Editor's Note: This two-part series on books for young people was created by teens in NEPM's Media Lab program with support from the NEPM newsroom.
Emely Rumble has always seen the power of words in books, poems and even song lyrics. A licensed clinical social worker, Rumble recently released "Bibliotherapy in the Bronx," her debut book which serves as a tool and a resource for those seeking to understand the power of healing through words.
Rumble is now a Springfield resident, but she lived in the Bronx, New York, before moving to Western Massachusetts. She spent 14 years there using books as a form of therapy.
Rumble shared insights from her book in an interview with Au'dahcey Hickson from NEPM's Media Lab. She's a recent participant of NEPM's Media Lab summer cohort.
Au'dahcey Hickson, Media Lab: I'm so glad to have you here as a guest. For those who don't know, can you define Bibliotherapy?
Emely Rumble, LICSW, author: Absolutely. So the term bibliotherapy was actually first coined in 1916, and then the American Library Association defined it in 1966 as the selected use of books for healing. So what I like to say when people ask me like, what is bibliotherapy? And how would a therapist incorporate bibliotherapy into sessions or into a healing process with a client? It's really about the way that engaging with literature, poetry, and stories helps us to self reflect, helps to validate our experiences, and supports our self-discovery.
How do you identify the proper form of bibliotherapy to people you work with?
That's a great question. So one of the things that therapists do when we're working with a client, especially if it's someone we've never met before, is we conduct an intake. So it gives us an opportunity to understand someone's mental health challenges, someone's history, whether that's their medical history, psychiatric history. We're trying to get a sense of what brings you to therapy and what do you want to work on?
And so in the same way, I conduct a reading intake where I ask my client, you know, is reading something that you enjoy doing, right? If a client tells me that they do enjoy reading or that they're open to trying bibliotherapy, then my reading intake will essentially ask them, you know, what's the last book that you read that you loved, that you chucked across the room, that made you cry? Right. Like, I want to know what kind of books or poems do you read that elicit an emotional response?
Sometimes clients will tell me, you know, they're not really big readers, but they love music. It's like, okay, tell me a song that you love. We might print out the lyrics to that song and use those lyrics as an entry point into poetry therapy, because the whole point is that when we're talking about our experiences through the lens of a fictional character or through the lens of literature, we feel less vulnerable. We feel less defensive. It can be really hard to come to therapy and tell somebody all your deepest, darkest thoughts and fears and emotions. And so, that whole intake process for me is just a series of questions that are going to give me some information on how to engage you.
In the book, you talk about traumatic experiences for young kids who've been through the foster care system, or faced struggle due to the color of their skin. What advice would you give them?
You know, unfortunately, there are a lot of young people who are raising themselves and may not have the support necessary to encounter life struggles and not be completely knocked down by it. Right? So if you're someone who's out here just navigating life and you don't have a safety net of support, whether that's, you know, parents or extended family or just a circle of good friends that have your back, you know, it can be really lonely in the world.
But I always like to remind people, especially young people — look for the healers, look for the helpers. Like, there are so many good people in the world. Sometimes we can get caught up in the fact that, like, yeah, there are real systemic things that we have to navigate and that feels super oppressive. But that's not the only thing that exists in life. Like there's also amazing people. There's friendships to be made, there's new experiences to be had, and there will be dark days. But dark days are not the only days. You will find your place in the world. You will find your people and you belong. You belong. So always like, own that and be you. And do you stay true to you?
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I am just so happy to be here, and it's so dope to me that like, young folk are reading the book and resonating with the book. Because before I became Literapy NYC, my private therapy practice, I was a school social worker in the Bronx for 12 years, and I really started this practice because I was thinking of ways to engage young people that wouldn't be so, like, stigmatized. I felt like I was the school counselor where kids were like, 'yeah, we good, Miss Emely, we're not coming to the counseling room. Like, I don't need people to know that I see you.' And so what I would do was go into classrooms and work with the English teachers to make stories come to life. So we would be reading in the classroom and I would get the kids engaged... How did you guys feel about this character? Who would you be friends with? Who do you not like? Right. Like just getting them to emotionally connect to characters and stories. And then I'd make the lessons that we discussed therapeutic. So I was kind of like bringing the counseling outside of my office into the classroom. My heart has always been working with young people, so I'm just grateful. And if you're a young person out there who's read the book, I really hope that you know, it speaks to you and that you glean something from it that empowers you and helps you to find your voice.
Emely Rumble is the author of "Bibliotherapy in the Bronx." Emely, thank you for joining us today.
Thank you for having me.
Rumble shares her expertise through @Literapy_NYC, her dedicated platform on Instagram, TikTok, and Podia, offering educational content on bibliotherapy and mental health.
This is a production of the NEPM Media Lab.
