Integrating self-help into psychotherapy: 16 practical suggestions.

Abstract

Psychologists routinely recommend self-help to their patients but desire guidance on the optimal methods and resources for doing so. This article provides 16 suggestions, culled from both the research literature and clinical experience, for integrating self-help into psychotherapy. Among the clinical recommendations are broadening the definition of self-help, assessing clients' self-help histories, offering tangible support in linking clients with self-help, tailoring the self-help resource to the person (not only the disorder), assisting clients with the administration of difficult self-help programs, using self-help during waiting and maintenance stages, and addressing clients' reservations about its use. Psychologists' top-rated self-help books, autobiographies, and films are presented. By their behavior, psychologists can enhance the effectiveness of self-help within the context of psychotherapy.

Self‐help strategies to reduce emotional distress: What do people do and why? A qualitative study

“…This study also supports previous research findings (e.g. Jorm et al, 2000b;Lewis et al, 2003;Norcross, 2006) that self-help options should be simple, cheap, easily accessible and fit around individuals' personal circumstances.…”

“…Other studies suggest that people may have a range of measures to cope with depression, e.g. talking to family/ friends, exercise, cutting down on commitments, all of which are cheap and readily accessible (Lucock et al, 2007;Norcross, 2006).…”

Enhancing Case Conceptualization Through Film: The Addiction Web

“…Gladstein and Feldstein (1983) used film to enhance counselor empathy. Film has been used to address diverse topics, such as multicultural and diversity issues (Pinterits & Atkinson, 1998;Villalba & Redmond, 2008); family and system theories (Dermer & Hutchings, 2000;Higgins & Dermer, 2001;Hudock & Gallagher-Warden, 2001;Sheperis & Sheperis, 2002;Stinchfield, 2006); group counseling (Armstrong & Berg, 2005;Tyler & Reynolds, 1998); persuasion (Simpson, 2008); and self-help (Norcross, 2006).…”

Ecological Psychology: Replacing the Medical Model Paradigm for School-Based Psychological and Psychoeducational Services

“…First, as argued eloquently by Albee (e.g., 1968Albee (e.g., , 1990 for over 40 years, there simply are not nearly enough ''doctors'' to meet the needs of more than a small fraction of those requiring mental health care in our society. Second, the evidence is compelling that doctoral degrees are not necessary to provide effective services (Berman & Norton, 1985;Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005;Bright, Baker, & Neimeyer, 1999;Carlson & Christenson, 2005;Christensen & Jacobson, 1994;Guli, 2005;Michael, Huelsman, & Crowley, 2005;Norcross, 2006;Salloum, 2010;Sheridan, Eagle, & Doll, 2006;Weisz, Weiss, Han, Granger, & Morton, 1995).…”