Local Libraries support mental health
A new project to increase awareness of mental health has been launched in the Cambridge Central Library. The display will run for a month before moving round all the other 48 libraries throughout Cambridgeshire. 
The display is part of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust’s (CPFT) anti-stigma campaign. The aim of this display is to create greater awareness and understanding about mental health whilst reducing stigma and discrimination. The display will also offer information and advice for people concerned about themselves or someone else’s mental health.
The display features myth and fact posters as well as leaflets on key information, top tips and how to get help and support. Books written by authors with mental health problems such as Oscar Wilde and Virginia Woolf, as well as the Books on Prescription (BOP) scheme will also be displayed for people to read.
The Books on Prescription Scheme is an effective way of helping people with common health problems, such as anxiety, depression, phobias and eating disorders. There is clinical evidence to show that books can be just as effective as other forms of therapy – and with the advantage of having no side effects. Most of the books are written by leading psychologists, and many present self-help versions of established treatment programmes.
CPFT works with Time-to-Change, the national campaign to stamp out stigma. One in four of us at some point in our lifetime will have some kind of mental illness, and about one in six of the current workforce have a mental illness which is likely to be concealed from their employer. So it is really appropriate to make information as widely available as possible.
For more information on the project please contact Andrea Grosbois on 01223 726767
For dates of where the library display will be please download the document on the right hand side of the page.