Self-help Books Research Articles

Effectiveness of a Web-based and Mobile Therapy Chatbot on Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Subclinical Young Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial.

There has been an increased need to provide specialized help for people with depressive and anxiety symptoms, particularly teenagers and young adults. There is evidence from a 2-week intervention that chatbots (eg, Woebot) are effective in reducing depression and anxiety, an effect that was not detected in the control group that was provided self-help materials. Although chatbots are a promising solution, there is limited scientific evidence for the efficacy of agent-guided cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) outside the English language, especially for highly inflected languages. This study aimed to measure the efficacy of Fido, a therapy chatbot that uses the Polish language. It targets depressive and anxiety symptoms using CBT techniques. We hypothesized that participants using Fido would show a greater reduction in anxiety and depressive symptoms than the control group. We conducted a 2-arm, open-label, randomized controlled trial with 81 participants with subclinical depression or anxiety who were recruited via social media. Participants were divided into experimental (interacted with a fully automated Fido chatbot) and control (received a self-help book) groups. Both intervention methods addressed topics such as general psychoeducation and cognitive distortion identification and modification via Socratic questioning. The chatbot also featured suicidal ideation identification and redirection to suicide hotlines. We used self-assessment scales to measure primary outcomes, including the levels of depression, anxiety, worry tendencies, satisfaction with life, and loneliness at baseline, after the 2-week intervention and at the 1-month follow-up. We also controlled for secondary outcomes, including engagement and frequency of use. There were no differences in anxiety and depressive symptoms between the groups at enrollment and baseline. After the intervention, depressive and anxiety symptoms were reduced in both groups (chatbot: n=36; control: n=38), which remained stable at the 1-month follow-up. Loneliness was not significantly different between the groups after the intervention, but an exploratory analysis showed a decline in loneliness among participants who used Fido more frequently. Both groups used their intervention technique with similar frequency; however, the control group spent more time (mean 117.57, SD 72.40 minutes) on the intervention than the Fido group (mean 79.44, SD 42.96 minutes). We did not replicate the findings from previous (eg, Woebot) studies, as both arms yielded therapeutic effects. However, such results are in line with other research of Internet interventions. Nevertheless, Fido provided sufficient help to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms and decreased perceived loneliness among high-frequency users, which is one of the first pieces of evidence of chatbot efficacy with agents that use a highly inflected language. Further research is needed to determine the long-term, real-world effectiveness of Fido and its efficacy in a clinical sample. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05762939; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05762939; Open Science Foundation Registry 2cqt3; https://osf.io/2cqt3.

Virtually delivered guided self-help for binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa: findings from a service evaluation.

Timely intervention is beneficial to the effectiveness of eating disorder (ED) treatment, but limited capacity within ED services means that these disorders are often not treated with sufficient speed. This service evaluation extends previous research into guided self-help (GSH) for adults with bulimic spectrum EDs by assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of virtually delivered GSH using videoconferencing. Patients with bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED) and other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED) waiting for treatment in a large specialist adult ED out-patient service were offered virtually delivered GSH. The programme used an evidence-based cognitive behavioural self-help book. Individuals were supported by non-expert coaches, who delivered the eight-session programme via videoconferencing. One hundred and thirty patients were allocated to a GSH coach between 1 September 2020 and 30 September 2022; 106 (82%) started treatment and 78 (60%) completed treatment. Amongst completers, there were large reductions in ED behaviours and attitudinal symptoms, measured by the ED-15. The largest effect sizes for change between pre- and post-treatment were seen for binge eating episode frequency (d = -0.89) and concerns around eating (d = -1.72). Patients from minoritised ethnic groups were over-represented in the non-completer group. Virtually delivered GSH is feasible, acceptable and effective in reducing ED symptoms amongst those with bulimic spectrum disorders. Implementing virtually delivered GSH reduced waiting times, offering a potential solution for long waiting times for ED treatment. Further research is needed to compare GSH to other brief therapies and investigate barriers for patients from culturally diverse groups.

A Corpus-Based Study of Pregnancy Blogs and Self-Help Books

A Corpus-Based Study of Pregnancy Blogs and Self-Help Books

The Rise of a “Fudan Goddess”: Cultural Entrepreneurship in China Between Moral Education and Popular Culture

This article investigates the trajectory of Chen Guo, a successful moral educator who became an internet celebrity and bestselling author of self-help books thanks to the originality of her teaching methods. The article reveals that Chen Guo's contributions as a state teacher and as a popular cultural producer, rather than being at odds with each other, are to a very large extent unified, as she has managed to create a moralising but depoliticised approach to teaching which encourages personal self-improvement and social awareness by drawing from the principles and practices of self-help literature. Chen Guo's career and work thus offer a unique case to investigate the interactions and the intersections between official and popular culture in contemporary China, in particular, by observing how the current party-state's ideological apparatuses incorporate the creative use of popular cultural forms in their message with the aim of enhancing the efficacy of the official ideological education.

Experience with the use of a digital sleep diary in symptom management by individuals with insomnia -a pilot mixed method study

BackgroundInsomnia is the most common sleep disorder. The recommended treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi). A sleep diary is a core tool in CBTi. We have developed a digital sleep diary with a standardised feedback function. AimTo study feasibility of the digital sleep diary in participants of the Akershus Sleep Apnea (ASAP) cohorts with difficulties falling asleep or maintaining sleep. To describe sleep diary engagement and explore experiences with the digital sleep diary with potential influences in insomnia symptom management. Material and methodsTwenty participants were recruited from the ASAP. All filled out a digital sleep diary up to 12 weeks. Treatment options provided were a self-help book (N = 11) or electroencephalography neurofeedback (N = 9) in addition to the sleep diary standardised feedback function. We collected quantitative data from the sleep diary reports and we sub-divided insomnia by sleep onset insomnia and non-sleep onset insomnia. Finally, we performed qualitative interviews. ResultsThe median number of entries to the sleep diary was 81 (25th quartile: 26, 75th quartile 84). In the qualitative analysis, we identified two main themes; “structure and overview” and “usability and digital features”. ConclusionThe sleep diary was found to be feasible when distributed in combination with a self-help book or electroencephalography neurofeedback. The qualitative results emphasised the importance of a timely graphical overview and visualisations of self-recorded sleep.

Effectiveness of web-based guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy-enhanced for binge-eating disorder: An implementation study.

Web-based guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy-enhanced (CBT-E) is a 12-weeks, 12-sessions, digitalized version of part II of the self-help book Overcoming Binge Eating. This intervention is effective when offered under controlled circumstances in a randomized-controlled-trial. It is unknown how patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) respond to this intervention when offered in real-world clinical-settings. The aim of this study is to examine post-intervention effectiveness of guided self-help CBT-E for BED in real-world settings. The present study used a cohort-design examining the effectiveness of web-based guided self-help CBT-E according to an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. BED patients (n = 278) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. The primary outcome was reduction in binge-eating episodes. Other outcomes were full-recovery (EDE-Q score <2.77 and abstinence from binge-eating episodes), impaired psychosocial functioning, defined as secondary impairment, and general psychopathology post-intervention. The number of binge-eating episodes reduced by an average of 16 binge-eating episodes per 4 weeks pre-intervention to five binge-eating episodes during the last 4 weeks of treatment. Abstinence from binge eating was reported by 30%, and 28% reported full recovery. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) were large (d ≥ 1.0) for all outcome measures. There were no differences in outcomes between the ITT and the completers sample. Guided self-help CBT-E is associated with significant improvements. The effects of guided self-help CBT-E offered in a real-world-setting are comparable to self-help CBT-E offered in a randomized-controlled-trial. However, it should be noted that comparisons with randomized-controlled-trials requires caution. Longer-term follow-up data are necessary to measure persistence of treatment benefits. Offering CBT-E as a web-based guided self-help intervention has several benefits for patients with BED. Guided self-help CBT-E is associated with significant improvements on the short term when offered in real-world clinical settings.

Peter M. Lewinsohn (1930-2022).

This article memorializes Peter M. Lewinsohn (1930-2022). Pete pioneered the development of a cognitive behavioral treatment of depressed individuals and research on its efficacy. With his graduate students, he created the Coping With Depression Course, which has been translated into many languages, adapted for older adults and adolescents, and used around the world. This approach is embodied in behavioral activation, a widely used, highly effective treatment of depression. He was a pioneer in translating cognitive behavioral mechanisms into bibliotherapy, including Control Your Depression, a self-help book still in print and used to guide treatment. Pete and colleagues also conducted one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies on psychopathology, encompassing adolescence and early adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The evolution of ideas about vegetarianism in British literature in the Late 18th – Early 19th Century (a case of ‘An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty’ by J. Ritson, ‘Queen Mab’ and ‘A Vindication of Natural Diet’ by P.B. Shelley)

The article examines the literary representation of the topic of vegetarianism in the works of British writers in the Late 18th – Early 19th Century. English sugar merchant, author of popular self-help books Thomas Tryon was one of the first to propose the concept of vegetarianism, which was new to his contemporaries. His works, like those of his followers, inspired Joseph Ritson and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Joseph Ritson in his essay ‘An Essay on Abstinence from Animal Food, as a Moral Duty’ (1802) summarizes the experience of his predecessors and proposes an original concept of vegetarianism, close to the romantic philosophy. P. B. Shelley used Ritson's ideas in his philosophical poem ‘Queen Mab’ (1813) and his essay ‘A Vindication of Natural Diet’ (1813). The article presents the results of a productive dialogue between intellectuals of the Enlightenment (such as T. Tryon and G. Cheyne) and J. Ritson. This influenced the further development of the philosophy of vegetarianism in European culture. Thus, the poet of the romantic era P.B. Shelley, inspired by Ritson's essay, rethought his ideas in his own way and presented them in his works.

‘Up to you’: Self-help books, depression and the reconstruction of reading

Like other consumers of ‘low-brow’ genres, self-help readers elicit polarized views in the literature. While little research to date has focused specifically on self-help readers with a history of mental illness, existing commentary reveals a particular tension: on the one hand, clinical researchers report positive outcomes for depressed readers engaged in bibliotherapy programs using self-help books, similar or superior to medication or talk therapy; on the other, scholars of media and culture express misgivings about the quality of self-help texts and highlight the negative potential of therapeutic discourse for individual readers and audiences more generally. By asking what actual readers do with self-help books, however, my research suggests an altogether more complex interaction between readers and the books they choose and use – especially as they navigate experiences of mental illness. Leveraging a reader-response heuristic in which I interviewed a cohort of Australian readers, this paper details some of the ways in which habitual consumers of self-help books describe their own interpretive activities, problematizing previous research that either emphasizes or downplays the significant expertise of vernacular audiences.

Skilling communication: The discourse and metadiscourse of communication in self-help books

ABSTRACT In the past few decades, self-help books on communication have ranked among the top titles on bestseller lists. Offering advice about improving communication skills in a variety of contexts, they both reflect and promote a widespread discourse about the importance of good communication in everyday life, in what is in fact a paradoxical endeavor – solving flawed communication with more communication. Based on an analysis of 18 bestselling self-help books, the paper examines the meaning of three recurring themes – “listening,” “awareness” and “practice” – and analyzes the paradoxical relationship between what the books say about communication and how they say it. The findings serve to illuminate the relationship between communication and metacommunication more broadly, which, in turn, helps to explain the conditions by which authors express their ideas – their selection of textuality, despite, and precisely because of, its difference from oral talk.

Islamising neo-ibuism

ABSTRACT The demise of the authoritarian regime in 1998 has led to heightened contestation of ideal femininity on various platforms, threatening the state-endorsed dominant ideal femininity, state ibuism. Our study explores how marriage self-help books written by Muslims in post-authoritarian Indonesia portray ideal femininity. Intended to offer guidance to young Muslim readers on what to look for in a future spouse, these books promote an Islamised version of neo-ibuism. Modifying the masculine bias found in interpretations of the Muslim holy scripts, these books on the one hand support women’s increasing public roles and contribution to the family’s income, but on the other hand, sustain women’s subordinate position to men’s in the domestic setting. In doing so, these books aim at both challenging status quo ibuism and preventing young Muslim women from being swayed by emerging alternative ideals, especially those promoted by (Muslim) feminist movements.

Dynamics of single mothers' semantic strategies in Anglophone non-fiction.

The article discusses how the increasing number of self-help books for single mothers is meeting the demand for positive narratives about their experiences, which are often stereotyped in the media. The books offer a powerful tool for self-reflection, and content analysis reveals semantic strategies that authors use to construct, negotiate, and reframe single motherhood. The authors aim to challenge societal expectations and redefine what constitutes a family. There are still conflicting messages that perpetuate negative stereotypes and stigmas about single mothers, propelling identity negotiation. The seven principal semantic strategies applied in the texts include reframing, renaming, normalization, direct or indirect confrontations, distinctions, self-labelling, and vernacular. By using semantic strategies, authors aim to empower single mothers, challenge negative stereotypes, and create a sense of community. While there are limitations to the self-help genre, it remains a powerful tool for self-reflection, self-empowerment, and the construction of identity.

Conceptual, Psychometric, Methodological and Value Problems in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Introduction to the Special Section, “A Critical Appraisal of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy”

There is a voluminous and expanding literature regarding ACT, from descriptions of its theory to its stated roots in relational frame theory, the particulars of its therapy techniques and exercises, favored metaphors, randomized controlled trials, to many self-help books for a wide variety of problems. The therapy is widely marketed through workshops and many self-help books. ACT is associated with its own journal and its own professional organization, the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS). This literature is interpreted by ACT proponents as demonstrating the causal efficacy of ACT for a wide range of problems and, at times, even being superior to treatment as usual, which are often more traditional forms of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). This special section contains a series of 6 papers examining these claims. Correctly understanding and evaluating the claims of ACT proponents is warranted because these can have direct implications for treatment decisions by therapists attempting to deliver the most effective treatment for their clients' problems. The papers, individually and as a whole, urge considerable caution, particularly because much of its research has involved serious measurement problems, problematic research designs, and a unique and problematic conceptualization and perhaps the practice of values and ethics. These papers call for methodological improvements and a commitment to more traditional values associated with science so that ACT can be more fairly evaluated to accurately understand its assets and limitations.

Learning from self-help books: an experiential account of management teachers

ABSTRACT This empirical paper provides an experiential account of learning from self-help books by the teachers of the management stream from the Indian context. The current environment is posing new and unprecedented challenges to academicians, management teachers being one of them. Self-help books have for centuries helped readers to deal with such challenges. Hence, this exploratory study, using the narration method, has inquired through qualitative interviews with management teachers about their personal experiences of reading self-help books. The findings provided a broad understanding of how they learn, get inspiration, get the guidance, get healed and thus cope with the challenges in their life as a result of reading self-help books which may be extended to Poetry Therapy or unstructured Bibliotherapy in some ways.

Affection preference, enactment, and relationship satisfaction: A dyadic analysis of love languages.

Despite its popularity, The Five Love Languages relationship self-help book has received little empirical investigation. This may result in a disconnect between clinicians and clients with preconceived notions based on the book. The current research sought to evaluate love languages through the lens of responsiveness by examining if an accurate or biased understanding of partner preferences for different modes of affection were associated with enacted affectionate behavior, the perception of partner behavior, and relationship satisfaction. The results from a sample of 84 couples indicated that individuals tend to have a biased understanding of partner preferences and these biases influenced expressions of affection. In addition, accurately understanding partner preferences was associated with greater relationship satisfaction. The findings suggest that helping clients understand both their own and their partner's preferences for expressions of affection, may reduce bias and lead to more partner-preferred expressions of affection and, ultimately, greater relationship satisfaction.

Updated taxonomy of digital mental health interventions: a conceptual framework.

Most individuals at risk for or already experiencing mental disorders have no access to mental health care. Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) can be effective in preventing and treating mental disorders. A taxonomy of digital interventions was previously proposed to organize the different types of digital tools being developed to expand mental health service delivery. This article updates that framework and presents illustrations for four types of digital interventions specific to mental health and revises their definitions. The illustrations primarily focus on studies that include populations underrepresented in the literature to highlight the potential of DMHIs to reduce health disparities. Provider administered DMHIs (Type 1) and provider administered DMHIs with blended digital adjuncts (Type 2) are offered within a healthcare system. Self-help human supported/guided DMHIs with therapeutic or technical guidance (Type 3) are offered outside a healthcare system. And self-help fully automated DMHIs (Type 4) are interventions similar to self-help books, do not involve human support and are also offered outside a healthcare system. Type 1, 2, and 3 interventions are consumable, they require human time to administer and are limited by the number of hours a health care provider or guide (to promote adherence) is available. Type 4 interventions are non-consumable because these can be used an unlimited number of times anytime anywhere in the world without human interaction. Identifying DMHIs as belonging to one of these categories can promote the development of each category, guide future reviews and help disseminate those DMHIs to as many people as possible.

Metadiscursive Strategies in Self-help Books

An analysis is provided of the metadiscursive strategies used in self-help books to handle the commitment with their readers and reach the communicative purposes of the genre. The inquiry is based on the metadiscursive model. It follows a descriptive and exploratory design with an inductive-deductive character. It was found that the prevailing strategy to commit with the readers is the reference made to the reader, followed by directive strategies, and the appeal to shared knowledge. Ties with the reader are established by using questions and personal comments.

Reducing social diabetes distress with a conversational agent support system: a three-week technology feasibility evaluation.

People with diabetes mellitus not only have to deal with physical health problems, but also with the psycho-social challenges their chronic disease brings. Currently, technological tools that support the psycho-social context of a patient have received little attention. The objective of this work is to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an automated conversational agent to deliver, to people with diabetes, personalised psycho-education on dealing with (psycho-)social distress related to their chronic illness. In a double-blinded between-subject study, 156 crowd-workers with diabetes received a social help program intervention in three sessions over three weeks. They were randomly assigned to receive support from either an interactive conversational support agent () or a self-help text from the book "Diabetes burnout" as a control condition (). Participants completed the Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) before and after the intervention, and after the intervention, the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), Feeling of Being Heard (FBH), and System Usability Scale (SUS). Results indicate that people using the conversational agent have a larger reduction in diabetes distress (, ) than the control group (, ) and this difference is statistically significant (, ). A hypothesised mediation effect of "attitude to the social help program" was not observed. An automated conversational agent can deliver personalised psycho-education on dealing with (psycho-)social distress to people with diabetes and reduce diabetes distress more than a self-help book. This study has been preregistered with the Open Science Foundation (osf.io/yb6vg) and has been accepted by the Human Research Ethics Committee - Delft University of Technology under application number 1130. The data and analysis script are available: https://surfdrive.surf.nl/files/index.php/s/4xSEHCrAu0HsJ4P.

Dimensions auto-curatives et pré-engagement thérapeutique du « développement personnel »

Objective“Self-help” refers to a heterogeneous collection of syncretic knowledge, delivered in the form of books, videos or training courses. This content is sought after by many people whose obvious objective is the quest for an authentic self, in a society where identity supports are wavering. In addition to being a critical consideration, our study aims to better understand the motivations of those who invest in this knowledge and who feed their preferences for these non-conventional approaches. MethodWithin the framework of a literature review in the form of clinical anthropology, three clinical vignettes are presented, based on clinical research interviews conducted with volunteers engaged in a personal development process. ResultsOne of the participants is involved in a practice that includes two mentors; another pursues only a reflective approach nourished by his readings; and the last one supplements his readings with psychological consultations. All of them pursue a desire for inner transformation in connection with a questioning of identity. DiscussionReading such works can promote forms of symbolization mediated by reading. The first vignette provides a clinical illustration of the concept of “apérité” developed by Nicolas Marquis. It demonstrates that the possibility for the subject to identify himself with the contents of the self-help book, which allows him to develop new representations, linked to his personal life history, thereby helping him to move towards a clearer representation of his internal world and the functioning of his identity. The second subject is more motivated by the hope of the existence of an ideal of life that he could implement with the help of the concrete application of certain key factors. He is trying to rebound from a complex family situation that has pushed him to break with his family. By adopting a self-help approach, he is attempting to find the support and backing that he did not have in his family environment. The identification with mentors constitutes a support comparable to a religious precept. The practice of mentoring embodies a real system of reference and support in the life of the third subject interviewed. Over time, this practice enabled him to establish a new relationship with his parents and to gradually emancipate himself. The mentor is often assigned to accompany the individual in the development of a mindset that favors his or her empowerment. This practice also underpins a path towards self-awareness, by inviting the subject to consciously reconnect with his internal world and the different sensations that run through it at various moments of daily life. From the perspective of the participants in the study, personal development stimulates a self-therapeutic work whose limits are exceeded by a gradual openness towards another, in a process of therapeutic pre-commitment. ConclusionIf it is possible to locate the coordinates of the current tendency to strive for personal development in certain mutations of the social bond, it seems necessary to develop a careful and rigorous approach to this form of therapeutic pluralism sought out by a portion of the general population.

Dynamics of single mothers’ semantic strategies in Anglophone non-fiction

The article discusses how the increasing number of self-help books for single mothers is meeting the demand for positive narratives about their experiences, which are often stereotyped in the media. The books offer a powerful tool for self-reflection, and critical discourse analysis reveals semantic strategies that authors use to construct, negotiate, and reframe single motherhood. The authors aim to challenge societal expectations and redefine what constitutes a family. There are still conflicting messages that perpetuate negative stereotypes and stigmas about single mothers, creating an identity crisis. The seven principal semantic strategies applied in the texts include reframing, renaming, normalization, direct or indirect confrontations, distinctions, self-labelling, and vernacular. By using semantic strategies, authors aim to empower single mothers, challenge negative stereotypes, and create a sense of community. While there are limitations to the self-help genre, it remains a powerful tool for self-reflection, self-empowerment, and the construction of identity.