The World of Graphic Medicine.
Voicenotes from Me, Your Resident Bibliotherapist. Podcast +Transcript
PODCAST
Listen to the podcast episode here.
TRANSCRIPT
Hi everyone! In today’s voice note I wanted to touch on the role of graphic medicine in bibliotherapy.
Graphic medicine is an interdisciplinary field that combines the medium of comics with healthcare topics. It encompasses the creation, study, and use of graphic narratives to explore the experiences of illness, caregiving, and the medical profession. Graphic narratives are storytelling formats that combine visual art and text to convey a story or information. They encompass a range of genres and styles, from comic books and graphic novels to educational and informational comics.
Graphic medicine bridges the fields of medicine, humanities, and visual arts, encouraging collaboration between healthcare professionals, patients, educators, and artists.
Origins and Development
The concept of using comics for health education and communication dates back several decades, but the term "graphic medicine" was popularised in the early 2000s by Dr. Ian Williams, a physician and cartoonist, and has a wonderful website and platform called Graphicmedicine.org that hosts many helpful resources on graphic medicine and book recommendations, that is worth a look.
Graphic medicine bridges the fields of medicine, humanities, and visual arts, encouraging collaboration between healthcare professionals, patients, educators, and artists. The graphic narratives simplify complex medical concepts, making them more accessible to both patients and healthcare providers, solving for communication gaps between them. They are used as educational tools in medical training and public health campaigns.
Let’s focus on the Role of Graphic Medicine in Bibliotherapy
Graphic narratives provide a platform for patients to share their stories, offering readers insight into the lived experiences of those with various health conditions, similar to their own, resulting in connection and identification with the characters/protagonists. This can lead to us connecting with our experiences and emotions, enabling us to be more self-empathetic, inviting in self-compassion and self-understanding.
The graphic narratives simplify complex medical concepts, making them more accessible to both patients and healthcare providers. They are used as educational tools in medical training and public health campaigns.
Graphic narratives use panels arranged in a sequence to tell a story. The order and layout of panels guide the reader through the narrative, creating a sense of time and movement. Visual and textual elements often employ symbolism and metaphor to add layers of meaning to the narrative. Visual storytelling also convey emotions powerfully and immediately, enhancing the reader's connection to the characters and narrative.