Throwback Thursday's Psychology Trivia Answer: Can You Read Your Way To Mental Health?

Thought for the Day: when I first posted this article I was waiting for my car to be towed, today I'm still chugging along with the help of my cell phone and computers at public libraries to keep up with all my social media and blogging. At least my car is working! Here's the answer to the trivia question. What books have helped you with your mental health. Tomorrow in my Fabulous Finds I'll add some books that I recommend to my clients. Have a great day!

Thought for the Day: As I sit in my car waiting for AAA to come help me, I realized that I could work on my post from my iPhone. I can also call AAA, call a friend, or do other work from this amazing device. Perhaps my trivia question should have been: "Can you phone your way to mental health?" I doubt there's been any research on it yet but I will check and let you know! Has your cell phone helped your mental health? I'd love to hear your stories!
     Tuesday's psychology trivia question was:

             True or False: You can read your way to mental health.

The answer is true.  Bibliotherapy, i.e., prescribing selected books to read about the presenting problem is a common practice among psychologists & psychotherapists. I often recommend selected reading as an adjunct to therapy. Intuitively, I know it helps. Surprisingly, there has not been much research on the effectiveness of this technique. However, in a small but significant percentage of cases, in the UK bibliotherapy reduced symptoms of prospective clients waiting to be seen for an initial psychotherapy evaluation. By the time of their scheduled 1st appointment, they no longer choose to seek additional treatment. This does not actually prove that reading a book can cure a psychological problem, however, it seems to help relieve some people's stress for the time being. More research is needed before people can assume that just reading a book will cure them. If you would like to read more about this study take a look at "Bibliotherapy: Reading Your Way to Mental Health"  from The Wall Street Journal (2007) by Kevin Heliker.

Stay tuned for an important announcement soon about how you will be able to download my book on Amazon for FREE for a limited time only. I know it can help you & your friends improve your mental health, too! You will not need to have a Kindle device to take advantage of this offer.

iPhone therapy helped me pass the time & I was able to prepare everything but the photo by the time AAA arrive! Thanks Apple for inventing this "therapeutic" device. 

Photo Credit:
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