This paper addresses the issue of homosexuals who want to change their sexual orientation. It is noted that many ego-dystonic homosexuals who want to become heterosexual, despite encouragement from psychotherapists to accept their homosexuality, are turning to self-help groups in an effort to change their sexual orientation. Studies that have…

Self-help programs can be used to replace, complement, or supplement formal treatment, but their effectiveness has been underestimated. To test the effectiveness of bibliotherapy in the treatment of problem drinkers, six studies were conducted over 7 years (1975-1982) comparing different treatment approaches. The combined data showed that for…

The purpose of this manual is to provide clients of community mental health facilities with techniques and skills to bring about changes in their own behavior and that of others in their environment. The manual has been used for two years as a textbook for a program of self-control skills training offered in San Mateo County, California, community…

Unsupervised do-it-yourself therapy constitutes an exceptionally important issue that calls for more empirical and scientific investigation of the validity of publications in this field. Rational-emotive therapy (RET), one of the most popular forms of self-help treatment, has led to several generalizations. (1) Cognitive and cognitive-behavior…

While formal definitions of "psychotherapy' have been notoriously elusive, there appears to be general agreement that it involves a professional relationship between a person seeking help for an emotional or behavior problem and a professional who is recognized by society as possessing a certain expertise. An important concomitant of this…