Presentation at the 8th Slovenian Psychiatric Congress

Prof. Davor Piskač, PhD, participated as an invited speaker at the 8th Slovenian Psychiatric Congress, which was held from 13 to 15 November 2025 in Portorož. In his presentation, “Biblioterapija v teoriji in praksi” (Bibliotherapy in Theory and Practice), he presented a bibliotherapeutic approach that connects literature, emotions, and psychiatric practice.

At the heart of this approach is the literary text. Rather than discussing personal problems, experiences, and emotions directly, the conversation focuses on a literary work and its characters. This allows readers to reflect on their own experiences indirectly, through the situations, decisions, and emotional responses of literary characters.

One of the key tools presented by Piskač is the MED cycle (thought, emotion, event). The model is based on the interconnectedness of the way we think, the emotions that arise from our thoughts, and the events and actions that follow. By analysing these relationships within a literary text, readers can gradually recognise similar patterns in their own experiences.

Conceptual emotional metaphors also play an important role in this process, enabling connections to be made between the emotional experiences of literary characters and those of the reader. Literature thus becomes more than an object of interpretation: it provides a space in which emotions can be recognised, named, and explored.

Piskač also presented the results of research conducted at the Day Hospital for Psychotic Disorders at the Sveti Ivan Psychiatric Clinic in Zagreb, in collaboration with a research team.

The results showed that literary bibliotherapy can stimulate emotional responses, reflection, and personal insight. Of particular interest is an approach in which participants consider the situation of a literary character and attempt to offer the character advice. By discussing the character and their problem, participants maintain a certain degree of emotional distance while simultaneously gaining an opportunity to reflect indirectly on their own experiences.