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

Since our successful mini-conference on March 3rd, we have held over a hundred discussions about bibliotherapy. We interviewed 100+ 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 in our pre-pilot phases. The above iteration is based on hundreds of conversations with existing bibliotherapists, people with lived experience, general practitioners, and psychiatrists.

You can also download this assessment form below (this is the most recent version):

BT-ML Beoordelingsformulier (v 20sep25) NL ENG.xlsx

Download XLSX • 30KB

We recognize that reading is a personal experience, and that books can be interpreted and 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 pre-pilots and pilot. This model is freely available under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

The steps for the (re)introduction of bibliotherapy will be as follows:

• Establish a review committee

  • Each book will be reviewed by at least six people

  • Reviews will be conducted by peer support professionals, literature specialists, and healthcare professionals

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

• Review books

  • Select books that could have a bibliotherapeutic effect

  • Conditions for which reading is being done include loneliness and depressive feelings

  • After the pre-pilot phase, we expect to have 16 books available for the pilot phase

• Evaluate pilot locations

  • Before introducing this initiative nationwide, we want to "test" it.

  • Several pilot locations have been selected, and several are currently being evaluated.

  • Education centers, libraries, and general practitioners can still register.

Our plan is to launch this pilot phase in the new school year, September 2026. We intend to evaluate it after this school year based on its effectiveness, model, process, and general feedback. We'll continue reading and reviewing even more books at the same time.

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