Book Club Adventures

June 2022

There’s nothing like getting lost within the depths of a great book – and the clients agree. Book Club is a group therapy session held at our day program led by one of our Speech Therapists, Erin Alvino. We have some (very proud) book nerds here at Universal, so Erin wanted to capitalize on that and incorporate these clients’ love of reading with Speech Therapy. Erin took the initiative to create a group with both clients and therapists alike who all share in their common love of books and stories. Started over a year ago in the spring of 2021, the clients and therapists meet each Friday to discuss the week’s reading assignments, theorize about what’s coming next, and lead discussion groups on topics stimulated by the readings. Each round a different client gets to choose the book that the group reads next, and we’ve covered many different genres so far – from comedy to drama, to autobiographies and mystery thrillers.

Of course, we are never satisfied with average therapy. After receiving feedback from our clients we decided to bring the book club experience beyond the rehab walls, and what better place to hold a book club outing than the illustrious library of Barnes & Nobles? Last week, the speech department led our first Book Club community outing to our local Livingston B&N where they indulged in some afternoon coffee, perhaps a pastry or two, and shared in discussions and readings. The clients also had time to explore the endless rows of bookshelves to add to their personal libraries and to find inspiration for future book clubs. Our book club outing is going to take place once a month, a perfect opportunity to satisfy our hearts’ longing for the library. Because as we all know…

A room without books is like a body without a soul.

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