Reading as an additional therapeutic method in the treatment of alcohol dependence

Abstract

Reading habits of the participants in our research primarily gravitated towards non-fiction. The majority of our participants reported reading text books and autobiographical works on alcoholism that were recommended to them. An encouraging finding was that individuals started to read more often after com­pleting the treatment and were also more open to bibliotherapy. Furthermore, individuals with a higher level of education preferred fiction, whereas individuals with a lower level of education preferred non-fiction. Individuals who reported that reading books has helped them in the process of recovery (more than half of the participants) were found to be more open and willing to read, they further believed in the healing power of reading books and expressed the wish to take part in therapeutic reading activities. Fiction bears an important influence on the phenomenological world of alcohol-dependent individuals. Responsiveness of our participants during reading was extremely high and emotionally intense. The most profound phenomenological responses were triggered by works in which alcohol had a negative connota­tion, i.e. those works that portrayed devastating physical or psychological consequences of addiction and the participants also responded strongly to the poem that did not directly address the topic of addiction, but talked about psychological distress, thus offering a wider associative space. To sum up our findings, the quantitative part has shown that participants found the works that addressed topics other that alcohol depen­dence to have more “healing” power, which was also the case with works with a more optimistic message. In addition to this, the qualitative part has shown that the potential for a more intense psychological change is also linked to having similar experiences and we can thus conclude that the fictional works most suitable for bibliotherapy would optimally combine all of the afore-mentioned characteristics.