"With a little help from my friends I get by": self-help books and psychotherapy. Essay review

A Bosnian mental health professional told the following story: Her village had been under siege for months, and she had worked around the clock in her community using all her personal and professional resources. She was offered a few days break in Zagreb and went to the city; she welcomed the chance to be out from under fire and to rest. A bookstore was the first place she wanted to go, to browse, to expand her vision, to read about other places and peoples. In the shop, the shelves were lined with American best-selling self-help books with titles like "Getting rid of the shoulds in your life in 24 hours," "How to stop being angry and guilty in 12 steps," etc. She looked at these and felt so unreal that she fled back to her village, preferring the reality of her people and her problems.