Revisioning the Self: A Phenomenological Investigation Into Self‐Help Reading

The helpfulness of self-help reading was explored through interviews with 6 female self-help readers. Themes derived through phenomenological data analysis suggested that there is a distinct structure to the self-help reading experience, including self-help reading as a medium for revisioning of self. Implications for counseling practice and research are provided. Self-help literature assists individuals with gaining insight and self-understanding (Swatton & O'Callaghan, 1999) and teaches individuals how to improve their lives (Murphy, 2001). Self-help literature (e.g., books, workbooks, audiobooks) are common, with approximately 2,000 to 4,000 self-help titles being published each year (Salerno, 2005). These materials usually offer prescriptive suggestions for a variety of mental health issues (Norcross et al., 2003). Many of these are recognized bestsellers, reaching more than I million individuals each (Apfel, 1996). Self-help reading is considered effective under certain conditions and for certain individuals when treating specific mental health and heath issues, including sexual dysfunction (van Lankveld, 1998), panic disorder (Febbraro, 2005), binge eating (Carter & Fairburn, 1998), and depression (Floyd, Scogin, McKendree-Smith, Floyd, & Rokke, 2004). These studies suggest that self-help reading is helpful for the reader; however, it is unclear what is essential about the experience of self-help reading for a reader to describe it as helpful. Research studies on self-help reading have focused primarily on conducting outcome research (Riordan & Wilson, 1989) without asking the important question of how self-help reading is useful. To understand a phenomenon in depth, such as self-help reading, the experience of the person or people in question must be honored. The overall purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of self-help reading as described by self-guided adult readers to discover what is essentially helpful about self-help reading. Proponents of self-help reading have argued that reading is helpful to the reader for various reasons, including the views that reading normalizes feelings and readers gain viable solutions to problems (Pardeck, 1995); readers can learn coping skills (Pehresson & McMillen, 2005); self-help reading is flexible, anonymous, and cost effective (Williams, 2003); and self-help reading is empowering for the reader (Starker, 1990). Concerns about self-help reading noted by some critics include the following: (a) there is little research on the effectiveness of most self-help books (Rosen, 1993), (b) self-help reading may not be suitable for all individuals (Coleman & Ganong, 1990), and self-help books reinforce individual solutions rather than solutions to systemic social problems (Murphy, 2001). Theory building research has provided the best description of the powerful effects of reading. In one of the earliest studies, Shrodes (1950) proposed that reading provides a new frame of reference for the reader, increases awareness, and can be a catalyst for change. Colaizzi (1978) examined how reading assisted with personal change and discovered that readers became "converts" to ideas expressed in the book and by discussing the book with others; the reader's views were affirmed and clarified. In the most extensive study on reading and change, Cohen (1993) examined the experience of therapeutic reading from the perspective of the self-guided reader. Results of this qualitative study indicated two major themes of reading: recognition of self (including ways of knowing and ways of feeling subcategories) and characteristics of reading (intentional, relational, and transporting subcategories). Readers who recognized themselves in the characters described reading as most helpful (Cohen, 1993). Through this recognition, readers were able to discover solutions to their problems and found hope and comfort through the experience of reading. …