This month we are joined by Bijal Shah, who is a bibliotherapist, counsellor and author. She is the founder of Book Therapy, which offers individual, couple and group bibliotherapy, literary curation and personalised reading services, as well as bibliotherapy training.

Bijal’s book recommendations have featured in the Guardian, Marie Claire, NBC News, BBC Culture and various other publications. She’s a member of the International Federation of Library Associations and the American Library Association. She is also the author of the non-fiction books, 'The Happiness Mindset', published in 2014, and 'Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading', due to be published on 15th February 2024, currently available for pre-order.
 
Bijal has also completed a post-graduate professional accountancy qualification and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Warwick. She previously worked in Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank and Barclays Capital. She’s a mother of two, and currently resides in Hampstead, London with her husband.

 In this episode we talk about:

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•  How bibliotherapy is used as a prompt in therapy.

• How to talk about yourself through a narrative.

• Techniques that have helped clients; reflective practice - processing emotions with the characters of the books. 

• How those techniques have helped people who come from marginalised groups or more secluded groups (single mothers, asexual individuals) - active techniques to get the feelings out and processed. 

 
And so much more! 

Please connect with Bijal through the links below, and check out her book, which is ready for pre order here!

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