental bibliotherapy in schools, libraries, and community programs. Facilitators use books to help people talk about emotions, relationships, and life changes.
For kids and teens, especially, stories can be especially helpful. A 2025 research review found that books with strong characters and relatable situations help young readers understand their emotions and build empathy.
The key is choosing bibliotherapy books for children that fit their age, reading ability, and emotional needs. For instance, if your child is dealing with bullying, then the school counselor could recommend reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio to open conversations about compassion, difference, and belonging.
Self-guided bibliotherapy
This is the most familiar form, and the one with the least formal guidance. The reading still serves a psychological purpose, even when it happens instinctively rather than by design.
For instance, you’re looking to recover from burnout. You might pick up Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The point is, it’s personal—it’s whatever you’re drawn to and what you need at that moment.
Research shows that this type of bibliotherapy can help you understand yourself better, notice your emotions more clearly, and feel less alone. In Such Stuff as Dreams: The Psychology of Fiction, novelist and psychologist Keith Oatley found that fiction works like a mental rehearsal, giving you space to think through motives, choices, and inner states.
Not only that, but a study published in Psychological Medicine shows that reading on your own can ease anxiety and low mood, especially when emotional struggles aren’t severe. And it works better than doing nothing at all.
Why reading isn’t just escapism, according to a bibliotherapist
Reading, for some, can open new worlds. For others, help make sense of emotions. And yet, there are some who find solace in others who’ve been there too, even in fiction.
Like this one fMRI study from 2015. The research tracked readers’ brain activity while they read emotionally charged passages from Harry Potter and found that certain words and scenes activated areas linked to emotion, attention, and bodily awareness.
Additionally, reading doesn’t stay abstract. In her stage talk at Mindvalley U 2024, Kristina points out that “if you’re reading about a very detailed account of how somebody’s running a marathon, actually the same parts of your brain activate as if you were running a marathon.”
That’s the power of it. Emely, in her Mindvalley Book Club interview, mentions Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, who’s known as “the godmother of children’s multicultural literature.” This professor emerita at Ohio State University describes books as windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors:
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror.”
Emely explains that the mirror effect “allows our defenses to come down.” And it makes it easier to notice anger, fear, resentment, or whatever emotions are usually pushed aside.
And it has helped her own clients work through experiences they’ve struggled to talk about or put into words. Bibliotherapy gives those experiences a shape and language, and, as Emely says, “it’s really, really healing.”
Watch a snippet of Emely’s interview on the Mindvalley Book Club with Kristina:
How to use bibliotherapy yourself
So, you’re feeling out of sorts and want to try bibliotherapy for yourself. The steps aren’t overcomplicated, but there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
A gentle note: Bibliotherapy can support you, but it isn’t a replacement for professional care. If things start to feel heavy or unmanageable, reach out to a mental health professional.
- Notice what you’re drawn to. Before opening the book, notice what made you pick it up. A title, a tone, a character, a feeling. That intuitive pull usually points to something worth noticing.
- Read without pressure. There’s no need to read faster or hit a daily goal. Read until something catches your attention.
- Pay attention to reactions. Strong responses are useful. Liking a character, feeling annoyed, comforted, or uneasy shows you what’s active inside.
- Let repetition happen. Rereading is part of the process. The lines that stay with you usually point to something you haven’t sorted through yet.
- Give it language afterward. This might be a note, a sentence, or a quiet thought. Naming what came up helps it settle.
- Know when to stop. If a book feels like too much, set it aside. Choosing a different book still counts.
If you’re playing it out in real life, let’s take the example of a situationship. You’re neither in a relationship nor quite “just friends” either. You feel loved, yet not fulfilled.
Scanning the shelves of your local library, you notice a title. Hector and the Search for Happiness. And a few pages in, you come across a line: “Knowing and feeling are two different things, and feeling is what counts.”
You feel that Hector gets it. He gets you. And for the first time in a long time, you recognize the gap between what you accept and what you want.
Recommended bibliotherapy books to match your feelings
When you’re in a certain mood, you don’t just watch anything, right? It’s likely you reach for what fits how you feel.
Books work the same way. So here are a few you can turn to during specific emotional moments, including some on Emely’s list of recommendations. (Obviously, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it can be your starting point into bibliotherapy.)
When you’re questioning identity or wanting to feel seen
Tell Her Story by LaShawn Harris. This book centers voice, memory, and self-definition. It’s a strong choice when you’re trying to understand who you are and where your story fits.
When you feel pressured to be productive or “on track”
In Defense of Dabbling by Karen Walrond. A personal development book for moments when focus feels forced and creativity feels constrained. It offers permission to explore without rushing toward outcomes.
When you’re overwhelmed and running on empty
Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski. A practical, compassionate look at stress, exhaustion, and why rest doesn’t always fix it. It helps you notice where your energy gets drained and what your body actually needs to recover.
When you’re searching for meaning or direction
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. A short, reflective book about purpose, choice, and how people make sense of suffering. It offers a way to think about meaning that doesn’t rely on having answers right away.
When you feel stuck in the same patterns
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A simple, reflective story that invites you to look at desire, fear, and the cost of ignoring what matters to you. It encourages paying attention to the quiet nudges that often get dismissed.
Fuel your mind
Reading can be healing. It can be grounding. And, as Kristina is making it her mission, it can be sexy. Not performative sexy, but linger-with-a-thought-instead-of-scrolling-past-it sexy.
And when you join the Mindvalley Book Club, you get:
- Weekly book picks focused on personal growth, meaning, and creativity,
- Author interviews that explore what’s beneath the pages, not just the plot, and
- Expert-led conversations that help you reflect on what you’re reading.
This is your invitation to read with intention and curiosity. To let books shape how you think, feel, and pay attention.
Welcome in.
