The scenario tends to be people who get low moods but cannot see any really obvious visible reason in their life,” she says. “In the past I have lent people Living With a Black Dog. I often pick books with pictures as well as words because I think they accommodate different ways of understanding.”Įtherington has already prescribed adults the Reading Well list. I think books can be starting points for things that are difficult to discuss. “Children with unwell parents often feel very sad and guilty and worry the problem is because they themselves have done something wrong. She is often asked by a parent how to explain a depressed mum or dad to a child, and says that Up and Down Mum, one of the titles selected for the new list, would be useful for joint reading. Books can be starting points for things that are hard to discuss Dr Clare Etherington It’s useful to have resources so that, if you run out of time, you can say: ‘Go and check this out.’” Children with unwell parents can feel sad and guilty. “A GP gets 10 minutes with a patient if you’re lucky, and you can’t do everything. “I don’t think books replace formal counselling and help, but they can empower and help family conversations,” says Etherington. It is free to access from public libraries, and is intended, says the Reading Agency, to “encourage conversation between children and their parents, or carers, about feelings, and to offer support outside of a clinical setting or whilst waiting for treatment”. Aimed at children between seven and 11, the Reading Well for Children list of nonfiction and fiction titles explores topics from anxiety to bullying and staying safe online, as well as looking at conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and physical disabilities. Mum’s Jumper is one of 33 books chosen by health professionals, literary experts and children to support mental health and wellbeing.
Now the Reading Agency is extending the programme to children for the first time.
Since then, 1.2 million readers have borrowed more than 2.3m of the scheme’s books from libraries. A list of titles chosen by experts and available in libraries was put together for GPs and mental health professionals to prescribe to patients, tackling topics from depression to dementia to chronic pain.
Bibliotherapy – the prescription of books as a remedy to ills – has been officially operating in the UK since 2013, when the Reading Agency charity launched the Reading Well Books on Prescription programme, supported by professional health bodies including NHS England and the Royal College of GPs.
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