What’s it all about?
“Good books make you re-read them. Great books make you re-examine your soul.”
Bibliotherapy, a fusion of the science of psychology and the art of literature, is having a comeback as a therapy. Bibliotherapy can be analogised to a pirate pillaging a book for its treasures. The treasures are essentially to seek solace and perspective in life, and great creative literature does that by offering stories which reflect different models of human thinking and feeling. These stories capture your imagination sending you on a powerful journey of self-exploration, opening up your mind to new ideas and possibilities. And therein lies the transformative appeal of a great book.
What will we cover?
We will break up into small, intimate shared reading circles where you as readers, get a chance to read aloud from a short story. The short story will be from the inimitable maestro of the genre, Anton Chekhov. During the session we will be pausing often to discuss immediate personal reflections and ideas invoked by the story. This ‘slow’ reading will leave you feeling both calm and rejuvenated.
Who will be teaching?
Sonya Tsakalakis is a bibliotherapist who runs shared reading circles in community settings and is also a resident bibliotherapist with The School of Life. She attended a conference in London in May last year by The Reader Organisation, entitled, “Better with a Book: Exploring the relationship between Literature and Mental Health”. Importantly, she is a lifelong, ridiculously passionate reader. Find out more about her on her website.