I have worked for The Reader charity for over seven years in a number of roles.

My main task has been providing impactful case studies of beneficiaries.

These case studies have been used to demonstrate the impact of the intervention (in this case Therapeutic Shared Reading) in various publications, including research papers, magazines and books. They have also been used to demonstrate value and outcomes to commissioning bodies, helping to ensure continued funding. 

This role has involved travel across the UK to the different settings in which Shared Reading is established – including Category A prisons, substance mis-use clinics, psychosis recovery centres, hospitals (both forensic-secure and community/NHS), dementia care homes, schools and community libraries. 

I have written a guide that is used across the organisation on how to conduct these interviews .

My aim when doing this work is to ensure that the authentic voice of the participant is heard and honoured. I specialise in all-direct-quote interviews and the subsequent editing into coherent, moving and incisive copy - without losing the raw and faithful account told to me in person.  

I have also interviewed and written testimonials of staff members and commissioners. 

I have conducted over 40 in-depth interviews of this kind. 

All this work is informed by Shared Reading groups that I run weekly within UK prisons.

In order to further inform my practice I have undertaken a training course, Micro-Phenomenological Elicitation Interview Training, at Institut Mines-Télécom, Paris.

Due to the sensitive nature of the settings I work within, I have experience in providing a safe space in which people can open up and share their stories with the trust that they will be met with genuine warmth, interest, empathy and professionalism.   

Reading (Arts for Health) By Philip Davis and Fiona Magee
Published by Emerald Publishing Limited (Oct 2020)

Can reading literature really help our mental health? This book shows how and why - not by instruction or prescription but by emotion and exploration.

Offering case histories of individual readers and reading groups based on the work of The Reader, a charity dedicated to bringing serious literature to neglected communities, the authors showcase how a whole new demographic might get into reading, and in doing so unlock the emotional intelligence and benefits to health and wellbeing which come from our access to written human stories and imagined situations.

Participant reactions to Reading (Arts for Health)

Laura:
“I love it. It’s perfect: exactly how we talked about in the interview. Thank you for being so loyal to my words”

Lesley:
“I am very grateful you put me in your book. I am very happy – I did cry. Every word you said about me was perfect. I feel honoured to have been a part of it. I hope other people will now understand”