In a world that's constantly on the move and full of stress, finding ways to take care of our mental health can be a challenge. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting our lives in unprecedented ways, prioritizing our mental wellbeing has become even more critical, especially for those who are older or living in suburban areas; feelings of isolation and anxiety can be overwhelming. That's why the therapeutic benefits of reading are being rediscovered and are gaining renewed attention. However, what needs to be added is a comprehensive resource that delves deeper into the therapeutic value of reading, particularly in the context of bibliotherapy.

Improving Mental Health and Wellbeing Through Bibliotherapy addresses this gap by bringing together experts from literary studies, psychology, and education. Through their insights, readers will understand how literature can be used for healing and personal growth. By exploring topics such as anxiety, brain neurology, children's literature, and stress management, this book provides practical strategies for incorporating reading into daily life to promote mental wellbeing.

Designed for university professors, students, health professionals, and the general public; this book offers a holistic approach to bibliotherapy. By highlighting the transformative power of literature, it seeks to inspire readers to harness the healing potential of reading. Importantly, this exploration is not just theoretical; readers will find practical strategies and insights that can be immediately applied to enhance their overall well-being in today's challenging world.

Coverage:

The many academic areas covered in this publication include, but are not limited to:

Anxiety
Brain Neurology
Children's Literature
Clinical Psychology
Distance Education
Education
Elderly Adults
Isolation
Linguistics
Literature
Philosophy
Stress Management
Therapeutic Writing
Therapy

Reviews & Statements

"In a world where science is usually reputed as the only way to improve our lives, humanities, and reading in particular, are here vindicated as a beneficial tool to improve our mental health and well-being. The act of reading connects us to a community of past and present writers and readers, puts us in contact with our feelings and emotions towards ourselves and others, and makes us experience what it truly means to be human in a way that other disciplines simply cannot. It comes as no surprise that the resulting knowledge derived from it about both the world inside and around us has immense positive value for our physical and mental health, as we set out in this book to prove with measurable data."

– Antonio Cortijo Ocaña, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

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Editor/Author Biographies

Antonio Cortijo Ocaña is a distinguished professor at the University of California Santa Barbara. He is the author of over 60 books and monographs ranging from studies on classical culture to humanism, economic history, political theory, and religious persecution in the medieval and early modern period. He has also translated numerous Catalan works into English, from medieval classics to contemporary philosophers and poets. In addition, many of his publications are multidisciplinary and bridge the fields of humanities and applied psychology and education. He has received numerous awards and grants during his career. He is a member of the Royal Academy of Good Letters (Barcelona) and co-director of the Center for Medieval Studies (UCSB). Finally, he is the founder and director of the journal eHumanista (www.ehumanista.ucsb.edu).

Vicent Martines is a Professor at the University of Alicante. He is PI of ISIC-IVITRA and a member of the Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona, IEC, IULMA, IIFV. He is the Co-director of the Center For Catalan Studies (University of California at Santa Barbara [UCSB] / University of Alicante). He is the chief editor of Series IVITRA Research in Linguistics and Literature, John Benjamin (Amsterdam/Philadelphia) and the eHumanista/IVITRA (UCSB) co-editor. He has received the following awards: Rei En Pere el Catòlic d´Investigació (IEC, 1988), Premi d´Investigació Ibn Al-Abbar (Generalitat Valenciana, Ajuntament d´Onda, 1990), Premio de Ensayo de Catalán, Gallego y Vasco de la Fundación Ortega y Gasset (Madrid, 1993), and Premio Internazionale Francesco Saverio Nitti (Centro Internazionale di Ricerca Francesco Saverio Nitti per il Mediterraneo, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Napoli, Italy, 2023). He is the author of 280 publications.

Veronica Orazi (Florence 1966), PhD in Ibero-Romance Philology, has taught at the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the University of Bologna and the University of Siena. She is Full Professor of Spanish Literature and Catalan Language and Literature at the University of Turin. She is the Director of the Rivista Italiana di Studi Catalani, co-director of the series 'Bibliotheca Iberica' and a corresponding member of the “Institut d'Estudis Catalans” in Barcelona. She was awarded the Premi crítica Serra d'Or de catalanística (2000) and the Premio Città di Monselice per la traduzione letteraria - Sezione Leone Traverso (2002). In 2015 she received the Menció de la Delegació del Govern de la Generalitat de Catalunya a Itàlia for her activity in promoting Catalan culture. Since 2015 he has directed the international project “Glocal Perspectives in Iberian Studies” and she actually directs the project “Identity Heritage and Cultural Memory. The elaboration of the past through the theatre of democratic Spain (1975 to the present)”. Her research interests focus on medieval and contemporary Spanish and Catalan literature and on the Italian translation of Spanish and Catalan literature

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