Self-Help in Mental Health: A Critical Review

ISBN-13: 9781441981707 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 312 str.

T. Mark Harwood; Luciano L'Abate

Opis

Self-help is big business, but alas not a scienti c business. The estimated 10 billion that s with a b spent each year on self-help in the United States is rarely guided by research or monitored by mental health professionals. Instead, marketing and metaphysics triumph. The more outrageous the miraculous cure and the r- olutionary secret, the better the sales. Of the 3,000 plus self-help books published each year, only a dozen contain controlled research documenting their effectiveness as stand-alone self-help. Of the 20,000 plus psychological and relationship web sites available on the Internet, only a couple hundred meet professional standards for accuracy and balance. Most, in fact, sell a commercial product. Pity the layperson, or for that matter, the practitioner, trying to navigate the self-help morass. We are bombarded with thousands of potential resources and c- tradictory advice. Should we seek wisdom in a self-help book, an online site, a 12-step group, an engaging autobiography, a treatment manual, an inspiring movie, or distance writing? Should we just do it, or just say no? Work toward change or accept what is? Love your inner child or grow out of your Peter Pan? I become confused and discouraged just contemplating the choices."

Recenzje

"Harwood and L'Abate's Self-Help in Mental Health is an information-packed reference volume for the mental health practitioner that provides a wealth of material on self-help resources and the research-based strengths and weaknesses of each as applied to just about all of the common mental health diagnoses, with a few of the more common medical diagnoses thrown in. As a bonus, the authors develop a theory of relational competence for self-help, along with 16 models...Self-Help in Mental Health provides bibliotherapy sources, manualized treatments, support group formats, and Internet/website links to assist the practitioner in offering guided self-help to consumers. It is a quality reference..."

- Robert A. Bischoff, PsycCRITIQUES, July 28, 2010, Vol. 55, Release 30, Article 7

Spis treści

to the Field of Self-help in Mental Health.- What Constitutes Self-Help in Mental Health and What Can Be Done to Improve It?.- The Self-Help Movement in Mental Health: From Passivity to Interactivity.- Self-Support Methods: Initiated, Administered, Guided, Maintained, and Monitored by Professionals.- Distance Writing: Helping without Seeing Participants.- Bibliotherapy.- Online Support Groups and Therapy.- Manuals for Practitioners.- Self-help and Self-change Approaches for Specific Conditions Initiated, Administered, Guided, Maintained, and Monitored by Professionals.- Anxiety Disorders.- Mood Disorders.- Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity.- Addictive Behaviors.- Personality Disorders.- Severe Psychopathology.- Medical Conditions.- Conclusions and Prospects.- Who Benefits by Self-Help and Why?.

O autorze

Luciano L'Abate is Professor Emeritus in Psychology at Georgia State University.

Blurb

They’re fast, cheap, and promise amazing results—no wonder more people seek mental health advice from self-help books and sites rather than seeking therapy. Complicating this picture: many resources are inappropriate, ineffective, even dangerous. For the clinicians who would gladly recommend self-help for their clients, the challenge is finding reliable, evidence-based sources of help among the vast quantities available.

Self-Help in Mental Health: A Critical Review guides readers through this plethora of materials, organizing it into useful order, evaluating popular approaches and trends, and recommending clinically valid, science-based resources for specific clinical and sub-clinical problems. Its authors explain how and why such methods work, offering innovative uses for self-help in prevention and promotion, therapy and rehabilitation, including strengthening therapeutic gains (akin to homework in cognitive-behavioral therapy) and encouraging self-reliance. While some may be tempted to write-off all self-help as quackery or therapy-lite, Harwood and L'Abate recognize the potential the self-help movement holds for countering the stigma associated with mental health treatments. Further, self-help resources represent a viable means of reaching under-served populations, and, for some individuals, they are preferable to conventional therapy.

Included in the coverage:

• Recommendations for books, web sites, organizations, support groups, hotlines, and audio-visual materials
• Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, addictions, and other conditions.
• Guidelines for evaluating self-help and guided self-support materials.
• Strategies for integrating self-help with traditional modes of therapy.
• Assessment tools for determining client appropriateness for self-help.
• New directions in theories of self-help and self-change.
• Contraindications for self-help approaches.

Concise and comprehensive, Self-Help in Mental Health is timely reading that will enhance the work of psychotherapists and family and couples therapists, as well as researchers in clinical psychology, psychiatry, and other mental health fields.