Touching Stories in Bibliotherapeutic Practice and Professional Development

1
 Touching Stories in Bibliotherapeutic Practice
and Professional Development

• Juhani IhanusUniversity of Helsinki
• Oulu 18.2.2005

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Reflective practice may enable(Bolton, Allan
Drucquer 2004, 197)

• sensitive, fruitful review of forgotten areas
  of practice
• critical study of personal decision-making
  processes
• constructive awareness of relationships with
  fellow professionals
• analysis of hesitations, skill and knowledge gaps

3
Reflective practice may enable(Bolton, Allan
Drucquer 2004, 197)

• relief of stress by tackling problematic or
  painful episodes
• identification of learning needs
• dissemination of experience and expertise to
  colleagues
• increase of confidence in professional practice.

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Writing and personal development(Sampson Hunt
1998, 201)

• Literary or product-oriented work
• self-exploration to produce a literary work
• Writerly or process-oriented work
• self-help writing
• Therapeutic (interactive) work incorporating
  writing and oriented around the textuality of the
  self
• reflective practice of the professionals in the
  fields of therapy, counselling and care practices
• forms of therapy such as poetry therapy and
  narrative therapy

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The process cycle of writing

• Writing ? Feedback ? Identification and
  Recognition ? More Personal and Expressive
  Communication ? Understanding and Insight ?
  Integration ? Further Writing/Journeying

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Old world Virtual reality

• Core self
• Identity
• Social self
• Object relation
• Social contact
• Interpersonal
• I Thou
• Face to face
• Transference

• Internet self
• Web self (avatar)
• The self as a message
• Net contact
• Contact fantasy
• Hyper-or hypopersonal
• Other Other
• Interface
• Interference

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Old world Virtual reality

• Linear
• Analogic
• Book
• Writing
• Emotional
• Existential anxiety
• To be or not to be

• Hypermediated
• Digital
• Textual flow
• Audio-visuo-verbal expression
• Postemotional
• Ecstatic
• To log in or not to log in

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Old world Virtual reality

• The self tells about the world
• Guilt
• Inhibition
• Interpretation
• Grief
• Work
• Competence
• Chalkboard

• Self-narrative is the world
• Pleasure
• Impulse
• Construction
• Forgetfullness
• Performance
• Omnipotence
• Play space

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Some methods of personal and professional
development involving writing

• (modified from Daniels Feltham 2004, 186)
• Narrative
• Stream of consciousness
• Dream recall and associations
• Poetry and creative writing

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Some exercises

• Memorizing specific events
• Anticipating future events
• Letters to oneself
• Unsent letters to others
• Self-perception and -characterization
• Own obituary

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Some exercises

• Dialogues with ones strong self, weak self,
  extraverted self, introverted self, etc.
• My (family, work, group) environment
• My traumata
• My successes
• Planning diary
• Hopes and fears

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Dimensions of creativity

• Creative processes characterized by complexity
  and even chaotic states
• Creative acts seeking dynamic balance at the
  borderline between chaos and order, reaching
  self-reflection and self-organization
• Open to experience open to fresh perceptions
  and expressions

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Dimensions of creativity

• Creativity resists premature closure
• Intuitive abilities combined with trained skills
• Aesthetically elegant good solutions
• Courage to cope with anxieties and ambiguities
• Courage to wait and listen in the state of
  unknowing, anticipating futures (leaps)