Self-help is big business, but alas, not always a scientific one. Self-help books, websites, and movies abound and are important sources of psychological advice for millions of Americans. But how can you sift through them to find the ones that work?
Self-Help That Works is an indispensable guide that enables readers to identify effective self-help materials and distinguish them from those that are potentially misleading or even harmful. Six scientist-practitioners bring careful research, expertise, and a dozen national studies to the task of choosing and recommending self-help resources.
Designed for both laypersons and mental-health professionals, this book critically reviews multiple types of self-help resources, from books and autobiographies to films, online programs, support groups, and websites, for 41 different behavioral disorders and life challenges. The revised edition of this award-winning book now features online self-help resources, expanded content, and new chapters focusing on autism, bullying, chronic pain, GLB issues, happiness, and nonchemical addictions. Each chapter updates the self-help resources launched since the previous edition and expands the material. The final chapters provide key strategies for consumers evaluating self-help as well as for professionals integrating self-help into treatment.
All told, this updated edition of Self-Help that Works evaluates more than 2,000 self-help resources and brings together the collective wisdom of nearly 5,000 mental health professionals. Whether seeking self-help for yourself, loved ones, or patients, this is the go-to, research-based guide with the best advice on what works.
Industry Reviews
"The title says it all: it is indeed an authoritative guide. Using the book is easy and effective... I recommend this book highly. It is well researched, well documented, and exhaustive in scale. It is easy to use and should be in your office bookcase." --Psychotherapy
"A very useful guide to all clinicians in selecting the kind of educational materials that will speed up their psychotherapy." -- Aaron T. Beck, MD
"The Best Self-Help Books - General Resources." -- Psychology Today
"This updated volume - well-researched, authoritative, and user-friendly - offers answers for the critically minded. This is an invaluable reference for clinicians, graduate students, and consumers. Kudos to the authors for providing a valuable revision that should be added to every psychotherapist's toolbox." -- Donald Meichenbaum, PhD
"Helpful for suggestions on what books, movies, and Websites to recommend to their patients. Librarians can use (it) for buying suggestions and for patron questions. Its inexpensive price and valuable subject make it a must purchase for most libraries." -- American Reference Books Annual
"A monumentally comprehensive resource of great practical value to mental health professionals, their clients, and other interested readers. It remains the standard against which books and web sites will be judged." -- Robert F. Alberti, PhD
"This is the only resource I know of that applies science to examine the self-help industry, and therefore we think it's an important resource. If scientific evidence is important for you before making a decision about what book to buy, which intervention to employ, or which teacher to follow, then this volume is the Consumer Report for self-help." --Self-help Empowerment through Education and Knowledge (SEEK)
"John Norcross and colleagues performed a heroic and important service by reviewing myriad books, films, and Internet resources. ...professionals will find this work will help them sort through a bewildering array of self-help materials, pointing them in the direction of meaningful treatment tools. I'll use this book as a practitioner, and only wish it had been available when I was a graduate student." -- Danny Wedding, PhD, MPH
Book of the Year Award - consumer health publications. --American Journal of Nursing
"This book is to be strongly recommended for both types (professionals, lay public) of readers." --Readings
"From books and movies to the Internet, Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health provides a strong survey of self-help resources in mental health and reveals the good ones, the bad ones, and how general consumers can tell the difference. --The Bookwatch
"This extraordinarily comprehensive, thoughtfully researched, well-organized and fun-to-read book should be very helpful for those who want to help themselves. The next time I'm asked "Can you suggest something to read about..." or "Are there any good Internet resources I could look at?" we'll be reaching for the Authoritative Guide to Self-Help Resources in Mental Health." -- Michael Hoyt, PhD
"A uniquely comprehensive resource of great practical value to mental health professionals, but especially to their clients, and all others who are interested in, or been touched by, mental illness. As it clearly is the standard against which books and Web sites in the this field will be judged, the revised edition belongs on the reference shelf of all health science libraries serving patients and their families and friends, as well as in all public
libraries." --E-Streams
"Extremely useful...I am likely to purchase several copies in order to keep one office copy at each of my two office locations, as well as loan copies for my patients. I will make this book required reading for my residents." -- Bruce S. Liese, PhD
"An exceptional and truly authoritative resource... The volume impartially and judiciously surveys all the important paths commonly used by self-help consumers, clearly presenting its valuable findings. It is replete with remarkably comprehensive resources for anyone interested in mental health." -- Albert Ellis, PhD
