When are self-help programs “helpful”?

Follow me on Twitter @srinipillay For some people, a “self-help” program can be a useful addition to professional services, or even be enough by itself. Despite the good intentions of the creators of such programs, the degree and quality of research backing up their claims vary. What’s more, people also vary in how well they use such programs. Given the increasing number of books, tapes, podcasts, programs, and apps that claim to provide self-help, it is important to think about a few principles that may help you choose a program and use its information more effectively. Here are some factors to consider when evaluating self-help programs for any challenge you may be facing. Is the program’s approach backed up by good data? The quality of research in self-help is highly variable. For example, although self-help treatments for anxiety may be more effective than placebo but less effective than face-to face studies for the treatment of anxiety disorders, many of the studies showing this have not been well-controlled trials. For that reason, it is important to examine whether a program itself references well-controlled trials, and that more than one study backs up the claim. This is rare, but certainly, by checking the references or endnotes in a book or program, you can get a sense of whether the recommendations are research-based or not. And here’s why you should care about the research. Scientists use statistical analyses to help determine whether an intervention wor...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Behavioral Health Brain and cognitive health Mental Health Source Type: blogs