Making sense of mental health difficulties through live reading: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the experience of being in a Reader Group

Abstract

Background: Reader Groups (RGs) involve a skilled facilitator reading aloud complex literature in a group setting, followed by group discussion of the text. This paper explores the experience of eight individuals with mental health problems participating in general community RGs, relating this to making sense of life experiences and relationships inside and outside the group. Method: Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Results: Five master themes emerged from the analysis: Boundaries and Rules of Engagement, Literature as an Intermediary Object, Self as Valued, Worthy, Capable, Community and Togetherness in Relational Space, and Changing View of Self, World, Others. Conclusion: The findings are discussed in relation to existing research and psychological theory, highlighting the literature as a key mediator in psychological processes involved in participants’ experiences of RGs.

Keywords:

• Reader Group
• mental health
• live reading
• interpretative phenomenological analysis
• group reading

Notes

1. “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens.

2. “Blood Brothers” by Willy Russell.