Posted by LlurpsieNoodle on July 20, 2007, at 17:38:50
In reply to In defense of layman's psych self-help books, posted by slugdoo on July 20, 2007, at 5:33:28
doo,
I think you're right on so many levels. The trick is to find a readable book by an unbiased authority on some subject. Good LUCK with THAT!I read all kinds of books. Self help books give me ideas that I try out myself. If it works, keep it. If it's a waste of time, toss it. Sometimes they give me ideas of what to talk about in therapy. My T's have even recommended several books for me to read. I've read and done exercises from "Radical Acceptance" "Thoughts and Feelings" and read a book on facing fear "when things fall apart" that has really helped me deal with pain and terror. If a book doesn't strike a chord with me, I try to return it to borders. tell them that it's filled with false advertising haha. joking. I usually just keep it on my shelf to look pompous. And I'd never buy a book from Phil McGraw. He's got too much money and perhaps even pays people to put a pile of notes together into a book.
As far as lemon researchers go. Test of time. Peer-reviewed publications and replication of results. One study is not "proof" of anything. I just like a good discussion of various theories, myself. I'd never read an article to make me feel better. They are usually too focused or too empirical for the layperson to make practical sense out of.
-Ll
-Ll
poster:LlurpsieNoodle
thread:770680
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20070714/msgs/770785.html