Some things are best understood by experiencing them
There is a difference between learning about bibliotherapy and experiencing what happens when a story is offered with time, attention and an invitation to reflect.
You can read about bibliotherapy. You can explore its history, theories and different approaches. You can learn about selecting literature, asking reflective questions and facilitating conversations around stories. And all that matters. But there comes a point when bibliotherapy needs to be experienced.
When we sit with a story rather than analyse it, something different becomes possible. We begin to notice what catches our attention. A word or image may stay with us. A memory may surface. We may recognise something of ourselves, see another perspective or simply find ourselves wondering about something we had not considered before.
Not every response is immediate or easily named. Sometimes a story stays with us, returning to thought later or becoming meaningful in ways we could not have anticipated while reading.
This is part of what makes bibliotherapy difficult to understand from explanation alone. The experience belongs to the reader. We cannot know in advance what another person will notice, what will matter to them or what they will carry away.
Learning bibliotherapy from the inside
When I developed Building Bibliotherapy Skills, I wanted people to learn about bibliotherapy, but I also wanted them to experience it from the position of the reader. Across the course, we read and listen together. We encounter different kinds of texts. There is time to pause, reflect and talk. We consider what helps create the conditions in which a reader can meet a story in their own way.
Alongside these experiences, we explore why literature can have therapeutic value and how reading can support reflection, connection and wellbeing. We draw on literature, psychology and neuroscience to deepen our understanding of what may be happening when a reader encounters a story.
We also turn our attention to facilitation: selecting literature, developing invitations for reflection and considering how we accompany readers without determining what a story should mean for them.
This way of learning matters to me because the experience of being a reader can teach us something that explanation cannot.
Three days together in Sydney
From 2–4 November 2026, I’ll be bringing Building Bibliotherapy Skills back to Sydney for three days of face-to-face learning in Clovelly.
The course is intentionally small, with 5–10 participants. Three full days together give us time to read, listen, reflect and explore the practice in ways that shorter professional learning rarely allows.
You do not need previous experience in bibliotherapy. People come from many different backgrounds, including libraries, education, aged care, community work, coaching and wellbeing settings. Some arrive knowing they would like to bring bibliotherapy into their work. Others come because they are curious about what becomes possible when we approach reading differently.
Earlier this year, Professor Robin Moeller travelled from the United States to Australia to take part in the face-to-face training. She has since written about her experience of those three days and what she took from them.
Read Professor Robin Moeller’s reflection on the training
Perhaps you have been curious
If you have been wondering about bibliotherapy, or thinking about how words and stories might invite reflection, connection and wellbeing in your own setting, I would love to welcome you to Clovelly.
Some things really are best understood by experiencing them.
Building Bibliotherapy Skills2–4 November 20269 am–5 pm each dayClovelly, SydneyThree full days | Small group of 5–10 participants
Register for the Sydney course
Questions are always welcome: hello@bibliotherapyaustralia.com
