Background

Bibliotherapy is the therapeutic use of reading to help mental or psychological disorders. There are various methods of delivering bibliotherapy. Firstly, there is the model of clinicians prescribing self-help books, such as those recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for generalized anxiety (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2011a), common mental health disorders (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2011b) and by the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network for the non-pharmaceutical treatment of depression (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, 2010). Then there is the setting up of themed reading groups (e.g. Kirklees Council, 2014), generally with a facilitator. Finally, there is self-directed reading as highlighted by Chamberlain and colleagues (Chamberlain, Heaps and Robert, 2007).

There is little research on bibliotherapy set within a psychiatric ward and/or hospital, and even less on bibliotherapy in an older adult functional in-patient ward. McLaughlin and Colburn (2012, 14) describe the mechanics of setting up a story and poetry group on an acute mental health ward and highlight the ‘transformative power of great literature’, seeing the sharing of experience as hugely beneficial. Volpe, Torre, and De Santis (2015) report on a reading group for patients living with psychosis, describing the group as a valid rehabilitation tool. In addition, The Reader has published research (Davies, Billington and Carroll, 2012; The Reader, 2014) on their work for dementia patients in care homes and on a hospital ward, noting ‘marked improvements in agitation levels, mood levels and concentration levels for participants, as well as improved social interaction’ (The Reader, 2014, 3).

Delivering bibliotherapy

Following an overview of the context to this intervention, the following section discusses the practicalities of introducing bibliotherapy in an older adult psychiatric in-patient ward, in particular, partnership working, group structure and selecting texts.

Context

The library service described in this case study is hosted by an acute trust of medium size (5000 staff across three hospital sites) that also has service level agreements with a health and community trust which includes mental health (4000 staff across three community hospitals); three care commissioning groups; and an ambulance trust (total 2000 staff and four sites). The county is a rural one with hospitals and health centres located across the county.