Access to Electronic Thesis

Access to Electronic Thesis Author: Elizabeth Brewster Thesis title: An investigation of experiences of reading for mental health and well-being and their relation to models of bibliotherapy Qualification: PhD This electronic thesis is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No reproduction is permitted without consent of the author. It is also protected by the Creative Commons Licence allowing Attributions-Non-commercial-No derivatives. This thesis was embargoed until 31 December 2013. If this electronic thesis has been edited by the author it will be indicated as such on the title page and in the text. An investigation of experiences of reading for mental health and well-being and their relation to models of bibliotherapy Elizabeth Brewster A study submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Sheffield Information School September 2011 ii Abstract Bibliotherapy is the use of imaginative or self-help literature as an intervention for mental health problems. It aims to provide psycho-social support and treatment and is used with individuals or in a group. Bibliotherapy has come to prominence in the UK over the past decade. Bibliotherapy schemes mainly operate in partnership between the public library and the NHS. Previous research on bibliotherapy has focused on the quantitative effectiveness of the intervention or anecdotal report of individual successes. Evaluation of current schemes and qualitative investigation of the views of those experiencing bibliotherapy have been neglected in previous research, providing the rationale for this thesis. The thesis argues that because there have been shortcomings in previous research, there are differences in the understanding between those managing bibliotherapy schemes, and those using the schemes. The thesis has a dual research design; it critically analyses the emergence of the main models of bibliotherapy in the UK, deconstructing them using an Actor-Network Theory framework. Document analysis, interview data, and descriptive statistics contribute to these findings. Analysis concludes that the focus of these models is not always user-centred, with other factors driving the implementation of the intervention e.g. cost-effectiveness and health policy requirements. The type of text used is a key element of the intervention. The thesis also takes a qualitative, ethnographic approach based on Interpretive Interactionism to investigate the experiences of people with mental health problems who use bibliotherapy. Data was collected via an interview and observation study. It concludes that there are diverse uses of bibliotherapy. Building on the gaps between the application of bibliotherapy and the experience of using it, the central finding of the thesis is the emergence of four user-centred models of bibliotherapy, focused on the outcomes of bibliotherapy rather than the text used. These proposed models reflect the emotive, escapist, informational, and social outcomes of using bibliotherapy as a form of support for mental health problems. iii iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Barbara Sen and Andrew Cox, for being the voices of reason, encouragement, sense, motivation, and inspiration. I can always rely on you both to ask the difficult questions that I need to find answers to, and I appreciate that. Without my research participants, there wouldn’t be a PhD. I am eternally grateful to all those who contributed - telling me their stories, answering my questions and sharing their experiences. The honesty and openness I encountered made this PhD into what it is, and I found myself humbled by the generosity of spirit and bravery in the face of some life-changing experiences. I also encountered some really great recommendations for authors and titles, for which I am also grateful. I would also like to thank my contacts in the library, health and bibliotherapy world who shared their time, allowed me to access groups, and never begrudged me a cup of coffee when I’d been on a train since 6am. Your assistance was greatly appreciated, and eased my path through the research. Thank you to all the facilitators of the bibliotherapy groups for allowing me to intrude, often repeatedly, with good grace. Thanks also to the editor of the service user magazine who allowed me to write about my research and helped me to recruit many interesting participants to my research. Many thanks go to the University of Sheffield for providing me with a Studentship to support me throughout my PhD. Thanks also to the heads of my research groups for their generosity, which enabled me to attend conferences and share my ideas with a wider audience. I would also like to acknowledge the generosity of the John Campbell Trust, CILIP Health Libraries Group Career Development Group and the European Association for Health Information and Libraries for their financial assistance in the form of various bursaries to attend conferences throughout Europe. The learning experiences I had and contacts I made throughout were invaluable. My fellow PhD students have been an indispensible source of wisdom, advice, and humour in the face of despair. In particular, I would like to thank Liz Chapman, Juliet Harland and Joel Minion for interesting discussions, challenging questions, and so much more. Special thanks go to Liz for proof-reading above and beyond the call of duty. v Outside academia, I would like to thank Linzi Harvey, Bob Whittaker, Matt Jones, Emily Duffy, and Matt Collins for reminding me that there is more to life than just a PhD. There’s also red wine, black coffee, chatting on the internet, and sitting in the garden putting the world to rights. I’d be nowhere without you all. Thanks and love also to my parents, for raising me to be devoted to books and reading, and to appreciate the value of a good public library. Thanks for your support over the many years I lived as an impoverished student. I will get a proper job soon, honest. Lastly, all my love and thanks go to James Rea. Words are not enough to tell you the difference you make to my life on a daily basis. Your patience and tolerance are near legendary, and this thesis would not have been written without your encouragement and interest in my work. I’m sorry you know so much more than you ever wanted to know about Actor-Network Theory, data analysis software and concepts of mental health, but it might come in handy one day. This thesis is dedicated to you. vi Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ iii Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... v List of tables ................................................................................................................. ix List of figures ................................................................................................................ x Abbreviations used ....................................................................................................... xi Chapter One: An Introduction to Bibliotherapy for Mental Health Problems ......... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Research questions, aims and objectives ............................................................... 2 1.3 Research rationale .................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Thesis structure ...................................................................................................... 5 Chapter Two: Literature Review ................................................................................ 7 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7 2.1.1 Experiencing bibliotherapy: a note on terminology .................................... 7 2.2 Bibliotherapy – emergence and effectiveness ......................................................... 9 2.2.1 A brief history of bibliotherapy .................................................................. 9 2.2.2 Effectiveness of bibliotherapy: interacting with psychotherapeutic resources ........................................................................................................ 13 2.2.3 Effectiveness of bibliotherapy: interacting with literature ......................... 22 2.2.4 The role of public libraries in supporting bibliotherapy ............................ 28 2.2.5 Bibliotherapy and NHS policy ................................................................. 33 2.3 Contextualising bibliotherapy – constructing mental health ................................... 35 2.3.1 Constructing mental health problems ..................................................... 35 2.3.2 Symptoms of mental health problems ..................................................... 40 2.3.3 Mental health problems, culture and ethnicity ......................................... 42 2.3.4 Mental health problems and gender ....................................................... 43 2.3.5 Medicalisation and stigmatization ........................................................... 44 2.4 Concluding remarks on the literature .................................................................... 49 Chapter Three: Methodology and research design ...............................................

Load more