Bibliotherapy, mental health and communication

skills and abilities for librarianship during the health crisis

Abstract

With the objective of identifying competences and skills necessary for the bibliotherapy practice in spaces of information, education and culture, the contribution of this therapy over the centuries is considered, until constituting itself as a strategy to face the psychological suffering triggered by the pandemic, global health crisis started at the end of the second decade of the 21st century due to Covid-19 (new coronavirus). Through a qualitative study characterized as descriptive and as a bibliographic research carried out in the scope of Information Science, a methodological scheme is outlined showing reading and communicative skills and abilities. With regard to knowing how to do (skills) related to the use of supports containing contents of informative, literary readings, among other modalities, the ability to select and make available narratives, images and / or sounds (multimodality) that may evoke dialogs stands out therapeutic and, not least, critical and reflective readings in the face of the use of (hyper) textual reading in cyberspace. In terms of communicative competence, it comprises communicative skills to trigger verbal and non-verbal interaction during bibliotherapeutic moments, which are important for the accessibility and experimentation of listening that precedes the dialogue aimed at sharing experiences and, subsequently, for the establishment of a help situation based on the use of languages ​​that translate feelings such as fear and anxiety leading to problem solving. Both the competencies and skills outlined and the skills listed by the World Health Organization are extremely important for the bibliotherapeutic processes in libraries and other spaces that aim to strengthen mental health during the pandemic scenario.