BOOKS, MEANING AND HOPE

Dickson, Morag

Morag Dickson is an ex-service user who works in retail

Correspondence

Joy Thorneycroft, a service user and former GP, and at the time of writing was a research assistant at South Staffordshire and Shropshire Foundation NHS trust at the time of writing. She now continues in this role on a voluntary basis

Date of submission

February 19 2014

Date of acceptance

March 3 2014

Peer review

This article has been subject to double-blind review and has been checked using antiplagiarism software

Author guidelines

rcnpublishing.com/r/mhp-author-guidelines

Mental Health Practice 18(2):p 14-17, October 2014.

Abstract

A reading group was set up to address a lack of collaborative social activities for people with mental health problems. The group is fully co-produced by service users and members of a community mental health team. Evaluation of the group indicated that attendance has had a positive effect on members' mental health, self-confidence and social interaction. Both authors were service users. With support from the community mental health team, they initiated, and have been fully involved in, all the meetings. They hope their experience will encourage the development of similar co-production projects elsewhere to meet local needs and provide mental health service users with a sense of normality, confidence and friendship.

Getting involved in running a reading group helped service users Joy Thorneycroft and Morag Dickson regain a sense of normality