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Psychological Self-Help
By Clayton E. Tucker-Ladd. Mental Health Net, http://mentalhelp.net/psyhelp/, 1997
Psychological Self-Help written by Clayton Tucker-Ladd is a comprehensive online resource for obtaining general information about psychology and various psychological concerns. This book, a work in progress for nearly thirty years, is unique due to the fact that is an entire text that is available through the internet. This venue allows the author to update the information more quickly and easier as well as potentially reach a greater number of people with more information than with a physical book. With this text, Tucker-Ladd took advantage of the opportunity to present a wealth of information through this one resource. The text could be overwhelming with the amount of information that it holds, but is so well organized that it is easy to navigate through its fifteen chapters. Furthermore, the topics in Psychological Self-Help run the gamut from behavior modification to anxiety to skill building techniques. The plethora of information contained within this text is taken from numerous places, such as empirical research results, theories, meta-analyses, and Tucker-Ladd’s experience as a psychologist.
As mentioned above, the text is divided into fifteen chapters. While each chapter addresses a different concern or concept, each also contains links to specific sections of that chapter to make the reader’s navigation of the information easier. Within chapter one, the author informs the reader of the best way to find the information that they are seeking as well as defining his idea of self-help, and relating some “understandings” that the author, would like to have with the reader (Chapter1d). Some of these “understandings” include the fact that the author wants readers to think and learn so they will not support any one method over another unless there is a reason backed by efficacy data; it is difficult to critically evaluate your flaws, but it needs to be done; and it takes time for change to occur (Chapter 1e, f). Additionally, this chapter invites the reader to jump around within the book, reading only the parts that interest them.
There are numerous presentational methods used within this text. The author uses a conversational tone without psychological jargon to make the information more palatable to the reader. Combined with this method of speaking to the reader is the discussion of psychological theory applicable to the topic. Some of the theories include Behavioral theory with the discussion of classical and operant condition regarding changing behaviors as well as Cognitive theory with the discussion of depression and self-image. Another method employed is the use of data from on-going research and empirical studies. The author remarks that the field of self-help is fairly novel and the methods associated with this field are still being researched (Chapter 1d). The use of statistics and the work of previous studies help to increase the credibility of this information that readers will encounter within this text.
Readers will also encounter the author’s opinion on the topics, methods, and statistics discussed. Even though it is the author’s opinion, Tucker-Ladd does have clinical experience to support his thoughts as seen in some of the case studies. Given this, the author does not make the reader feel as if he is an omnipotent dispenser of knowledge. The author admits that there is a wealth of information contained within the text, he also notifies the reader about the topics that are out of his scope of knowledge and encourages the reader to realize their own scope of self-help abilities. Finally, there are copious amounts of quotations to further emphasize some concepts. These quotations are taken from a variety of sources from religious to anonymous. . While these quotations are meant to inspire, there are some sections of text where the author suggests that the reader seek further inspiration from a monotheistic religion. This may be another way that the author connects with the some readers, but caution should be exercised in assigning these sections as they may be offensive to others.
This is another way that the author is able to connect with the reader in a colloquial manner.
In terms of its use, this text is useful to a number of populations for a number of reasons. The sheer amount of information lends its usefulness to anyone who is interested in learning more about psychology for personal or professional interests. This could apply to students wanting to gain more information about a profession in the field to a concerned family member of a person who is seeking treatment for a mental illness. It seems that one could get more use from this resource before going to therapy than while in psychotherapy. The theory and encouragement found in Psychological Self-Help could adequately serve as background information and support in assisting a person in making the decision to attend psychotherapy and the type of psychotherapist they may want to consider seeking.
This text would also be useful for a person with aspects about themselves that they would like to change but would not consider seeking psychotherapy to facilitate this change. This could include this person wanting to change the way they may emotionally overreact in certain situations to learning how to control one’s behavior in order to break a bad habit. This text lists self-help methods and self-efficacy messages to aid a reader in their efforts to change. This would certainly be a useful resource for people who have the impression that psychotherapy is for others or for those who are weak. The author stresses that people should try to be in control of their mental and physical health as well as take responsibility for themselves. These points are also stressed in relation to the ideas that “this book can not meet all of one’s needs” and if one’s genuine effort at self-help is unsuccessful then it may be wise to seek professional help (Chapter 1g).
Psychological Self-Help is must-have resource for many reasons. This text is quite comprehensive, well organized and generally researched based. Being online provides the opportunity for the reader to be interactive with the author regarding questions or feedback through the self-help forum. Additionally, readers are able to download translations of this text in different languages. The fact that this resource is online enables a larger number of people to have access to more information more conveniently. For example, this text lists a massive bibliography of self-help resources as well as the names, telephone numbers, and often the web addresses of the mental health resources available to the public. Additionally, the author promotes prevention for health care and self-reliance.
While these are only some of the positive reasons for having this resource readily available, aiding in psychotherapy as a bibliotherapy tool may not be one of those reasons depending on the client and the severity of their issue. Although the author claims that the text in no way is intended to take the place of psychotherapy, if the additional help is needed, only a few parts of the text seem to be more applicable to the work that may be done in psychotherapy. Furthermore, this text contains a surplus of information on a wide variety of topics but does not delve deeply into any specific area. In this respect, the text nearly has the feel of a well-written, conversational textbook from an introduction to psychology course. A psychotherapist may want to encourage a client to read certain parts of chapters and try to implement some of the methods in order to obtain more information broadly about themselves or their behavior, for example. For the less severe, perhaps even short-term issues, such as phobias, anxiety, and behavior modification, this resource could augment the work performed within psychotherapy. For the more severe and longer-term issues such as abuse, depression, and personality issues, this resource might be of more use if certain parts were used as moral support and an introduction to a more topic specific bibliotherapy tool.