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More people seek mental health advice from self-help books and sites rather than seeking therapy. This book guides readers through this maze of materials, evaluating and recommending clinically valid resources for specific clinical and sub-clinical problems.

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Self-help is big business, but alas not a scienti c business. The estimated 10 billion-that´s with a "b"-spent each year on self-help in the United States is rarely guided by research or monitored by mental health professionals. Instead, marketing and metaphysics triumph. The more outrageous the "miraculous cure" and the "r- olutionary secret," the better the sales. Of the 3,000 plus self-help books published each year, only a dozen contain controlled research documenting their effectiveness as stand-alone self-help. Of the 20,000 plus psychological and relationship web sites available on the Internet, only a couple hundred meet professional standards for accuracy and balance. Most, in fact, sell a commercial product. Pity the layperson, or for that matter, the practitioner, trying to navigate the self-help morass. We are bombarded with thousands of potential resources and c- tradictory advice. Should we seek wisdom in a self-help book, an online site, a 12-step group, an engaging autobiography, a treatment manual, an inspiring movie, or distance writing? Should we just do it, or just say no? Work toward change or accept what is? Love your inner child or grow out of your Peter Pan? I become confused and discouraged just contemplating the choices.

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to the Field of Self-help in Mental Health.- What Constitutes Self-Help in Mental Health and What Can Be Done to Improve It?.- The Self-Help Movement in Mental Health: From Passivity to Interactivity.- Self-Support Methods: Initiated, Administered, Guided, Maintained, and Monitored by Professionals.- Distance Writing: Helping without Seeing Participants.- Bibliotherapy.- Online Support Groups and Therapy.- Manuals for Practitioners.- Self-help and Self-change Approaches for Specific Conditions Initiated, Administered, Guided, Maintained, and Monitored by Professionals.- Anxiety Disorders.- Mood Disorders.- Eating Disorders: Anorexia, Bulimia, and Obesity.- Addictive Behaviors.- Personality Disorders.- Severe Psychopathology.- Medical Conditions.- Conclusions and Prospects.- Who Benefits by Self-Help and Why?.

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"Harwood and L´Abate´s Self-Help in Mental Health is an information-packed reference volume for the mental health practitioner that provides a wealth of material on self-help resources and the research-based strengths and weaknesses of each as applied to just about all of the common mental health diagnoses, with a few of the more common medical diagnoses thrown in. As a bonus, the authors develop a theory of relational competence for self-help, along with 16 models... Self-Help in Mental Health provides bibliotherapy sources, manualized treatments, support group formats, and Internet/website links to assist the practitioner in offering guided self-help to consumers. It is a quality reference..."

- Robert A. Bischoff, PsycCRITIQUES, July 28, 2010, Vol. 55, Release 30, Article 7

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