About the Bibliotherapy in the School Library course

School libraries are increasingly recognised as important spaces for supporting wellbeing and connection.

At the same time, many students experience reading as effortful, time-bound or linked to performance. In many school settings, reading is present but shaped by structure and the need to respond. Students may move quickly between tasks, with limited opportunity to slow down or experience a text in a more open way.

This reflects broader shifts in how information is encountered, where reading often takes place across multiple sources, and at speed. In this context, the capacity to pause, return to a text, and stay with it becomes less common, but no less important.

This course introduces a different approach within this context. Rather than prescribing texts, it focuses on creating the conditions in which reading can be experienced in a more open and meaningful way.

Rather than focusing on finding the right book for a particular issue, attention shifts toward what a story may offer a reader.

Reading is not something that can be forced. It is something that can be offered.

A presence-led, invitational approach where a story is offered and space is gently held so students can meet it in their own way, without pressure and without needing to respond or explain.

Offering reading in this way is a skill, and one that this course teaches.

In this approach, reading does not need to be extensive or sustained in order to be meaningful. A story may be met through a poem, a short passage, or a single line. What matters is not how much is read, but how the story is met.

When reading is offered in this way, it is often experienced more slowly, with space for something to deepen.

This reflects a slower, more attentive way of reading, where the quality of the encounter is valued over the quantity of reading.

Grounded in an invitational, presence-led way of working with literature, the course explores how stories can be offered to support reflection, connection and wellbeing, without pressure to perform or interpret.

Designed specifically for school library contexts, the course builds on the existing expertise of school library staff and offers a practical, realistic way of working with reading that sits alongside current practice.

Right for You If

This course is designed for professionals working with children and young people in school and library settings who wish to support wellbeing and connection through reading.

This includes:

• school library staff
• teacher librarians
• library professionals working with children and young people
• educators interested in reading and wellbeing

   

It may also be relevant for those in related roles who are interested in how story can support reflection and connection with children and young people.

No prior experience in bibliotherapy is required.

Learning style

This is a facilitated, experiential course.

Participants learn through:

• guided reading experiences
• structured reflection
• facilitated discussion
• applying learning in practice

 The course is facilitated within a flexible structure, with a recommended timeline that supports learning alongside other participants.

Zoom sessions are offered as an optional extra at different times throughout the course, providing valuable opportunities for group discussion, questions and connection.

Participants leave the course with:

• a clear understanding of bibliotherapy as a reflective reading practice
• practical ways to offer reading experiences in school settings
• increased confidence in supporting students through literature

   

Learning outcomes

Through this course, participants develop understanding, practical skills and confidence in offering reflective reading experiences in school settings.

Participants will:

• develop an understanding of bibliotherapy as a reflective reading practice in school contexts
• understand how children and young people experience reading, including the role of reading identity and engagement
• recognise how meaning arises through the interaction between reader and text
• develop skills in selecting and working with a range of texts, including short forms suitable for school settings
• understand how to offer reading as an invitation, rather than requiring a response
• apply their learning to shape a small reflective reading experience
• recognise appropriate boundaries and referral pathways when working with students

Course structure

Delivered across four levels.

Level 1 – The Reading Lives of Young People
• Explore how children and young people experience reading
• Consider how reading identity may form in school contexts
• Notice how students come to and move away from stories

Level 2 – The Meeting Between Readers and Stories
• Notice how readers and texts meet in different ways
• Explore what allows a story to stay with a reader
• Notice how meaning can emerge as a reader meets a story

Level 3 – Working with Texts in School Settings
• Explore a range of texts
• Consider what a text may offer a reader
• Explore reading aloud as an invitational approach

Level 4 – Shaping a Simple Reading Experience
• Shape a small, reflective reading experience
• Offer a text in a calm, open way
• Reflect on the experience and identify key insights for future practice

Delivery and commitment

Duration: 7 weeks (including a two-week planning period)

Format: Facilitated yet flexible, with a recommended timeline that supports learning alongside other participants

Dates: Monday 31 August – Friday 23 October 2026

Time commitment: Approximately 6 hours per week

CPD Hours: 30 CPD hours in the ALIA CPD Scheme

Certificate: Provided by ALIA

Requirements: Internet access and a device to use the online learning platform (Moodle). Recommended resources include poetry, fiction, short stories, memoirs and nonfiction titles.

Pathways beyond the course

Bibliotherapy Basics

This course forms part of the Bibliotherapy Basics program, offering a foundation in reflective reading approaches that can be applied across a range of library and community settings.The journey continues long after the course ends. Through connection, reflection and growth, the work continues in community.

Graduate Gatherings

A welcoming space for Bibliotherapy Australia alumni to reconnect, explore practice and keep the learning alive through conversation, reflection and mutual encouragement.

Mentoring

Personalised one-to-one guidance for bibliotherapy facilitators, offering a grounded and focused space to clarify your approach, refine your practice and grow with confidence and care. Many participants choose to continue their learning through the Building Bibliotherapy Skills course, where the focus turns to shaping bibliotherapy sessions and the deeper psychology that underpins the practice.

Facilitator

Developed and facilitated by Dr Susan McLaine, Founder of Bibliotherapy Australia and an internationally recognised authority in bibliotherapy practice.

She has worked as an Education Officer in a Children’s Literature Centre and as a university lecturer in contemporary children’s literature, bringing together professional practice, teaching and research in her work with children and young people. She is a published children’s author and a judge for the Children’s Book Council (CBC) awards.

Before founding Bibliotherapy Australia, Susan worked in reader development across public and state libraries for 18 years, including at the Centre for Youth Literature.

More information

Cancellation Policy