Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah
Hi, my name is Bijal Shah and I am a bibliotherapist and founder of Book Therapy (a bibliotherapy and literary curation practice: www.booktherapy.io). I'm also the author of the book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading (https://bit.ly/bibliotherapybook). I curate book prescriptions and provide online training in bibliotherapy, more detail of this can be found on my website, www.booktherapy.io
In this podcast, I share my knowledge and research on bibliotherapy, including the latest developments, science and book recommendations.
Join me every week where we take a deep dive into Bibliotherapy.
We release two episodes a week:
1. Voicenotes fom Me, Your Resident Bibliotherapist.
2. Ask the Bibliotherapist: Book Recommendations for What's On Your Mind
Join our member-only subscription here to listen to all episodes for free. To get access to corresponding transcripts: https://bibliotherapywithbijal.substack.com/subscribe
I hope you enjoy the show and if you'd like a bibliotherapist in your pocket then you might find my book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading (https://bit.ly/bibliotherapybook) a helpful companion.
Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and get new episodes as they are released. If you'd like the transcripts to all episodes, you can join our member-only subscription on Substack: https://bibliotherapywithbijal.substack.com/subscribe
And as always, I love hearing from listeners so if you'd like to get in touch, share any book recommendations or thoughts on bibliotherapy, you can do so at bijal@booktherapy.io
Episodes
55 episodes
Eliza Fricker on Neurodiversity and the Power of Visual Storytelling
In this bibliotherapy podcast interview, I interview author-illustrator Eliza Fricker (Missing the Mark) on neurodiversity, mental health, and how her daughter’s school breakdown led her to begin illustrating their experiences to process feelin...
On the Psychology of Money with Sarah Bennett-Nash
Today I’m exploring something that feels especially important right now: financial literacy, and more specifically, our relationship with money, value and financial wellbeing.I’m joined by author and financial expert Sarah Bennett-Nash,...
In conversation with Catherine Carr on Siblings and How They Shape Us
Hi everyone, excited to share my conversation with award-winning audio documentary maker and author Catherine Carr about how sibling relationships shape identity, drawing on Carr’s podcast Relatively and her new book 'Who’s the Favourite?' ...
On Poetry, Metaphor and Chronic Pain: Language as a Tool for Healing with Sarah Fletcher
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, I interview Sarah Fletcher, a British-American poet who grew up in the UK and later pursued poetry and a PhD researching physical...
Exploring Poetry, Identity, and Healing with Theresa Lola
In this episode, Theresa Lola, an accomplished poet and published author, shares her journey from growing up in Nigeria to becoming a published poet in the UK. She discusses her fascination with poetry, especially grief poetry, and how it helps...
Empowering Neurodivergent Kids: A Chat with Talya Bruck on Savanna Therapeutic Stories
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, we sit down with Talya Bruck, a late-diagnosed neurodivergent drama therapist and the founder of Savanna Thera...
The Healing Power of the Arts: A Conversation with Daisy Fancourt
In this episode, Daisy Fancourt joins me to discuss her new book, 'Art Cure,' that explores the profound impact of arts on mental and physical health. The conversation touches on various aspects of how engagement in creative activit...
BONUS EPISODE - BOOK EXCERPT
Excited to share this reading - the foreward from my book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading.I hope you enjoy it, and...
My Most Anticipated Books of 2026
In this episode, we dive into the most buzzworthy and anticipated books shaping the literary landscape this year — a vibrant mix of fiction, nonfiction, history, philosophy, and genre-bending storytelling that reflects our cultural fascinations...
A Literary and Bibliotherapeutic Gift Guide This Holiday Season
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, listeners are invited into a warm, fireside exploration of meaningful literary and bibliotherapeutic gifts for the festive season. Grounded in the belief that stories can he...
40 Books from 2025 You Need to Read in 2026
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah I reflect on the most powerful, inspiring, and thought-provoking books of 2025 — the ones you’ll want to carry with you into 2026. From breakout literary fiction and moving memoir...
The Romantic Comedy and Bibliotherapy
In this week’s episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, we turn our attention to one of the most joyful yet underestimated genres in literature — the romantic comedy. So often dismissed as light or escapist, the rom-com is in fact one...
Life Imitates Art: AI, Relationships, and the Insights of Utopian & Dystopian Fiction
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, I explore how contemporary fiction and nonfiction depict love and relationships between humans and artificial intelligence. ...
The Role of Romantic Storytelling in Bibliotherapy
In this week’s episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, we explore the quiet, transformative power of love stories — and how the romance genre can become a profound tool for emotional healing. From the classic worlds of Jane Austen to...
Reading Love in the 21st Century: Lessons from Erich Fromm’s The Art of Loving
In this week’s episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, I explore Erich Fromm’s timeless classic The Art of Loving and reflect on what it can teach us about love in our modern world. I look at how Fromm’s vision of love — as ...
On Love, Loneliness, and the Literature That Heals Us
In this opening episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, I trace love’s enduring role as literature’s greatest subject, and explore love not as sentimentality, but as a profound human discipline that shapes how we live, connect, and h...
Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah - Season 4 Trailer
Excited to share Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah is back with Season 4!In Season 4, I’ll be sharing my 40 best books of 2025 to read in 2026 across both fiction and non-fiction — and yes there are some surprise reads in there!We’l...
Bibliotherapy in Bloom: Japanese Literature to Read This Spring
In today's episode, we’re immersing ourselves in the gentle, contemplative, and often transformative world of Japanese literature. As we step into the season of spring, a time of renewal, impermanence, and quiet growth, I can’t th...
Dostoyevsky and Bibliotherapy: Could One Say Dostoyevsky Understood Human Beings Better Than Freud?
In today's episode, I explore the psychological depth of Dostoyevsky’s literature through the lens of bibliotherapy. Could the Russian novelist understand the human psyche more intimately than Freud himself? We examine key characters, existenti...
My Most Anticipated Spring & Summer Reads – Fiction and Non-Fiction Picks for 2025
Dear Listener,Hello and welcome back to Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah—the podcast where books are more than stories—they're medicine for the soul. Today, I’m thrilled to share some of the spring and summer reads that I am most e...
Healing Together: The Power of Group Bibliotherapy
In this episode of Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah, we explore how the shared experience of reading can become a profound path to healing. From grief support circles to juvenile justice programs and women's shelters, I share examples of ...
Neurodiversity & Bibliotherapy (Plus My Top Ten Books on Neurodiversity)
The concept of neurodiversity has gained widespread recognition over the past few decades, advocating for a shift in perspective from viewing neurological differences as deficits to acknowledging them as natural variations of the human brain. N...
Books Every Parent Needs After Watching Netflix’s 'Adolescence'
In today's episode, inspired by the Netflix series Adolescence, I explore the emotional and social challenges facing today’s teenage boys and suggest a curated list of both fiction and nonfiction books to help parents better understand...
My Conversation with Sangeetha Menon on the Healing Power of Creativity and Stories
I hope you’ve been enjoying SEASON 3 of my podcast Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah so far! Episodes published to date discuss literary journaling and reflective practice with literacy coach and bookologist Stephanie Affinito, books that celebrate...
The Intersection Between Bibliotherapy & Romantasy
Dear Listener,Join us as we explore the growing popularity of romantasy and its connection to bibliotherapy. Discover how these captivating narratives offer not only escapism but also emotional healing, resilience, and self-discov...