Child & Family Bibliotherapy Scheme
Books to Help Children and Families
The Child & Family Bibliotherapy Scheme, which looks at emotional and psychological issues of children is being successfully piloted in the Gwent area. The scheme which is available in other parts of Wales, was most recently introduced in Mid & West Wales by the Child and Adolecent Mental Health Services Commissioning Network.
The Child & Family Bibliotherapy Scheme builds on the success of the original adult Book Prescription Wales’, developed by Professor Neil Frude at Cardiff NHS Trust.
Please note that the Child & Family Bibliotherapy Scheme is not currently available throughout Wales. To find out if the scheme is available in your area please contact your local NHS Trusts Primary Mental Health Team.
What is Bibliotherapy?
Medication has a role in helping people with emotional problems, and is often very effective, but children and families can also be helped by reading appropriate “self-help” material. Many self-help books have been shown to be very useful in helping children overcome a range of emotional and psychological problems. This use of books as a means of providing such help is known as ”Bibliotherapy”.
You may consult your GP and other health professionals for help with your child’s emotional difficulties, and they can help in several ways. They might refer the child to a counsellor, for example, or to a specialist service where psychologists, psychiatrists and others are able to provide treatment. However, availability of these services is limited. The Child & Family Bibliotherapy Scheme gives the front-line health professional an alternative in some cases which avoids reference to the specialist service, and has the benefit of helping the family help themselves.
The thoroughly tested self-help books are recommended by GPs, Health Visitors, School Nurses, and other health providers. There are books on many of the common emotional and psychological problems that children experience including:
- Anger
- Behaviour
- Bereavement
- Bullying
- Confidence
- Development
- Divorce
- Eating Problems
- New Parents
- Potty Training
- Sadness
- Sibling Rivalry
- Sleep
- Step-families
- Teenagers
- Worries & Fears
A ‘recommendation’ for the most suitable book is issued by the health professional and can be exchanged for a book at participating libraries in Wales, free of charge. The book is chosen from a list of 31 books covering the 16 topics above. Books available in the scheme
An essential feature of this scheme is that it offers self-help books to the family, so that the family can help the child. Some of the books are suitable for a child to read, but the majority is directed at the family group.