Preparing Social Workers to Identify and Integrate Culturally Affirming Bibliotherapy into Treatment

Despite gains in redefining America as a ‘salad bowl’ versus a ‘melting pot’, stereotypes about racial and ethnic minorities, including African Americans, remain embedded in the fabric of the United States. By acknowledging the significance of stereotypes, race, and culture on the lives of clients, culturally affirming bibliotherapy is a tool that can empower them, validate their experiences, and promote the development of a positive self‐identity or self‐concept. This paper focuses on its use with African American youth, however, because, race impacts all individuals of African descent, this tool can and should be incorporated into their treatment as well when deemed appropriate.     

Helping Adolescents Cope with the Mental Illness of a Parent Through Bibliotherapy

This paper highlights some of the needs of adolescents who have parents with a mental illness and examines the usage of bibliotherapy as a treatment modality. Eleven young adult fiction books are examined and considered for use as a bibliotherapeutic tool among the adolescent audience whose parent suffers from a mental illness.     

Does Providing Extended Relapse Prevention Bibliotherapy to Problem Gamblers Improve Outcome?

Relapse rates among pathological gamblers are high with as many as 75% of gamblers returning to gambling shortly after a serious attempt to quit. The present study focused on providing a low cost, easy to access relapse prevention program to such individuals. Based on information collected in our ongoing study of the process of relapse, a series of relapse prevention booklets were developed and evaluated. Individuals who had recently quit gambling (N = 169) were recruited (through media announcements) and randomly assigned to a single mailing condition in which they received one booklet summarizing all of the relapse prevention information or a repeated mailing condition in which they received the summary booklet plus 7 additional booklets mailed to them at regular intervals over the course of a year period. Gambling involvement over the course of the 12-month follow-up period, confirmed by family or friends, was compared between the two groups. Results indicated that participants receiving the repeated mailings were more likely to meet their goal, but they did not differ from participants receiving the single mailing in frequency of gambling or extent of gambling losses. The results of this project suggest that providing extended relapse prevention bibliotherapy to problem gamblers does not improve outcome. However, providing the overview booklet may be a low cost, easy to access alternative for individuals who have quit gambling.     

Using Children's Books as an Approach to Enhancing Our Understanding of Disability

Abstract

Children's books can be used as a tool for teaching about the unique needs of children with disabilities. This article offers strategies for using books as a medium for increasing our understanding about disability. In the article a disability is viewed as an aspect of cultural diversity. A list of children's books focusing on the topic of disability is offered.