Fiction-reading for good or ill: eating disorders, interpretation and the case for creative bibliotherapy research.

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  • Author(s): Troscianko ET
  • Source:
    Medical humanities [Med Humanit] 2018 Sep; Vol. 44 (3), pp. 201-211. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Apr 21.
  • Publication Type:
    Journal Article
  • Language:
    English
  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: BMJ Pub. Group Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 100959585 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1473-4265 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 1468215X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Med Humanit Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Kennebunkport, ME : BMJ Pub. Group, c2000-
    • Subject Terms:
    • Abstract:
      Compared with self-help bibliotherapy, little is known about the efficacy of creative bibliotherapy or the mechanisms of its possible efficacy for eating disorders or any other mental health condition. It is clear, however, that fiction is widely used informally as a therapeutic or antitherapeutic tool and that it has considerable potential in both directions, with a possibly significant distinction between the effects of reading fiction about eating disorders (which may-contrary to theoretical predictions-be broadly negative in effect) or one's preferred genre of other fiction (which may be broadly positive). Research on creative bibliotherapy, especially systematic experimental research, is lacking and requires a medical humanities approach, drawing on knowledge and methods from psychology and cognitive literary studies as well as clinical disciplines to expand our understanding of how the dynamic processes of interpretation mediate between textual structures and characteristics of mental health and illness.
      Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.
      (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: literary studies; literature and medicine; medical humanities; mental health care
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20180423 Date Completed: 20181211 Latest Revision: 20181211
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      10.1136/medhum-2017-011375
    • Accession Number:
      29680807