Introduction

Supported by meta-analysis which reinforce both physical places and places of thought through the propensity of one or several issues that settle at a mind stage, bibliotherapy appears as a therapy that helps in the fight against numerous symptomatic diseases and psychological. In ancient Greece, the elders argued that literature – the thought stimulating result –, was an extremely valuable spiritual practice. In this sense, the general clinical practice of bibliotherapy can rise among several medical and therapeutic scenarios. Bibliotherapy is thereby, an expressive therapy which uses individual relationship (creator, observer, or reader) towards multiple literary contents as well as, sometimes, the accomplishment of a personal diary, written by the patient, as therapy underlining in line with the view of Marc (2005).

The Literary Art in Line with Bibliotherapy

The manifesto use of reading and storytelling as a therapeutic measure has been discussed extensively during the course of the 20th century. Originally associated with the inner circle of the libraries in accordance with the practice of medicine, bibliotherapy diverged slowly into a more open field in helping professions. Thus, since the promotion of the use of books by patients with alcohol problems or mild neuroses, or as support for parents and relatives of patients, in the 1930′s, Karl and William Menninger (of the Menninger Foundation) to the firstly credited course in bibliotherapy offered by Villanova University Graduate School of Library Science in 1980, reveals an increasing development de facto of the physiological-literary therapy.

The Benefits of Bibliotherapy

In bibliotherapy, is not achieved a repetitive mental state by including a proper and unique psychotherapeutic model, but in contrast and like Amy (2008) refutes, when a person learns that they are not exclusive with their problem, can result in multiple doors of communication that unlock, and can place one on the road to recuperation or come to terms with a difficulty. In consideration of the individual or group state and through the implemented therapy, the following benefits can be post-achieved in singular individuals: (i) hyper-stimulation of critical thinking and encourage evaluation of moral values; (ii) deliverance of emotional stress and release of emotions; (iii) help to build foster awareness that the individual is not alone in their sentiments or the first and the only one to come across to a specific problem; and (iv) help to evolve an enhanced self-concept and self-awareness. As beneficial results in the group can register the subsequent benefits: (i) diminution of anxiety levels by the sharing of mutual experiences and intensification of the sense of belonging; (ii) provide an answer for students who are reluctant to find help for themselves; (iii) ability to see the approach of others and strengthen empathy; (iv) convey to a better comprehension of group expectations and norms; and (v) extend of sensitization beyond one’s own background, family, community, and friends.

As in art therapy according to Marrs (1995), bibliotherapy offers an effective low-cost alternative within usefulness in conflict resolution or problem solving: (i) introduces forms in which other individuals have found and settled problems; (ii) generates numerous answers to a problem; (iii) assists children to discuss problems more liberating; (iv) provides cross-information needed to clear up problems; (v) helps persons to plan constructive and realistic resolutions to problems; and (vi) encourages children and teachers to work collaboratively to answer difficulties.

Bibliotherapy also has a number of cognitive benefits for the intellectual side of the student, since it involves guided reading; student will increase their literacy skills, critical thinking capabilities such as analysis, drawing conclusions, decision-making, and problem solving.

Conclusion

What is necessary from the standpoint of clinical vs. educational/humanistic is the adjustment of different approaches and applications to realize how each individual or group reacts to the literary therapy, not generally, but accessing to their microscopic response reaction, as well as the focus on the mental health status of individual patients. In order to achieve results mostly positives, bibliotherapy selects relevant reading material to the patient’s case life in a dynamic process of interaction between the momentum personality of the patient and literature affectation.

Thereby, as in consulting, bibliotherapists must explore the relationship of a person or group with the books relating to them (whether, works of philosophy, poetry and other creative non-fiction), to remedy symptomatic negative aspects, increase dreams and challenges and to inflate the tailor-made self-esteem. On the other hand, combating the inflexible thinking (common both to anxiety and depression), which self-perpetuates due to certain forms of thought, with non-pharmacological therapeutic of literature’s healing power of adventure and knowledge, is a personal, social and interaction added value.

In the literary therapeutic procedure, is suggested by Freud, “Storytellers are valuable allies and their testimony is to be rated high, for they usually know many things between heaven and earth that are not yet dreamt of in our philosophy” (Freud, 1956, p. 27).

References

Augé, M. (2005). Não Lugares Introdução a uma Antropologia da Sobremodernidade. Manuel A. Pacheco: Editora 90°.

Marrs, R. W. (1995). A meta-analysis of bibliotherapy studies. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23 (6), pp. 843-870.

Recob, A. (2008). Bibliotherapy: When Kids Need Books. [e-book]. iUniverse: United States of America. Available at: <http://books.google.pt/books?id=MbJWLGJGzioC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> [Accessed 18 March 2013].

Freud, S. (1956). Delusion and Dream and Other Essays. Philip Rieff (Ed.) Boston: The Beacon Press.

They sit and have dinner with the local mayor, who opened up his home for the night, when he calls his daughter to bring tea. The rattle of the tray precedes her appearance.

The break in the constant bravado, necrophilia, and otherwise montage of landscapes is dramatic. The anticipation, born out of conditioning to a usual Hollywood plot, is that she will be gazed upon by one of the males, being that is so innocent she will be overcome by this look – a dirty secret is sure to be born in the Mayor’s house. The candle goes out, she lights it again and reappears in all her pure beauty.

“The presence of woman is an indispensable element of spectacle in normal narrative film, yet her visual presence tends to work against the development of a story line, to freeze the flow of action in moments of erotic contemplation”, according to Mulvey. And if ever there was a freezing, then Ceylan induces it.

The following is an excerpt from a review: “When the lights go out, he calls for his daughter, Cemile (Cansu Demirci), to bring lanterns, and each man, in turn, is awed by her beauty when she turns her gaze on him. In this humble place, these men have found the utterly unexpected. Kenan cries…” (http://www.reelingreviews.com/onceuponatimeinanatolia.htm)

Mulvey also states that the appearance of a woman induces fear of castration hence the assertion of fetish and voyeurism which is found in most cinema. The fear, as well as the allure, is striking in this scene; there is awe in the men’s faces. The daughter’s gaze, however, is never returned. There is no male assertion of fetish or voyeurism. It is one big anti-climax – as is most of the film – and in a sense the perfect feminine moment. The daughter disappears from the plot empowered in her appearance, never uncovered, never conquered.

The panoptic gaze of authority – the father – is constantly thwarted throughout, constantly shown to be inadequate, constantly frustrated, especially while the entourage is in the outback. The search for the dead body is scattered and struggles to find its libidinal target. The law, it seems, can’t even take hold of a “dead body” or “brittle woman” in the countryside of Anatolia.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan inverts the bland fetish and voyeurism of mainstream cinema and shows brilliantly how the masculine attempt to grip its subject requires the right context. This context is provided by the humdrum of a town towards the end of the movie. The change in atmosphere stark and the conventional cinematic experience resumes.

It is fair to say that the UK has something of a love for the sliced and diced piece of meat from the east, aptly reflected on by comedian Arthur Smith who claims he first fell in love with doner kebabs in Paris, before the dish became more common in the UK. Popular TV culture offers a good reflection of societal values and in the UK it is not without its share of references to the kebab; note, for instance, Harry Enfield’s character “Stavros the kebab shop owner” which was popular in the 1990s.

The taste and flavour of kebab differs region by region, with the midlands preferring a more garlicky variant of the archetypal north London doner kebab. There are now 20 different variants of doner meat produced for the UK market alone.

The kebab’s popularity owes a great deal to migration of Turkish Cypriot, then mainland Turkish and Kurdish workers, in search opportunities. Utter the phrase, “do you want chilli sauce with that?” and few Brits will be at a loss to designate who uttered the phrase and at what location – most will be able to tell you that it was a Turkish chap in a kebab shop… or a Greek for that matter.

Stereotypes are indicative of an intuitive identification by a mass of people, often conveyed, especially in the UK, with warm affection. This is just the case with those held in regard to the doner kebab. One episode of the BBC’s BAFTA nominated 2007 series, Pulling, has a sketch where Sharon Horgan’s character, Donna, has a kebab stolen from her but no one takes her subsequent lament seriously. There are traces in the sketch of the doner kebab’s struggle to forge something of an identity as a serious food after often being equated as a late night after party food. Of course, the idea that the doner kebab is a dish to be had after a drink is largely true and is part of the affinity that Brits have with it. Where would the late-nighter be without the filling and tasty dish to counteract the effects of vast amounts of alcohol? Often consumed as a forward looking cure for a hangover, the kebab is held aloft after hours as much as it is during diner hours.

The razor sliced thin meat that is doner is now frequently served with or as an aside with shish kebab. There is, amongst the growing eating-out-culture in the UK, a number of kebab shops taking their place in trendier areas where slow food is more common than the faster variant. Upper Street, Islington, for instance, has a high proportion of kebab outlets offering both the ambience and setting of a more traditional Istanbul kebab restaurant.

Harringay also has a number of established outlets which are full to the rafters throughout the week with people looking to both eat in and take away. These are the very same areas, starting from the top of Green Lanes and heading central, where kebabs began their life in London. That Harringay is often called little Istanbul is testament to the sights and aroma created by the kebab shops that line the corridor. There still remains enough of an exotic nature to the dishes to keep British culture interested. New recipes and innovations take place alongside older traditions that are introduced into the UK new.

You can’t go much further north in England that Newcastle. Here again, the kebab has taken hold with a number of establishments dotting the high street. It’s no surprise then that local icon Cheryl Cole recently exclaimed that she’s going to show Will-I-Am, the RnB producer, what the north East is all about in terms of a night out by referencing the doner, she said: “I’m taking Will to Bigg market for a kebab. I’m planning to take him out up there.”

There is a distinctive taste, preparation and presentation to the UK kebab. Meat served in pitta, for instance, is a UK trait. Similarly, UK chilli sauce has a different taste than the Anatolian variant. There are also variations of doner kebab, the middle-eastern shawarma, and the Greek gyro, with each taking hold in different areas of the country.

Values is, of course, still a major factor in the kebab’s popularity and is surely one of the main reasons that kebab one of the most popular dishes in the UK. With most kebab shops keeping prices below £5, consumers often find more value in the ready to eat kebab then they might in buying and preparing meat with a salad side.

The popularity of the dish shows no sign of abating. The continued migration from Turkey supplements the workforce in the UK in order to meet growing demand for kebabs. As with the first and second wave immigrants into the UK from Anatolia, Turks and Kurds find ready employment and a stepping stone into UK life through kebab establishments. The restaurants are a bridge into economic and possibly more importantly cultural life in Britain. As places that are becoming ubiquitously British, kebab outlets provide a two-way contact between the vendor and the local community. It is a mutual situation of cross culturing where channels are opened to the sharing of ideas and traditions. This communication, and the food provided in the process, is part and parcel of everyday UK life – a feature that is continuing to grow in economic visibility.

This is a collection of research papers which show how ageism works as a culturally produced and sustained prejudice.
The papers are accessible and show a good range of methods and populations used in the research. To summarise the impressions left on this middle-aged reader, the key ideas have been given short descriptors.

‘Silly old twit’
Maybe the aged are feared by younger people who don’t want to be reminded that one day we all grow old, lose our social position and then die. Despite cultural myths like the Eastern, collectivist cultures value their elders, the research finds some very consistent attitudes across cultures. In short, older people are seen as possessing a positive characteristic, warmth, and also a negative characteristic, incompetence. Almost absurdly, the most liked older person is one who is obviously not competent!

‘There, there dearie’
One of the most chilling papers, shows how prevalent the use is of simplified language (kind of baby talk) by health professionals when interacting with older patients. Ageist treatment can involve being spoken down to, not given full attention and assumed to be incapable of benefiting from certain treatments.

‘Turn off the TV. It will make you feel better.’
There is a correlation between number of hours spent watching television and the viewer’s negative attitudes about ageing. The elderly watch the most television of all age groups . If watching alone, they may have little chance to talk about the negative image portrayed of the aged. An interesting simple intervention of asking older viewers to keep a television log with brief details of how the aged are portrayed, resulted in consciousness raising amongst the participants.

There is plenty to question about some of the laboratory based studies as well as some issues about how to define and measure ageism.

Fu’s screenplay is based on a short story, of the same name, by New York author and Skidmore College professor Steven Millhauser. His story first appeared in Harper’s Magazine (July 1994), a few years later in his anthology The Knife Thrower and Other Stories (1999). Millhauser then incorporated the teen girls’ nightly activities into his novella Enchanted Night (1999). Jeffrey Moss wrote and directed the 17-minute short film “The Sisterhood of Night” (2006) from Millhauser’s story. It’s a close adaptation.

So what is “The Sisterhood of Night” about? In Millhauser’s story, narrated by an anonymous adult (probably a father), teen girls meet in the woods and other parts of town in small groups every night. They sit apart for an hour or more in silence, saying and doing nothing. The girls’ nightly activities are secret, however. This “sisterhood” is by invitation only; leader Mary Warren chooses girls by giving them a small piece of paper with a black marking. They then meet behind the school after dark and go to the woods for their initiation.

One day Mary invites Emily Gehring to the sisterhood. After she is thrust out for breaking the vow of silence, Emily snitches on them to the local newspaper. She names all the girls she met in the woods, explains the invitation, and says she was forced to fondle the girls who fondled her in return. Emily also says the girls have strange markings on their bodies. She accuses the sisterhood of same-gender sexual play and witchcraft.

In response to Emily’s accusations, Mary also talks to the local paper. She says none of what Emily claims is true, that the sisterhood is a “noble pure society dedicated to silence,” and that the townspeople should trust their daughters. Yet Mary doesn’t say what happens at the secret meetings and refuses to name names. The townspeople don’t know whom to believe.

Rumors begin to fly of wild dances and drinking blood. The girls become depressed. In this tense atmosphere, budding classical pianist and sisterhood member Lavinia commits suicide with sleeping pills. Guilt-ridden, Emily tells the newspaper what really happened – nothing. She apologizes to Lavinia’s parents. Emily also praises the sisterhood, in words reminiscent of Mary’s story that make some wonder if Emily is being coerced into a false confession. The powerful hold of this secret society upon its members worries the town most.

One night, a local doctor decides to follow his depressed daughter to the woods in order to discover what really happens. He tells the paper that, from a distance, he watched the girls do nothing for a half hour. Almost no one believes him. They say the father’s excursion was a set-up by the society so there would be nothing to report, that he didn’t stay long enough, that he missed secret signals, or that he was covering for his daughter.

The ending is inconclusive. Some parents punish their teen girls harshly, while others wonder, “What shall we do with our daughters?” and dream of innocent childhoods. The unnamed narrator decides the secret of the sisterhood is obvious: silence. They wish “not to be known” and to blend into the night – turning their faces away from parents and society like typical angry, rebellious teenagers.

Enchanted Night is more innocuous. Millhauser follows a dozen characters around a southern Connecticut town on a moonlit night. They include a group of teen girls who wear black masks and break into other people’s houses, looking for specific items. They also leave handwritten notes that say “We are your daughters.”

Only one person meets the girls – an older single woman. She offers them lemonade and light jazz. After they leave, the woman says she understands the girls: “They cannot stay in their rooms alone. … They must go out into the night and never be known. Because when you are known, then you lose yourself, but when you are hidden, then you are free.”

Exciting stuff, isn’t it? I’d love to know more about Marilyn Fu’s screenplay. The official synopsis below just isn’t enough. What has changed? What will remained the same?

The Sisterhood of Night chronicles three girls’ unique and provocative alternative to the loneliness of adolescence and the digital abyss, along the way revealing the tragedy and humor of growing up–unprecedented in an Internet age that is here to stay, and timeless in its resounding echoes of betrayal and friendship.

Follow “The Sisterhood of Night” on Facebook, IMDb, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, and the official website.

This accessible, honest, positive and practical book is an excellent start to anyone’s understanding of schizophrenia.

The authors manage a delicate balance between being positive about the help available and yet recognising that many sufferers may have had negative experiences of mental health services in the past. There is a presentation of both the difficult side effects and the potential benefits of drug therapies. Each sufferer is acknowledged to be experiencing schizophrenia in an individual way and there is a range of suggestions about psychological therapies, work and social activities which might suit some and not others. The book is not an in-depth academic study of the research on the causes or treatment of the condition, but it is a very useful resource for sufferers, family and friends who are just beginning to make sense of a bewildering diagnosis.

Life in the capital city of London is another story. Here Georgie has experienced the glamour of being an international movie star and teen celebrity. She is most famous for portraying Lucy Pevensie in Walden Media‘s “Chronicles of Narnia” films. Georgie has received nine nominations for her role as Lucy, winning four. She has since appeared in the independent films “Perfect Sisters” and “The Sisterhood of Night,” which will be released this year. During her film career Georgie has co-starred with some of Hollywood’s biggest names: Abigail Breslin, Eddie Izzard, James McAvoy, Liam Neeson, Kal Penn, Rusty Schwimmer, Mira Sorvino, and Tilda Swinton. Georgie also met four members of the British royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II, at two Narnia premieres in London. 

Other than meeting famous people and receiving acting nominations, teen movie stars also enjoy being photographed and wearing glamorous clothes. It is here that Georgie has shined. Many London photographers have captured her charm, humor, and beauty – one of them twice.

Fans first saw Georgie and her Narnia co-stars in the work of Nick Stevens and Simon James for “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” (2005). Andrew MacPherson captured an older Georgie for “Prince Caspian” (2008). Then Sarah Dunn conducted a shoot for overseas promotion of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010). 

Georgie has since appeared in many publicity and fashion shoots. Faye Thomas conducted her first in March 2010. That September, Alisa Connan captured Georgie in nearly 70 photos, both fun and serious. Months later, in “Light of My Life” Flaunt Magazine featured Georgie in her first fashion shoot, the work of Gitte Meldgaard. The actress enlightened fans with her fashion philosophy. W Magazine followed in January 2011 with “Little Women.” Rineke Dijkstra captured teen beauties Georgie (without makeup!), Chloe Grace Moretz, Abigail Breslin, Nicola Peltz, and Hailee Steinfeld. Six months after filming “Perfect Sisters,” Caroline Barnes photographed a vintage Georgie for a February 2012 issue of 1883 Magazine. 

Georgie has also made a brief foray into fashion. In January 2011 she walked the runway in Florence, Italy, wearing the clothes of Alberta Ferretti, one of her favorite designers. One month later, Georgie attended the show of Topshop Unique, one of her favorite brands, at London Fashion Week. She even saw Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

What’s happened since? Faye Thomas has photographed Georgie again and she’s the first. Out of 1200 photos she produced last September, Faye whittled them down to a “top 10.” On January 22, we saw the first image from that shoot, which is featured here. London agent Hamilton Hodell even replaced its official image on Georgie’s profile. Fans hope more images will be released soon.

With “Perfect Sisters” and “The Sisterhood of Night” premiering later this year, and the promise of more captivating photo shoots, Georgie Henley has an exciting future. The exhilarating world of London has arrived at her doorstep and Georgie is thriving. Or maybe it’s just Yorkshire grit.

If the reader is looking for a clear, entertaining and thoughtful introduction to Capital, this is an excellent choice. What a joy for those who loved the language and imagery of the Communist Manifesto but fell at the Capital with all its formulae and diversions. This is a very accessible account of the work’s production and some of the reactions it provoked. There are extracts from text, interpretations and discussions of how to counter some common and facile criticisms of Marx’s theory. Key ideas about value, production and the ever increasing threats and re-balancing in capitalism are clearly presented. While there never was a clear time table for the demise of capitalism, no reader can be left unaware that exploitation is at the heart of the system.

Wheen states Marx’s favourite motto as ‘de omnibus dubitandum ‘ or everything should be questioned. There are some witty digs at the varieties of post-modernists who spend their time decoding/reading cultural artefacts (rubbish really). Maybe too busy to focus on the key idea that the economic determines the cultural and not the other way round.? Maybe time for a read of the original text? For those readers old enough to recall when Althusser was the Marxist ,most lauded in sociology departments, it is sobering to see how Wheen dismisses his legacy as mostly fraudulent scholarship.

For readers who really can’t face taking on Capital but need to get to grips with key Marxist ideas, Wheen suggests they read Marx’s very clear lectures published as Value, Price and Profit.

This is packed with details about the organisational, political and theoretical disputes of the early psychoanalysts. It presents clear evidence of the socialist/social perspectives of the Freudians who were enthusiastic pioneers of liberating all from the oppressions located within themselves and within society.

For those not used to considering the practical and political uses of psychoanalysis, reading this book can be an extraordinary experience.

• It dispels the myth of psychoanalysis being based on mostly hysterical, middle class women. Men, especially young adult men from all classes with problems around impotence were over represented in the clinics.

• There is strong evidence of a socialist perspective in theory and practice with the creation of child guidance clinics, educational programmes for teachers and parents.

• Fascinating accounts of professional jealousies and attempts by the medical/psychiatric establishment to restrict the right to provide analysis
• Moving and shocking details of the expulsion of Jewish analysts and of Jung taking over and working with the Nazi regime.

This is probably more useful to students of the history of the perspective rather than the student needing to understand the key concepts of psychoanalysis.

This book, A History of British Trade Unionism 1700-1998 by W Hamish Fraser 1999 is a riveting read about the politics of economic power over three hundred years. Questions of who should control the work process, how should profits be distributed, what (if any) should the role of the state be and how to balance the collective versus the individual rights are grappled with by successive generations of workers.

The long view of unions shows that who some who sell their labour have been preoccupied with promoting their own welfare at the expense of others. The unskilled and women workers had a long and difficult struggle to get a reasonable deal from employers as well as unions. Fraser’s book leaves the reader with a less naive view of ‘class relations’.