Sunday, April 24, 2022

my kind of therapy


"For young people experiencing grief, he suggests Bridge to Terabithia, a novel about two children who create a magical land that allows them to escape a personal tragedy. For people dealing with indecision, he recommends “Eveline,” a short story by James Joyce about a young woman who plans to leave Dublin with her lover and is forced to decide whether to abandon her family. Cheu prompts clients by asking them, “If you were Eveline, what would you do?” Turning the question on the reader, he says, uses the story to ease them into sharing more about themselves. “That is how you allow the discussion to move away from a very personal direct confrontation to an imaginary alternative,” he says, “which allows them to imagine a different life for themselves.” Literature essentially helps clients be seen without being exposed."

Pic: Scout giving us high-fives for the week that was. (I think Big A and I may have taught our baby a new trick!)




3 comments:

Nicole MacPherson said...

Bibliotherapy! That's brilliant! I feel like you and I probably do this already.

StephLove said...

I definitely do this, not always on purpose, but sometimes a book really resonates because of what's going on in my life. Also, at the beginning of the pandemic, I read a lot of books about pandemics, that fell off after a while but I still have at least one on my list I might read eventually.

maya said...

Nicole and StephLove! I know right? I thought so too. I think I'm a better person because I read.

StephLove--what pandemic books would you recommend?

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