Psychologists and self-help books: attitudes and prescriptive practices of clinicians

Data are presented from a survey of 123 practicing psychologists in 36 states concerning attitudes and prescriptive practices with regard to self-help books. Tables are provided indicating those self-help works most frequently read and prescribed by responding psychologists, along with ratings of quality and helpfulness. Results indicate widespread readership and prescription of popularized self-help books among psychologists and a positive evaluation of their utility. Questions as to how and why these works are being used are explored.