Bijal Shah
Bibliotherapy
The Healing Power of Reading
Bijal Shah is a bibliotherapist, counsellor, author and poet. She is the founder of Book Therapy, which offers individual, couples and group bibliotherapy, literary curation and personalised reading services for individuals based on their therapeutic needs and personal interests. She also provides online bibliotherapy training and has trained mental health professionals, librarians, teachers. social workers and readers through Book Therapy’s online Bibliotherapy, Literature and Mental Health course. Bijal has conducted bibliotherapy workshops for The United Nations and various corporate organisations and libraries in the UK and US. Bijal is also the co-host of the podcast, Raising A Reader & Storyteller, designed to help parents foster and develop a love of reading and storytelling in their children.
Bijal’s book recommendations have featured in several publications including the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, Asian Voice, New York Observer, Sydney Telegraph, Reader’s Digest, Asian Voice, The New York Observer. She is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and the American Library Association and is the author of the non-fiction book, “The Happiness Mindset”.
After a decade-plus career in Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank and Barclays Capital, having completed a post-graduate diploma in psychodynamic counselling, Bijal launched Book Therapy, one of the first bibliotherapy and literary curation practices both in the UK and globally.
Bijal has also completed a post-graduate professional accountancy qualification and has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Warwick, after attending Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls. She is a mother of two and currently resides in Hampstead, London with her husband and children.
Bibliotherapy – The Healing Power of Reading – Published by Piatkus, Little, Brown – February 2024
Website: http://www.booktherapy.io/
In this unique and transformational guide to healing, bibliotherapist and counsellor Bijal Shah explores the restorative power of reading.
Bibliotherapy traces the history of how therapeutic reading evolved – including the important role played by the best writers such as the Stoics, Montaigne, Eliot and Wordsworth. In doing so, Bijal offers first-hand stories from clients who have found solace in great works of literature when struggling with grief, relationships or illness. Full of practical advice and insights into how bibliotherapy really works, Bijal offers an A to Z reading list of books for every mood and need.
A much-needed reminder of how comforting and life-changing reading can be, Bibliotherapy is a sumptuous celebration of books that will invite you to see them as more than just an escape, but a legitimate form of self-care.
