Dostoyevsky and Bibliotherapy: Could One Say Dostoyevsky Understood Human Beings Better Than Freud?
Posted by Bijal Shah on
Thrilled to share the latest episode on my podcast Bibliotherapy with Bijal Shah (https://bibliotherapywithbijal.substack.com/). In today's episode, I explore the psychological depth of Dostoyevsky’s literature through the lens of bibliotherapy. Could the Russian novelist understand the human psyche more intimately than Freud himself? We examine key characters, existential themes, and the healing potential of Dostoyevsky’s work, comparing literary insight with psychoanalytic theory. From Raskolnikov’s guilt to Ivan Karamazov’s spiritual crisis, this episode uncovers how fiction can mirror the unconscious—and why Dostoyevsky still resonates as a therapeutic force today.
Listen here: https://bibliotherapywithbijal.substack.com/p/dostoyevsky-and-bibliotherapy or wherever you get podcasts. If you prefer to read the podcast script, you can do so here: https://bibliotherapywithbijal.substack.com/p/dostoyevsky-and-bibliotherapy
And if you'd like to learn more about bibliotherapy, it's history, how it works and stories from my bibliotherapy room, you might find my book, Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading a helpful read :) It's been translated into 10 languages so far, with more to come. You can find the edition you'd like to read here
Enjoy this episode ❤🌸
Bijal
(Bibliotherapist & Founder, Book Therapy)