Vol. 1 No. 2 (2025): Encounters, Paths and Challenges in Troubled Times. Part 2
As the end of summer approaches and we look forward to the second biblio/poetry therapy conference in Jyväskylä, Finland, we have completed the second issue of the European Journal for Biblio/Poetry Therapy and continue to publish edited and reviewed versions of the theoretical presentations and practical workshops of the 1st European Biblio/Poetry Therapy Conference held in October 2024.
The balance between the theoretical and practical parts of the second issue clearly shows that biblio/poetry therapy is more practice than theory. But I believe it is important to have the appropriate theories and methodologies in the background to help us work more effectively and to examine the results and positive effects as well as challenges. This issue includes several studies that propose novel theoretical frameworks for approaching the mechanisms of biblio/poetry therapy and meaning-making processes of reception and creation. The theoretical section includes studies that present the fundamentals, possible approaches and steps of developmental and clinical work that can be carried out through expressive and narrative approaches of biblio/poetry therapy. The second part presents colorful and rich examples of practical implementation from a wide variety of countries. The presentation of these practices is important because the authors share their experiences and provide inspiration for professionals working with biblio/poetry therapy, offering insight into the many different approaches and methodologies of biblio/poetry therapy applied in community and institutional settings.
In this issue Victoria Field's (United Kingdom) keynote speech will be followed by theoretical papers and bibliotherapeutic interpretations by Torsten Pettersson (Sweden), Manca Marinčič (Slovenia), Dimitra Didangelou (Belgium), and Tamara M. Trebes (Austria), and then by insights into practical applications as approached by Fani Giannakopoulou and Ruth Bezzina (Greece and Malta), Tamar Kichli Borochovsky (Israel), Deborah Burns and Anne-Marie Smith (United Kingdom), Efrat Havusha-Feldman (Israel), Maja Cvjetković (Croatia), and Kvetoslava Kotrbová (Slovakia).
In addition to the excellent work of the authors, as always, special thanks go to the anonymous volunteer reviewers who invested a lot of time and energy to ensure that this issue is a high-quality publication.
Wishing you an inspirational and flourishing reading experience,
Judit Béres
(Editor-in-chief)
