Bibliotherapeutic Assessment Model (BT-ML) has been making big leaps

Since our mini-conference on March 3rd, we have held over a hundred conversations about bibliotherapy. We interviewed people with lived experience, bibliotherapists, literary scholars, (family) doctors, mental health nurses (POH-GGz), psychologists, and psychiatrists. We also spent hundreds of hours researching the literature to analyze existing bibliotherapy and other text analysis and therapy models. This was particularly important to determine which criteria are important for assessing which texts might have bibliotherapy value.

Based on this preliminary research, we developed an assessment model. We are currently refining this model. The above iteration is based on over a dozen conversations with existing bibliotherapists, people with lived experience, general practitioners, and psychiatrists.

We recognize that reading is a personal experience, and that books can be assessed differently by different people. A model can help with this. That is the goal of this model. MADE-Life will continue to refine this model based on feedback from the field and from our upcoming pilots this fall. This model is freely available under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

The next steps in the reintroduction of bibliotherapy will be:

• Setting up an assessment committee

  • Each book will be reviewed by at least six people

  • The review will be conducted by experts with lived experience, literature specialists, and healthcare professionals

  • The review committee will start with 16 people and will grow rapidly

• Assessing books

  • Selecting books that can have a bibliotherapeutic effect

  • Conditions for which reading will be done are loneliness and mild depression

  • After reading we expect to have 16 books available for the pilot

• Evaluating 'pilot' locations

  • Before we introduce this initiative nationally, we want to 'test' it.

  • Various pilot locations are now being evaluated.

  • Schools, libraries and GP practices can still register.

Our plan is to launch this pilot in January 2026. We plan to evaluate it for a period of six months based on its effectiveness, model, process, and overall feedback.

Want to learn more or participate? Let us know at info@made-life.nl