Liphook Community Magazine - Spring 2015

Books are good for you
‘A B O O K M U S T B E T H E A X E F O R T H E F R O Z E N S E A
W I T H I N U S ’ - F R A N Z K A F K A , 1 9 0 4
I have been informed by a former English teacher that Joan
McGavin makes full use of enjambement which means that in
order to appreciate the poem, readers should know that if there’s
no punctuation at the end of a line, they should NOT pause as
they read it, but continue in one breath to the next line/next bit
of punctuation. If you automatically stop at the end of the written
line, whether there’s punctuation or not, you would not get the
sense of the poem. I recommend this - it works! The same
teacher used to encourage students to read anything - you absorb
punctuation, spelling, increase your vocabulary, etc.
Everyone knows it. They make you feel better.
Now doctors prescribe them – in script or in letter.
Read Shakespeare and poems for their curative powers
Or seek out a book group, spend hours and hours
With doses of Hamlet or downing some rhyme.
But no matter your taste, it can help to spend time
In a way that de-stresses, that calms or consoles
Or helps you imagine alternative roles
In life to those that you normally play.
We thought it already; researchers now say:
Pick up those axes –those books, bless their makers,
unfreeze the seas, join the movers and shakers
who waltz with words, who dance on the floes –
stretching hands across ice so the chain of us grows.
Poem by Joan McGavin, Hampshire Poet for 2014
on Prescription enables GPs and mental health professionals to
prescribe patients cognitive behavioural therapy through a visit
to the library. Here they can get books to help them understand
and manage conditions from depression to chronic pain. The
scheme works within NICE guidelines, and uses 30 books
endorsed by health partners as having evidenced CGT benefits.
This scheme has the backing of the Royal Colleges of GPs,
Nursing and Psychiatrists, the British Association for
Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and of the
Department of Health through its Improving Access to
Psychological Therapies Programme.
The scheme is supported by a core list of self-help books which
are listed on their website www.booksonprescription.org.uk If
you think that one of them might help you, ask for more
information at your local library or GP’s surgery.
The report after the scheme’s first year reported that 91% of
service users surveyed said the book they had read had been
helpful; 79% said it had helped them understand more about
their condition, 73% said it had helped them feel more confident
about managing their symptoms, and 37% said that their
symptoms had reduced or got better.
Rod Sharp
You might wonder - what is this about “Now doctors prescribe
them” as mentioned in the poem?
Several Primary Care Trusts across England, Wales and Northern
Ireland have been running independent Books on Prescription
(BoP) schemes for a number of years. Books on Prescription
schemes are a form of bibliotherapy which, when high-quality
books are used, can bring many of the benefits of conventional
medication without the potential side-effects associated with
drugs, and often achieves good results more quickly.
A scheme called Reading Well Books on Prescription has been
available in libraries throughout England from June 2013. This
new scheme has been developed by The Reading Agency and The
Society of Chief Librarians and aims to bring reading's healing
benefits to the 6 million people with anxiety, depression and
other mild to moderate mental health illnesses. There is growing
evidence showing that self-help reading can help people with
certain mental health conditions get better. Reading Well Books
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