An Oxfordshire mental health charity is claiming that reading can make you feel better in a variety of ways.

It has helped to set up Get Into Reading groups in Oxfordshire, who have been reaping the benefits of discovering some stimulating literature.

This new project is being co-ordinated by Oxfordshire Mind, in partnership with Restore, Oxfordshire Primary Care Trust, and Oxfordshire Library Service, and is funded by The Transformation Fund.

People from all walks of life are participating in these groups, and if reading is not your strong point, you can listen to the books being read aloud instead. There is no pressure; it is purely about the enjoyment of reading.

Forensic psychiatrist David Fearnley, the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Psychiatrist of the Year, said the project was: “The most significant development in mental health practice in the last ten years”.

Get into Reading is an innovative approach to therapy that can have enormous benefits on people’s self-esteem, confidence, self-expression and general mental wellbeing.

Adam Clayton, who recently co-facilitated a ten-week Get Into Reading Group in Oxford, attended by 20 people, said: “The sessions help people gain in confidence, and they began contributing more as they attended more group sessions.

“It boosts people’s self-esteem to know that they are part of something, and they get a chance to read things that they would never have chosen otherwise.”

Reading groups meet for ten weekly sessions, and new groups are being formed in Banbury, Witney and Abingdon. The groups are relaxed and sociable.

The Department of Health is interested in the benefits of Get into Reading as a therapeutic intervention.

Professor Louis Appleby, the National Director of Health, said: “Get into Reading is exactly the kind of work we at the Department of Health want to develop over the next decade in looking after the mental health of the general population.”

Oxfordshire Mind was founded in 1967, and is part of the network of Mind associations working for better mental health across England and Wales.

It aims to promote good mental health by providing high-quality services with active user participation, while lobbying and campaigning for positive change of attitudes to mental health issues.

The charity is funded through individual donations, Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Primary Care Trusts.

If you are interested in joining a reading group in Oxfordshire, or you would like more information, call Zoe McIntosh on 01865 263737.