The Use of Bibliotherapy in Revealing and Addressing the Spiritual Needs of Cancer Patients

Assessing and addressing spiritual needs is a key factor in the quality of life and overall wellbeing of cancer patients. However, the evolution and diversification of assessment tools has not automatically been followed by their successful implementation; thus, addressing unmet needs continues to b...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:  
Bibliographische Detailangaben
VerfasserInnen: Bálint, Ágnes (Verfasst von) ; Magyari, Judit (Verfasst von)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Veröffentlicht: [2020]
In: Religions
Jahr: 2020, Band: 11, Heft: 3
weitere Schlagwörter:B spiritual needs
B nonterminal cancer patients
B Group Psychotherapy
B creative bibliotherapy
B interactive bibliotherapy
Online-Zugang: Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang
Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Assessing and addressing spiritual needs is a key factor in the quality of life and overall wellbeing of cancer patients. However, the evolution and diversification of assessment tools has not automatically been followed by their successful implementation; thus, addressing unmet needs continues to be a concern. In this paper, we examine the place of bibliotherapy (also called reading therapy or poetry therapy) as a group intervention in the oncological setting in revealing spiritual needs. We show that it represents not only a useful intervention but may also provide instant relief and reduce spiritual suffering. Bibliotherapy understood and practiced as a subtle balance of texts and group processes alleviates cognitive and emotional symptoms of a spiritual concern and facilitates finding meaning in life in general and illness in particular. As an intervention, it is effective, affordable and attractive; moreover, it equips patients receiving treatment and rehabilitation with the lifelong skill of reflective reading. Bibliotherapy is easily tailored to almost any needs and promotes self-expression, which provides spiritual fulfillment in itself.
ISSN:2077-1444
Enthält:Enthalten in: Religions
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3390/rel11030128