Fingal Healthy Reading Scheme
Fingal County Council Libraries Division in association with the Daughters of Charity and the HSE has launched the
‘Fingal Healthy Reading Scheme’.
The aim of the Scheme is to promote the mental health and well being of individuals and families through recommending and making available quality self-help books to enable people to help themselves.
All the books on the scheme can be borrowed free of charge from any of the Fingal County Council Libraries – all you have to do is join!!
The books on the scheme were selected from recommendations yielded by Irish and International surveys with doctors, psychologists and therapists Two booklists covering various topics relevant to adults, children and families have been compiled. The booklist on the adult leaflet covers issues such as depression, anxiety, self esteem and anorexia while the booklist on the family leaflet covers issues such as parent separation, bereavement and child development. These booklists are available in all our libraries as well as GP surgeries, health centres and schools. If your group/organisation would like some leaflets/poster please just contact Balbriggan Library - email BalbrigganLibrary@fingalcoco.ie or telephone 8704401
Self-help books can be used at any time, for example;
• By parents who wish to understand their children better.
• As a first step to helping resolve issues that are a source of stress and unhappiness.
• As a source of support for people experiencing common emotional problems such as depression, eating disorders, panic attacks or low self-esteem.
• While you are on a waiting list to see a professional.
• As an additional helping hand while you are working with a professional (e.g. a mental health professional).
Many people, perhaps even the majority, develop emotional or psychological problems at some time during their life. Very few, however, will come in contact with a mental health professional or have access to the psychological treatments that have consistently been shown to be highly effective in treating depression, anxiety and other conditions.
The term used for delivering psychological therapy by means of books is “bibliotherapy”. The effectiveness of bibliotherapy has been well established in many clinical trials. The best books can produce results comparable to those of drug therapy or psychotherapy and bibliotherapy has been recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the U.K. Bibliotherapy can be used as a stand alone intervention, for clients presenting with milder clinical problems, or in addition to prescribed medication or counselling, or as a waiting list intervention.