Gathering information needs

This checklist provides questions to help you to select the right resources to meet the person’s needs.

Not all questions will be appropriate to every situation. Use your judgement to pick and choose items from this list as appropriate.

Download  this checklist to keep 

	What issues are you currently facing? What is your current situation?  Is there a specific issue you'd like to focus on?
	How are you currently feeling?
	What would you like to get out of the upcoming Words for Wellbeing session?
	What is your reading preference? Fiction / Graphic Novel / Short Story / Poetry / Biography / other nonfiction / Other ? Are you  willing to try a new type of reading? (For example, if they don't commonly read poetry, would they give it a try?
	How much time can you devote to reading?
	What are your favourite books / authors?
	What are your preferred reading mediums?  Kindle / Audio / Printed book?
	Do you have any special requirements for reading and participating in a session - e.g. visual, hearing, access?
	Is there anything else you want to share in advance of the session?

Other issues to consider in the selection process include:

• Age of the person
• If they are from an ethnic minority background, whether culture-specific reading material would be appropriate.
• Literacy levels. For people with low literacy, options to consider include graphic novels, audiobooks, reading a poem or story extract aloud at the start of a session, or personal storytelling (see later in this topic.)
• Other factors which may influence choice of reading material – e.g. learning or physical disability, homelessness, socioeconomic circumstances.
• While reading material appropriate to a person’s background and characteristics can be helpful in some situations, it is important not to assume that only such resources can be beneficial. Sometimes, reading about quite different characters and situations where the person can see parallels with their own needs will help them to reframe and find new insights.