The Self-Help Movement came out of the social and intellectual milieu of the 1960s and was formed to promote the cultivation of extraordinary potential believed to be largely untapped in most people. The movement is premised on the belief that through the development of human potential, humans can experience an exceptional quality of life filled with happiness, creativity, and fulfillment.

A corollary belief is often that those who begin to unleash this potential will find their actions within society to be directed towards helping others release their potential. The belief is that the net effect of individuals cultivating their potential will bring about positive social change at large.

The movement has its conceptual roots in existentialism and humanism. Its formation was strongly tied to Humanistic psychology, also known as the "3rd force" in psychology (after psychoanalysis and behaviorism, and before the "4th force" of Transpersonal psychology which emphasizes esoteric, psychic, mystical, and spiritual development). It is often considered synonymous with Humanistic psychology.

The movement views Abraham Maslow's idea of self-actualization as the supreme expression of a human's life.The movement is sometimes considered to be under the broader umbrella of the New Age movement. It is distinguished ideologically from other New Age trends by an emphasis on the individual development of secular human capabilities as opposed to the more spiritual views within the movement.

However, participants rarely make this distinction and it is common to find that most who embrace the ideas of the human potential movement also tend to embrace the other more spiritual ideas within the New Age movement.

Criticism:

The movement has received criticism in two forms...

1) researchers in psychology, medicine, and science who often dismiss the movement as being grounded in pseudoscience, overusing psychobabble, and whose efficacy can be explained entirely by placebo.

2) those often considered sympathetic to the movement, but who believe that the movement has not succeeded in its goals, but has instead created an environment that actually inhibits personal development. The claim is that it encourages childish narcissism by reinforcing the behavior of focusing on one's problems and expressing how one feels, rather than encouraging behaviors to overcome these problems.

An extension of this criticism claims that this problem is due to a flawed foundation of the movement altogether – the focus on the individual's own development as supreme, to the detriment of the consideration of others and society (i.e. victim blaming, underestimating forces of oppression, or feelings of apathy towards large-scale social problems.)

Many in the movement responded to this criticism by suggesting that the individual consider putting his/her individual development in the hands of the divine as a means to better others and society, with the implication that the criticism is invalid because the movement is, on this view, for the most part guided by extrinsic consideration for the highest good of all beings on the planet.

Source: Wikipedia


Dr. John C. Norcross, et al - University of Scranton (ABSTRACT)

In the context of intense interest in evidence-based practice  (EBP), the authors sought to establish consensus on discredited psychological treatments and assessments using Delphi methodology. A panel of 101 experts participated in a 2-stage survey, reporting familiarity with 59 treatments and 30 assessment techniques and rating these on a continuum from not at all discredited to certainly discredited.

The authors report their composite findings as well as significant differences that occurred as a function of the experts’ gender and theoretical orientation. The results should be interpreted carefully and humbly, but they do offer a cogent first step in consensually identifying a continuum of discredited procedures in modern mental health practice. Professional Psychology: Research & Practice © 2006 by the APA 2006, Vol. 37, No. 5, 515–522

If at First You Don’t Succeed, False Hopes of Self-Change - Dr. Janet Polivy & Dr. C. Peter Herman - University of Toronto (ABSTRACT)

Despite repeated failure at attempts to change aspects of their behavior, people make frequent attempts at self-change. The generally negative outcome of many such self-change efforts makes it difficult to understand why so many individuals persist at these attempts. The authors have described this cycle of failure and renewed effort as a “false hope syndrome” characterized by unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease, and consequences of self-change attempts.

In this article, the authors review the reasons why so many people tend to fail in their self-change attempts and then examine how people interpret these failures in such a way that they are led to keep trying repeatedly despite apparently overwhelming odds. Finally, the authors discuss the psychological consequences of repeated failure and analyze the distinction between confidence and overconfidence.

Girls who "dish" to their friends about their problems may actually be increasing their misery by doing so.

Such are the findings of a study released Sunday, in which researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia found that "co-rumination" -- in other words, excessively discussing problems with close friends -- appears to increase anxiety and depression in young and adolescent girls. Boys of the same age, on the other hand, appeared to be immune to these effects.

Fringe Psychotherapies: The Public at Risk - Dr. Barry L. Beyerstein - Department of Psychology Simon Fraser University


Stephen Barrett, M.D. - Is a retired psychiatrist & operates Quackwatch

Has achieved national renown as an author, editor, and consumer advocate. In addition to heading Quackwatch, he is vice-president of the National Council Against Health Fraud, & a scientific advisor to the American Council on Science and Health.