The Recovery Library - Providing hope to Kilkenny psychiatric patients

The Recovery Library was launched in the Department of Psychiatry at St Luke's General Hospital recently with the intention to 'share supports and hopeful stories'.

The Recovery Library is based on a simple idea, providing books for people in the Department of Psychiatry, to learn more about recovery and read hopeful stories of other people who have improved their mental health. This can be a helpful part of regaining control in life and supporting recovery from a mental health challenge.

The idea came from a development group in the hospital made up of people with lived experience, family members, staff working in the Department of Psychiatry and the Development Officer with Mental Health Ireland.

Gina Delaney, Development Officer, Mental Health Ireland, said: "We know from listening to people who have stayed in the Department of Psychiatry that it is so important to have a variety of activities to do. Reading is a great way to learn more about ourselves and the world around us, and also we can get a break from the challenges of life by getting lost in a good book."

The selection of books are displayed so that readers can get a good sense of the content and see if the book might appeal to them. The bespoke shelving unit was crafted by the local Men's Shed.

The books are supplied by the local library in Kilkenny, and the list of books came from taking recommendations from across various disciplines and roles who work in mental health and a variety of perspectives such as community family and lived experience of mental health challenges. The group also utilised the 'Healthy Ireland at your Library' recommendations and now have over 150 book titles to select from.

It is hoped that creating the links between the local library services and Men's Shed that this will also create new opportunities for people, getting to know about these local opportunities to get more involved with their community also.

"We hope that these books can make a real difference for people staying in the hospital and we are delighted to be working with great community services and groups like the local library and Men's Shed," John Clarke, Assistant Director of Nursing in the Department of Psychiatry commented.

Staff who work in the hospital and people who are staying in the hospital have shared their hopes for the library, and there is opportunity to develop discussion groups, talks, perhaps a book club.

"Belinda Coyle, Family Peer Support Worker in the Department of Psychiatry, added: "I'm so happy to see the library in place here in the hospital, and already I know that people are discussing what they are reading, sharing view points and pieces of information, and reading to each other, which is just so great to see."