Shared Reading: The Ultimate Therapy

Those of us who live their lives in a context of vulnerability are in desperate need of accessible and efficient health care, a safety net that allows them to grow, learn and change. Powerful stories and poems can offer valuable help in that.

Shared Reading brings forth a process of change that follows a universal pattern, in a dynamic cycle of starting, growing, reaping what you have sown, learning and relaxing. Small groups get together to read literary texts, helped by a reading facilitator who reads aloud and engages others to reflect on the text. Through talking and thinking participants learn from each other and grow their inner space. By connecting to others they can experience powerful added therapeutic effects outside of a formal therapeutic context. Shared Reading: The Ultimate Therapy puts forward the transformative power of Shared Reading, illustrated through concrete personal stories and fitting advice for anyone interested in taking up the practice.

Jan Raes is a psychiatrist and an executive company coach. He is a member of the core group of Timotheus and co-founder of training center EPECA. He is one of the founders of the readers collective Het Lezerscollectief, a network of reading facilitators that organizes Shared Reading sessions in many locations and professional sectors and the organization of reference in Flanders and the Netherlands. It is a partner of the International Centre of Shared Reading and works in an international development partnership with The Reader in the UK.