Comic book therapy is a form of art therapy in which those undergoing rehabilitation or those who have already completed rehabilitation express their experiences through personal narratives within a comics format. The combination of text and image enables patients to process their memories and emotions through two different, yet compatible mediums. Comic book therapy can also be used in a psychotherapeutic setting, whereby clients are encouraged to read specific comic books, often surrounding topics similar to their own diagnoses. Clients are encouraged to present their thoughts and feelings they experienced while reading as well as to draw parallels with their own lived experiences based on the events that occur within the books.^[1] This is done in an effort to reach a cathartic moment of clarity and understanding of one's own life.

Both forms of therapy can be used throughout a patient's treatment process: immediately after diagnosis, throughout rehabilitation, and during the events that follow, including readjustment and general coping.

Comic book therapy is currently being applied to a variety of populations, including patients diagnosed with life-altering diagnoses (i.e. cancer, Dementia, Parkinson's Disease, diabetes, etc.), patients and family members experiencing severe illness or death, families undergoing therapy, sexual assault survivors, and soldiers returning from war.^[2][3][4][5] One such therapy, originally conceptualized by Captain Russel Shilling, is currently being developed by The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).^[6][7][8]

Graphic medicine, originally coined by Ian Williams, is a literary genre that combines the medium of comics and the discourse of medicine. Within the last ten years, graphic stories, which are also referred to as adult themed comics, have slowly become a rising pop-culture trend.^[9] It owes its success in part to the rise of medical humanities, an interdisciplinary study of medicine and healthcare related topics. While medical humanities incorporate a variety of language-based subjects (i.e. philosophy, ethics, religion, etc.), graphic medicine strives to analyze the same healthcare-related topics using an artistic lens. The genre combines the conventionality of text with the eccentricity of images to present intimate narratives related to healthcare or medical experiences. These narratives are also sometimes referred to as "graphic pathologies", as they commonly discuss diagnoses of injury, illness, or disease.

Current professionals within the field are striving to develop a collection of novels that can act not only as a therapeutic tool for patients and their loved ones, but that serve as an educational tool for medical students as well.

The general concepts of graphic medicine and comic book therapy are often used interchangeably as they both strive to develop healthcare-related stories using both text and graphics. There is however a distinction that should be made. Graphic medicine acts as an umbrella term that encompasses a host of therapeutic techniques. Therefore, comic book therapy comfortably fits under its heading as just one of many therapies that the field of graphic medicine investigates.

The foundations of the comics industry began in the early 1920s just after the culmination of the First World War.^[10] Initially starting out as small black-and-white strips, comics predominantly acted as entertaining filler space within national and local magazines and newspapers around the country. It was not until 1929 with the publication of The Funnies #1 that the first collection of comics material came about.^[10] The years following witnessed a spurt of comics publication that lasted up until present day with children and adults alike still knowing names like Batman, Superman, Peanuts, and Calvin and Hobbes.

Professionals within the graphic medicine field trace the history of comics back further than the early 1920s, however. Instead, they claim the origin of their academic field can be traced back to prehistoric cave drawings and man's desire to express himself with pictures.^[11] In this light, professors of graphic medicine and clinicians of comic book therapy include Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mayan and Aztecs drawings, and the great art of the Greeks, the Persians, and the Romans within the history of comic books as well.^[11] They do, of course, begin the story of comics specifically in 1938 with the publication of Action Comics #1, the first to detail the adventures and heroic efforts of Superman.^[12] The development of radio, television, and film only heightened the popularity of comic books and comic book characters; and by 1980, the merchandising of comic books hit an all-time peak.^[12] Today, comic books have slowly begun to matriculate within select topics of academia, now regarded as significant contributions to literary expression, covering topics of medicine, politics, economy, and social change.^[4][11][12]

Since its beginning, graphic medicine as a field of study has steadily become more relevant. As such, the use of comic book therapy as well as its functions have expanded as well. Today, comic books and graphic novels alike are being implemented in a variety of clinical and educational settings, likely due to its efforts in serving a variety of needs for a diverse target audience.^[13] Comic book therapies can serve multiple purposes. Some authors hope to relay information, creating a graphic encyclopedia of sorts.^[14] Therapists often collaborate with patients in comic book therapy to develop a closer relationship based on the tenets of empathy and understanding.^[13][15] Patients, more often than not, are encouraged to process difficult emotions and memories in the attempt to process, readjust, and engage in healthier coping strategies.^[16] Because of its multiple functions, graphic medicine and comic book therapy have been implemented both therapeutically and educationally in the medical field.

• Graphic medicine
• Art therapy
• Psychotherapy
• Bibliotherapy
• Expressive therapy