Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials

Declan Lyons; Maria Frampton; Ailbhe Doherty; Elle O’Driscoll; Connor Montgomery

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials

Declan Lyons, Maria Frampton, Ailbhe Doherty, Elle O’Driscoll, Connor Montgomery

Published in International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 11 May 2022 Accepted: 30 May 2022 Published: 8 June 2022

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Abstract

Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.

Published in	International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
Page(s)	15-21
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Self-help, Evidence Base, Psychological Insight, Bibliotherapy, Cost Effectiveness, Mental Health Disorder

References

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APA Style

Declan Lyons, Maria Frampton, Ailbhe Doherty, Elle O’Driscoll, Connor Montgomery. (2022). Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 7(2), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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ACS Style

Declan Lyons; Maria Frampton; Ailbhe Doherty; Elle O’Driscoll; Connor Montgomery. Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2022, 7(2), 15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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AMA Style

Declan Lyons, Maria Frampton, Ailbhe Doherty, Elle O’Driscoll, Connor Montgomery. Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2022;7(2):15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12,
  author = {Declan Lyons and Maria Frampton and Ailbhe Doherty and Elle O’Driscoll and Connor Montgomery},
  title = {Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {15-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  abstract = {Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.},
 year = {2022}
}

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T1  - Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials
AU  - Declan Lyons
AU  - Maria Frampton
AU  - Ailbhe Doherty
AU  - Elle O’Driscoll
AU  - Connor Montgomery
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
T2  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
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AB  - Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.
VL  - 7
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Author Information

Declan Lyons

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland
Maria Frampton

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Ailbhe Doherty

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland
Elle O’Driscoll

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland
Connor Montgomery

Department of Old Age Psychiatry, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Dublin, Ireland

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APA Style

Declan Lyons, Maria Frampton, Ailbhe Doherty, Elle O’Driscoll, Connor Montgomery. (2022). Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences, 7(2), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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ACS Style

Declan Lyons; Maria Frampton; Ailbhe Doherty; Elle O’Driscoll; Connor Montgomery. Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. Int. J. Psychol. Brain Sci. 2022, 7(2), 15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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AMA Style

Declan Lyons, Maria Frampton, Ailbhe Doherty, Elle O’Driscoll, Connor Montgomery. Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials. Int J Psychol Brain Sci. 2022;7(2):15-21. doi: 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12,
  author = {Declan Lyons and Maria Frampton and Ailbhe Doherty and Elle O’Driscoll and Connor Montgomery},
  title = {Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials},
  journal = {International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {15-21},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijpbs.20220702.12},
  abstract = {Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Corporate Gibberish or the Missing Therapist - The Role and Value of Self-help Materials
AU  - Declan Lyons
AU  - Maria Frampton
AU  - Ailbhe Doherty
AU  - Elle O’Driscoll
AU  - Connor Montgomery
Y1  - 2022/06/08
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
T2  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Psychological and Brain Sciences
SP  - 15
EP  - 21
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1573
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijpbs.20220702.12
AB  - Self-improvement or self-help literature has become increasingly popular as a means of conveying psychological insights, encouraging personal growth and development in addition to suggesting treatment strategies for diagnosable mental health conditions. This genre of writing is potentially wide ranging overlapping with multiple areas of human endeavor from business to spirituality, sport and nutrition, yet the ubiquity of offerings in the field of mental health has meant that self-help is recognized, both as an alternative to and as a critical element of, professionally administered therapies. Accusations of commercial hype, blatant self-promotion and lack of empirical evaluation have resulted in professional derision and academic disengagement from designing and evaluating such interventions that could be a useful adjunct to effective therapy. The evidence base and scarcity of high quality research into the effectiveness of the myriad of self-administered therapies and their different formats is discussed, in the context of the author’s observation that self-help materials are frequently recommended by clinicians to their patients, potentially on an anecdotal basis. Self-help materials have the potential to educate and support people experiencing a variety of forms of psychological distress in a non-stigmatizing fashion and may rightly be regarded as the initial step to accessing more formalized care and as such deserve greater academic scrutiny.
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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