Hi everyone!

It's Friday again and we are excited to publish the third episode of “Pages and Play”. This episode explores how bibliotherapy and play therapy support young minds through identification, representation, diversity, and inclusion.

The discussion outlines bibliotherapy stages: identification (“shock of recognition”), representation across identities, diversity of perspectives, and inclusion as true belonging, with research noting fiction builds empathy, reduces prejudice, and strengthens theory of mind. Practical techniques include letter-writing to protagonists and narrative therapy (externalising problems, deconstructing dominant narratives, re-authoring hopeful stories).

A fictionalised case of Kya Clark from "Where the Crawdads Sing" in play therapy illustrates the process of navigating feelings of abandonment, conditional love beliefs, and finding belonging through nature narratives. We recommend a variety of book and resources including “My Grandmother’s Hands,” Robbie Harris’s “Let’s Talk About…” series, Elliot Page’s “Pageboy,” as well as reading lists on booktherapy.io and other diversity-focused sites.

You can listen here:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598949/episodes/18909353 Or wherever you listen to podcasts. Simply search for "Pages and Play" and subscribe so you don't miss an episode!

I hope you enjoy this episode and Pages and Play Series! And as always we’d love to hear your reflections and thoughts.

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Chapters:

00:00 Welcome to Pages and Play

03:26 Identification and the Shock of Recognition

05:41 Representation, Diversity and Inclusion

08:27 Inclusive Language in Play

10:30 How Fiction Builds Empathy Skills

16:28 Representation and Role Models

19:17 Letter Writing in Bibliotherapy

21:40 Narrative Therapy

25:12 Libraries for Reading Diversity

27:13 Case Study - Kaya in Play Therapy

37:17 Play Prompt

38:14 Book Recommendations and Resources

41:38 Closing Thoughts

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Find out more at Book Therapy or Play Refuge

Or email us at bijal@booktherapy.io or freya@playrefuge.co.uk