BBC Culture: Textual Healing - Can Fiction Heal?

Practised around the world by psychologists and social workers, and even prescribed by the NHS, bibliotherapy has become something of a buzzword in the past few years, although it has been going for centuries. The ancient Greeks posted signs above library doors, informing readers that they were entering a healing place for the soul. And in the 19th century doctors and psychiatric nurses doled out everything from the Bible to travel literature and works in ancient languages. BBC Culture’s literature writer Hephzibah Anderson and guests Jessie Burton, Alex Wheatle and Ella Berthoud discuss the stories they turn to in times of crisis, and find out whether fiction really does have the power to change our lives for the better.