Print On Prescription

Submitted by: Two Sides Nordics January 12, 2026

Written by Sam Upton:

Why reading print books is being recommended by some healthcare professionals as a path to health.

Print books can offer many things: knowledge, entertainment, advice, education, even a nice backdrop to a video meeting. But an increasing number of people are being prescribed reading a book by their doctor or therapist as medication to heal a variety of mental and physical health issues.

Whether it’s hospital libraries in France or prescription programmes in the UK, bibliotherapy – the therapeutic use of reading – is experiencing a renaissance, helping to ease pain and aid recovery. With its origins in Greek and Roman healing techniques, bibliotherapy was used throughout World War I when the Library War Service stationed librarians in military hospitals, and is now being revived.

Reading For Healing

The Reading Well programme is a UK books on prescription programme that helps people to understand and manage their health and wellbeing using endorsed reading. Delivered through public libraries, it’s run by The Reading Agency and enables healthcare professionals to recommend specific self-help books for common mental health conditions including anxiety, depression, phobias and self-harm.

Endorsed by major health organisations such as the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and NHS England, the programme provides book recommendations from healthcare professionals and people with lived experience, ensuring the books provide evidence-based information that directly addresses their health issues. Since 2013, over 4.3 million Reading Well books have been borrowed from public libraries, demonstrating the initiative’s remarkable reach and impact.

Patient Libraries

Hospitals have had libraries for centuries. Now, a number of libraries in French hospitals offer a choice of books that support emotional wellbeing, providing patients with carefully curated reading material to help their recovery alongside conventional medical treatment. One hospital library in Lille provides books and group activities such as ‘Story Time’ in paediatrics, ‘Reading and Talking’ in geriatrics and ‘Fiction Reading’ to open up emotional dialogue in psychiatry.

One patient, who had been injured in a serious car accident, was helped by a series of fiction books after her doctor prescribed a list including Choses Dont Je Me Souviens (or ‘Things I Remember’) by Natsume Soseki, a story about escaping death. “I didn’t start walking again thanks to a novel,” she says. “But certain characters kept me going. They showed me that you can recover from anything.”

Follow The Evidence

The scientific evidence supporting reading as therapy continues to build up, with studies showing that bibliotherapy is effective in treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders and even reducing the risk of dementia in older adults. As healthcare systems worldwide face increasing pressure and long waiting lists for mental health services, print books offer an accessible and cost-effective treatment that patients can use independently or alongside traditional therapy.

While reading books on their own offers unlimited levels of mental stimulation and pleasure, the resurgence of bibliotherapy reflects a growing recognition that in our increasingly connected world, the simple act of reading can be a powerful healing tool.

To find out more about the Reading Well programme, go to bit.ly/Reading-Well-Programme