Reading Well for young people

Hampshire Libraries launches new scheme to support young people’s mental health

At a time when 1 in 10 young people have a diagnosable mental health issue,[1] Hampshire Library Service is today launching a scheme to support them with expert endorsed books available to borrow for free.

Reading Well for young people is a national scheme, part of the hugely successful Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme, which will provide 13-18 year-olds with high-quality information, support and advice on a wide-range of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm, and difficult life pressures, like bullying and exams.

With the proportion of 15-16 year olds reporting that they frequently feel anxious or depressed having doubled in the last 30 years,[2] there is an enormous need for quality assured mental health information and advice for young people. Co-created with a panel of young people who have had experience of mental health issues, the new Reading Well scheme helps young people to understand and manage their wellbeing and emotional resilience. The books can be recommended by GPs, school nurses, counsellors and other health professionals as well as being free to borrow from the library.

Reading Well for young people’s recommended reading list of 35 books were selected by mental health experts and young people. The list includes a wide range of self-help and information titles, as well as memoir, graphic novels and fiction, from hugely influential novels The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and popular non-fiction such as Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson, Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by Nicola Morgan and The Self-Esteem Team’s Guide to Sex, Drugs and WTFs?!! to the self-help guides Banish Your Body Image Thief and Breaking Free from OCD.

The books will be available on the shelves of Andover, Basingstoke, Chandler’s Ford, Fareham, Farnborough, Fleet, Gosport, Lymington, Petersfield, Waterlooville and Winchester Libraries. You can also find them on our online catalogue, reserve them and pick them up at a Hampshire library of your choice.

Natasha Devon MBE, founder of the Self-Esteem Team, says: “In a time when information on mental health is instantly accessible, abundant and mostly unverified one of the commonest questions the Self-Esteem Team are asked by young people is ‘how do I know who I can trust?’ That’s why Reading Well provides such a crucial role in mental health and wellbeing; it is a much needed, trusted source and therefore a place where young people can feel that most important of all things – safe.”

Gaby, a Young Advisor from YoungMinds who helped select the books on the list, says: “I believe Reading Well will challenge stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding mental illness, educating young people about mental health in general. The easy accessibility of the books that are part of the scheme is key, enabling young people to explore the topic of mental health discretely and at a speed they are comfortable with.”

The scheme is delivered by The Reading Agency in partnership with the Society of Chief Librarians and the Association of Senior Children’s and Education Librarians. It is funded by Arts Council England and the Wellcome Trust. It is supported by a range of health organisations including NHS England (IAPT), Public Health England, Mental Health Foundation, Mind and YoungMinds.

Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chair, Arts Council says: “At the Arts Council, we’ve long-believed in the transformative powers of arts and culture for people’s health – and libraries play a large part in this. The new Reading Well for Young People programme has the potential to make a real difference to the lives of young people and so I’m delighted that we have been able to invest in it.”

Below is the core booklist, click on the titles in blue to reserve yours and collect it from a branch of your choice for free:

1. Stuff That Sucks: Accepting What You Can’t Change and Committing to What You Can by Ben Sedley (Robinson, Little Brown)
2. Mind Your Head by Juno Dawson (Hot Key Books)
3. The Self-Esteem Team’s Guide to Sex, Drugs and WTFs?!! by The Self-Esteem Team (John Blake Publishing)
4. Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed by Nicola Morgan (Walker Books)
5. Quiet the Mind by Matthew Johnstone (Robinson, Little, Brown)
6. I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (Walker Books)
7. Kite Spirit by Sita Brahmachari (Macmillan Children’s Books)
8. House of Windows by Alexia Casale (Faber)
9. Every Day by David Levithan (Electric Monkey, Egmont)
10. Putting on the Brakes: Understanding and Taking Control of Your ADD or ADHD by Patricia Quinn and Judith Stern (Magination Press, American Psychological Association)
11. My Anxious Mind: A Teen’s Guide to Managing Anxiety and Panic by Michael Tompkins and Katherine Martinez (Magination Press, American Psychological Association)
12. The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens: CBT Skills to Overcome Fear, Worry and Panic by Jennifer Shannon (New Harbinger Publications, Little, Brown)
13. The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook for Teens by Jennifer Shannon (New Harbinger Publications, Little Brown)
14. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Simon & Schuster)
15. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (Sceptre, Hodder)
16. Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome: A User’s Guide to Adolescence by Luke Jackson (Jessica Kingsley)
17. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon (Vintage)
18. Teen Life Confidential: Bullies, Cyberbullies and Frenemies by Michele Elliott (Wayland, Hachette Children’s)
19. Vicious: True Stories by Teens about Bullying ed. Hope Vanderberg (Free Spirit Publishing)
20. Banish Your Self-Esteem Thief: A Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Workbook on Building Positive Self-Esteem for Young People   by Kate Collins-Donnelly (Jessica Kingsley)
21. Teen Life Confidential: Self-Esteem and Being You by Anita Naik (Wayland, Hachette Children’s)
22. Face by Benjamin Zephaniah (Bloomsbury)
23. Am I Depressed and What Can I Do About it? by Shirley Reynolds and Monika Parkinson (Robinson, Little, Brown)
24. I Had a Black Dog by Matthew Johnstone (Robinson, Little, Brown)
25. Can I Tell You About Depression? by Christopher Dowrick and Susan Martin (Jessica Kingsley)
26. Can I Tell You About Eating Disorders?  by Bryan Lask and Lucy Watson (Jessica Kingsley)
27. Banish Your Body Image Thief by Kate Collins-Donnelly (Jessica Kingsley)
28. Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield (Walker Books)
29. Don’t Let Your Emotions Run Your Life for Teens by Sheri van Dijk (New Harbinger Publications, Little, Brown)
30. Touch and Go Joe by Joe Wells (Jessica Kingsley)Breaking Free from OCD: A CBT Guide for Young People and their Families by Jo Derisley, Isobel Heyman, Sarah Robinson, Cynthia Turner (Jessica Kingsley
31. The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten (Walker Books)
32. The Truth About Self-Harm by Celia Richardson (Mental Health Foundation)
33. Fighting Invisible Tigers: A Stress Management Guide for Teens  by Earl Hipp (Free Spirit Publishing)
34. Teenage Guide to Stress by Nicola Morgan (Walker Books)

[1] The Office for National Statistics, Mental health in children and young people in Great Britain, 2005

[2] Changing Adolescence: Social Trends and Mental Health edited by Ann Hagell, Policy Press, 2012