Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Neuroplasticity as potential direction for bibliotherapy

http://news.nationalpost.com/arts/books/robert-fulford-the-world-of-bibliotherapy
excerpt
The world of bibliotherapy contains many researchers, most of them academics, searching for ways to develop it into a more effective technique. A typical figure is Hoi F. Cheu, a professor in the English department at Laurentian University. A student of literature with a bent for unexpected themes (he wrote his PhD dissertation on Zen and the Art of James Joyce), he now concentrates on bibliotherapy. He works with several hospitals, including the Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto.
Cheu believes that recent explorations of neuroplasticity open new directions for bibliotherapy. He quotes Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain that Changes Itself, on “The Culturally Modified Brain.” As Cheu writes, “We now have scientific observations to demonstrate that cultural activities can change brain structures. After decades of cultural construction theories, we can now reunite with the scientists to investigate a biological approach to literature.”