1. EFFECTIVENESS OF
SELF-HELP MATERIAL
Helen Cardoso, Bryan Stites,
Advisor :Jim A. Haugh,PhD.
Rowan University

2. Seeking Help
• People experience problems such as
• Psychological Distress
• Social problems
• Occupational difficulties
• Where do people find help?

3. Where do people find help?
Physicians
Therapists/
Psychologist
Psychiatrists
Support
Groups
Friends
Religious
Institutions
Nutritionist

4. Efficacy versus Effectiveness of
Traditional Psychotherapy
Efficacy
• Establishes high internal
validity
• For example:
• Experimental Method
Effectiveness
• Establishes high external
validity
• For example:
• Survey-based

5. Psychotherapy
Efficacy Effectiveness
People who are treated
for mental health
problems are better off
than 75% of people who
are not treated (Smith &
Glass,1977).
Consumer report found
that 87% of individuals
who sought out therapy
reported that they felt
better (Seligman, 1995).

6. Psychotherapy
Efficacy Effectiveness
People who are treated
for mental health
problems are better off
than 75% of people who
are not treated (Smith &
Glass,1977).
Consumer report found
that 87% of individuals
who sought out therapy
reported that they felt
better (Seligman, 1995).

7. Problems with Traditional Psychotherapy
• Many people do not seek it out:
• Why don’t people seek treatment?
•It’s expensive
•It’s time consuming
•Stigmas associated with therapy

8. What is an alternative to psychotherapy?
• Self-help Materials:
• Self-directed activity aimed at improving one’s life.
• Specific goals might include
• Better Problem solving.
• Gaining insight and awareness,
• Better Self-Management,
• Improving relationships, and/or
• Reaching your goals

9. Why is self-help a good alternative?
• Reasons people use self-help:
• Cost
• Availability
• At own leisure
• Lack of Stigma
Seligman, 1995

10. Are Self-help Treatments Efficacious?
• Many studies, over numerous years (including those done
in our lab), indicate yes.
• For example, Scogin, Bynum, Stephens, & Calhoon, 1990
• Meta-analysis
• Effective in comparison with no treatment.

11. Purpose of Current Study
Psychotherapy Self-Help
Efficacy
Effectiveness None

12. Questions of the Current Study
• Research Question #1:
• What type of self –help is used?
• Research Question #2:
• Do people see self-help as effective in achieving their goals?

13. Participants
• Two different samples were recruited:
• Undergraduate students (N=113)
• SONA
• General population (GP; N=62)
• Amazon
• Reddit
• Facebook
• Referral from friend.

14. Participants
Sample (N=175)
Age Range 18-34; Mean 20
Race
Caucasian (68%), Black/African American (11%), Asian
(3%), Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (1%),
American Indian/Alaskan Native (1%)
Other (16%)
Ethnicity Non –Hispanic/Non-Latino (90%)
Hispanic/Latino ( 10%),
Gender Male (59%);Female (41%)

15. Method
• Retrospective online survey
• This question was a “check all that apply.”

16. Method
• Looked at effectiveness of self-help in four different questions:
• Did Self-help assist you with your problem?
• Did Self-help assist you feel better?
• Did Self-help assist you in your relationships?
• Did Self-help assist with school/work
• 5-point Likert scale
• (5) Made things a lot better
• (4) Made things somewhat better
• (3) Made no difference
• (2) Made things somewhat worse
• (1) Made things a lot worse

17. Results
Internet Sites Books
Television
shows
Movies/
Documentaries
Smart Phone or
Tablet Apps
In-Person
Support Groups
Online Support
Groups
Percent 72 50 30 30 29 12 8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Research Question #1: What type of self –help is used?
Self-Help Material Used in the Last Year
Note: N=175

18. Results
77 77
59 59
18 18
35 37
2 3 2 2
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Improve Problem
Addressed
Feeling Better Improve
Relationships with
others
Improve
Work/School
Performance
A lot better/Somewhat better No Difference Somewhat/ A lot Worse
Note: N=175
Perceived Effectiveness of Self-Help Material
Research Question #2:
Do people see self-help as effective in achieving their goals?

19. So why does this matter?
• People spend billions of dollars a year on self-
help materials.
• Self-help is perceived as effective in assisting
individuals with a variety of different
circumstances.
• though self-help is not comparable to
psychotherapy, the 75% of people who do not
seek help through psychotherapy at least have
viable alternatives.

20. Limitations
• Effectiveness of specific
genres of self-help
• Why self-help has the
potential for negative
outcomes.
• More specific assessment
of time time between use
and survey.
Future Directions
• Bias on utilization
• Broad definition of self-
help materials
• Did not assess for
individual presenting
problem
Oops!

21. Limitations
• Effectiveness of specific
genres of self-help
• Why self-help has the
potential for negative
outcomes.
• More specific assessment
of time time between use
and survey.
Future Directions
• Bias on utilization
• Broad definition of self-
help materials
• Did not assess for
individual presenting
problem
Oops!

22. Acknowledgements
Jim A. Haugh, Ph.D.
The R.O.A.D.
(Research on Anxiety and Depression)
Research Team

23. EFFECTIVENESS OF
SELF-HELP MATERIAL
Helen Cardoso, Bryan Stites,
Advisor :Jim A. Haugh,PhD.
Rowan University