title: [The meaning of bibliotherapy and expressive writing in child and adolescent psychiatry].
abstract: Child- and adolescent psychiatry is a good field for the application of creative and playful therapies. Bibliotherapy and expressive writing are two examples of them. The effectiveness of both, for different types of disorders, has been proved in many studies. Up until today it was unknown just how prevalent these therapies are within child and adolescent psychiatry in the german speaking countries. The following article summarizes the results of a survey conducted in 122 child and adolescence psychiatric clinics in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to gain more information about their use. The survey takes into account the frequency of application of bibliotherapy and expressive writing therapies depending on age and type of disorder, preferences amongst patient groups, as well as specific approaches. More than half of the surveyed child and adolescent psychiatries are using at least one of the two therapies. They are used on an irregular and non-systematic basis and rather symptom- than diagnosis-orientated. Bibliotherapy and expressive writing are dynamic therapies which can be used in manifold ways. Reading and writing are two of the main pillars of our educational system and can be utilized within a therapeutic setting. Provided that the patient is not suffering from severe cognitive or mental limitations, the spoken and written word can leave deep imprints within the patient's, but also the therapist's, soul.
authors.affiliation: tobiasblechinger@yahoo.de
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Blechinger
authors.forename: Gunther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klosinski
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001317:Austria; D001638:Bibliotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D003405:Creativity; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011037:Poetry as Topic; D013557:Switzerland; D014600:Utilization Review; D014956:Writing