When should I use self-help programs and when to ignore them?

The self-improvement market – books, personal trainers, seminars and the like – is a billion-dollar industry in the US, according to a report released in 2017 by the independent firm Market data. The report estimates the self-improvement books sector at $ 800 million.

When should I search for this book or this personal help application?

Timing is crucial for clinical psychologists such as Caroline Harris, who is based in the UK.

When people seek help, they are usually in a situation where "learning window" can be mobilized and their motivation is strong enough to bring about change, she said.

If this window is missed, because of factors such as the long wait lists of doctors, it becomes difficult to make changes, she said. It can therefore be beneficial for some people at the right time to have inexpensive and readily available tools, such as self help apps or books.

Harris worked with a team from the company My Possible Self to create lemon Possible Self App, aimed at reducing stress and anxiety, which badures this "everyone has the same opportunities for mental health support."

Research shows that applications can be effective in managing mental health issues. A 2013 essay with a reading committee involved 720 people with mild to moderate depression, anxiety and stress; he showed that an application focused on mental health can bring "quick improvements" in the symptoms.

The research was conducted by the Black Dog Institute, an Australian research institution on the treatment and prevention of mental illnesses, which received public and private funding. The institute has a partnership with My Possible Self.

The content tested during the test was used to develop a feature in the application that informs users about topics like lack of mood or stress.

"Self-help can be very useful alongside therapy. I think it allows people to normalize their mental health issues or reduce stigma. I think it's a mbadive stepping stone to people with access to this support," Harris said.

For example, men are known to be less likely to seek professional mental support, according to Harris. People with Asperger's Syndrome struggle in social situations and to express themselves. they can find the apps easier than an individual therapy because they are private and easily accessible.

The principle of the application is to inform the users about the origin of their difficulties and to show them strategies that help them improve their situation or strengthen their resilience. But Harris notes that self-help does not replace therapy.

My Possible Self is one of the applications of the National Health Service Library of the United Kingdom. Another example, Be Mindful, asks users to complete sessions that include techniques such as video, meditation audio, and interactive exercises to reduce stress, depression, and anxiety. The Calm Harm app helps people manage their need to automutilate.

"Potentially harmful" tips

Self-help programs can give people the boost they need to consult a psychologist or encourage healthy change, but this is not always the case, experts say.

Richard E. Redding, professor of psychology and education at Chapman University, badyzed 50 best-sellers from self-help libraries in 2008.

The most surprising discovery for Redding is that 18% of the books provided "potentially dangerous" advice, such as the use of medicinal plants to solve problems such as depression (nothing indicates that it is useful).

"In addition, about 60% of the books gave advice based on the medical and psychological sciences," Redding added.

In his study, Redding asked four psychologists specializing in anxiety and depressive disorders to evaluate each self help book on five criteria: the scientific basis of the book; Are there guidelines for self-diagnosis, implementation techniques and monitoring progress? if the book contains potentially harmful advice; whether it promotes reasonable expectations regarding the use and limitations of self-help techniques; and the general utility of the book as a self-administered method of behavior change or psychological change.

"We found in this study that the best self-help books targeted very specific issues, such as social anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder." he said. Very general help books, promising to solve the whole of the problems of the reader, "tend to be less valid."

Because of this generalityadvice is not usually rooted in science, and even if it is, it is not something that a reader can implement. in a concrete way, he said.

Happiness is not a choice

For Svend Brinkmann, author of "Staying firm: Resist the craze for self-improvement," the worst message in the self-help literature is the often repeated phrase that happiness is a choice.

"Happiness for human beings is a social phenomenon. it is a relational phenomenon. It is not found by looking inwardly and developing oneself, but by actually connecting with others in collectives, communities, relationships," m said Brinkmann, who is also a professor of psychology at Aalborg University in Denmark.

The straw is put off by what she sees as the "right and white male character" who likes to generalize that what works for them will help everyone.

These books are "too focused on men. They are too kind to focus on someone who has complete control of everything they think and feel, which is certainly not me." she says.

Straw also advises people to approach self help books with a critical mind, not believing that " & # 39;it's the one that will solve all my problems – "if you count on that, you will probably be disappointed," she says. Instead, she says to look at this as a menu, to choose and choose the best advice for different areas.

Tried and tested?

Gerald Rosen, clinical professor emeritus at the Department of Psychology at the University of Washington, believes that the majority of self-help books on the market are not tested for their effectiveness, and this model is "not to advance anything other than the products marketed by the book publishers."

Self-help programs should have specific demands for consumers to have specific expectations, he says.

But in the absence of laws governing the right to publish what, it is up to the ethic of individuals to provide realistic content, he says. "The control can not be left to the editors. Control must be left to the professional ethics of psychologists and psychiatrists who write these books."

The experts have some suggestions on how to choose self-help documents that avoid unrealistic and exaggerated promises.

Redding recommends that people opt for self-help programs written by mental health professionals.

He added that useful self-help programs should include concrete and targeted advice on a specific problem. They should also provide users with a way to track their progress and tell people when to seek the help of a professional.

Notes from Rosen, "it's always good to buy a book. It's cheaper than seeing a therapist, but you should take the purchase with a grain of salt. If the book helps you, it's fantastic, and self-help efforts need to be encouraged, but if you try a program and it does not help you, do not blame yourself for yourself. It is possible that 99% of people trying to use the book do not succeed either."

Brinkman think that it would be more useful to focus on a different kind of books. "In my opinion, we need to read more critical books of society that will help us improve society instead of helping ourselves. I think it would be more beneficial on a larger scale," he said.

He believes that self-improvement and its growing popularity are symptoms of what he calls individualism.

This "may seem useful if you are really the problem," he said but "in many cases, the problem does not really lie in you but in the world of which you are a part."