Self-help: Encyclopedia II - Self-help - In Defense of Self-help

Self-help - In Defense of Self-help

A counter-argument is that some readers of self-help books are seeking "easy answers", but that doesn't mean the answers in the books are easy to apply. A book can suggest a course of action (easy or not), but only the reader can carry it out, and some readers are more willing to do so than others. Those who make the effort often do make improvements in their lives.

Steven Berglas wrote:

In fairness to [Mark] Monsky and other self-help authors, there is often much useful material in their writings, and much of the damage done by this body of literature is a function of the fact that these books are not read in depth or at all. Many people quote "insights" from the books based upon a cursory reading of the dust jackets and titles. (from Reclaiming the Fire by Steven Berglas (2001) ISBN 0679463216)

Benjamin Franklin wrote in his autobiography:

As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employ'd in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct.

While the method Franklin describes in his autobiography is straightforward and easy to understand, he is clearly not suggesting that it is easy to do. Some self-help authors may gloss over this distinction, but even when they don't, readers may overlook it. Franklin himself admitted that he was only partially successful, but he thought any improvement was preferable to none, and he continued his efforts over several years.

Research has shown that people often do solve problems on their own, in many cases using techniques that are similar to those used by psychotherapists. See chapters 4 and 8 in:

Mark A. Hubble, Barry L. Duncan, Scott D. Miller (Eds), The Heart and Soul of Change: What Works in Therapy, American Psychological Association (1999) ISBN 155798557X

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "In Defense of Self-help", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki