Use of self-help books in psychotherapy.

Abstract

A survey concerning the recommendation of self-help books to clients was completed by 209 psychologists (66.5% male, 94.3% White, mean age = 45 years). Most of the respondents indicated that they did prescribe self-help books infrequently. The likelihood of prescribing books was significantly related to the psychologist's gender, with women recommending books more often than did men, and to employment setting, with private practitioners recommending books more often than did academicians. Psychologists had little familiarity with popular self-help books but thought favorably of the ones of which they knew. Respondents' evaluations of 29 best-selling self-help books are provided.Self-help activities are firmly established in contemporary American society (Chaplin, 1989;Starker, 1989). Whether one joins a group, reads a book, watches a videotape, listens to an JUDITH A. MARX received her PhD from the University of Maryland in 1983 and is currently in private practice in Washington, DC. She is a past member of the Committee on Women of the Division of Counseling Psychology for the American Psychological Association. ZSUZSANNA K. GYORKY received her PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1982. She is currently the coordinator of training at the University Counseling Center, The George Washington University, Washington, DC. She is a past member of the Committee on Women of the Division of Counseling Psychology for the American Psychological Association. GEORGIA M. ROYALTY received her PhD from the University of Maryland in 1982. She is currently in private practice in College Park and Towson, Maryland, and is a former chair of the Committee on Women of the Division of Counseling Psychology for the American Psychological Association. TINA E. STERN received her PhD from the University of Georgia in 1982. Currently, she is an assistant professor at DeKalb College in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also a former chair of the Committee on Women of the Division of Counseling Psychology for the American Psychological Association.

Helping and change without traditional therapy: Commonalities and opportunities

“…Mental health professionals often utilize bibliotherapy as an adjunct intervention. Research shows that most of the clinicians surveyed have used psychological self-help books in their practice and are satisfied with the results (Marx, Royalty, Gyorky, & Stern, 1992;Norcross et al, 2003;O'Connor & Kratochwill, 1999;Starker, 1988). Bibliotherapy shares and operates through the same healing processes as movies.…”

New technologies in self‐help: another effective way to get better?

“…Several researchers have examined the use of self-help materials by mental health practitioners in the USA (e.g. Marx, Gyorky, Royalty, & Stern, 1992;Quackenbush, 1991;Starker, 1988) and UK (Keeley, Williams, & Shapiro, 2002). These surveys have shown that between 60.3 and 88.8 per cent of practitioners recommend or use such materials.…”

Focus on Division 17’s Committee on Women/Section for the Advancement of Women (SAW) 1970-2030

“…A project to collect information on self-help resources for women resulted in a publication by Marx, Gyorky, Royalty, and Stern (1992). The focus in the publications of the Committee on Women during the 1980s shifted from concerns about the sex bias of counselors and equity for women in the workplace to issues related to violence in the family, childhood sexual abuse and its aftermath, sexual harassment, and sexual relations of therapists with their clients.…”