Motivation and emotion/Book/2022/Self-help

What is self -help?
According to Schueller et al (2014), Self- help  is a range of psychosocial interventions disseminated by providing resources directly to people without professional assistance. These interventions are usually accessible, affordable and understandable and delivered via books, courses, the internet and other technologies.

What motivates people to engage in self -help?
People are motivated to engage in Self-help activities for a variety of reasons including cost, accessibility and a desire to change behavior. Ebert et al (2016) consider that internet-based guided self-help interventions might be an acceptable, effective, and cost-effective treatment alternative for depression and other conditions and they could provide treatment to individuals not reached by traditional therapist driven interventions.

Focus questions:
 * What are the theoretical approaches to self help?
 * What are the different types of self help interventions?
 * Is self help effective?

What sort of interventions are considered self -help?
Books

Courses

Web based programs

Other technologies (apps)

What types of conditions are addressed by self-help interventions?
Depression

Eating disorders

Positive Psychology and mindfulness practices

What motivates people to engage in self -help?
Cost

Desire to change behaviours

Lack of stigma

What are the theoretical approaches to self-help?
Fogg Behaviour model (FMB) 2009, three factors influence target behaviour- motivation, ability and triggers (Schueller 151)

Advantages
Accessible at any time and place

Participants can work at their own pace and easily review materials

At-risk individuals are reached at an earlier stage compared with traditional mental health services, because web-based interventions are more easily integrated into daily life. (Buntrock et al., 2016)

Disadvantages
For some individuals a self-help approach might not be intense enough

Individuals might be overstrained by trying to apply psychotherapeutic self-help strategies.

Some therapeutic techniques could be inappropriately implemented by participants without direct guidance from a therapist (Ebert et al., 2016)

Self-help treatments could lead to a delayed help-seeking, which could result in a further deterioration of symptoms, if the initial low-intensity self-help treatment is not sufficient

Conclusion
Aim for three to six main headings between the Overview and Conclusion.

Learning features
What brings an online book chapter to life are its interactive learning features. Case studies, feature boxes, figures, links, tables, and quiz questions can be used throughout the chapter.

Case studies
Case studies describe real-world examples of concepts in action. Case studies can be real or fictional. A case could be used multiple times during a chapter to illustrate different theories or stages. It is often helpful to present case studies using feature boxes.

Boxes
Boxes can be used to highlight content, but don't overuse them. There are many different ways of creating boxes (e.g., see Pretty boxes). Possible uses include:
 * Focus questions
 * Case studies or examples
 * Quiz questions
 * Take-home messages


 * Feature box example
 * Shaded background
 * Coloured border

Figures


Use figures to illustrate concepts, add interest, and provide examples. Figures can be used to show photographs, drawings, diagrams, graphs, etcetera. Figures can be embedded throughout the chapter, starting with the Overview section. Figures should be captioned (using a number and a description) in order to explain their relevance to the text. Possible images can be found at Wikimedia Commons. Images can also be uploaded if they are licensed for re-use or if you created the image. Each figure should be referred to at least once in the main text (e.g., see Figure 1).

Links
Where key words are first used, make them into interwiki links such as Wikipedia links to articles about famous people (e.g., Sigmund Freud and key concepts (e.g., dreams) and links to book chapters about related topics (e.g., would you like to learn about how to overcome writer's block?).

Tables
Tables can be an effective way to organise and summarise information. Tables should be captioned (using APA style) to explain their relevance to the text. Plus each table should be referred to at least once in the main text (e.g., see Table 1 and Table 2).

Here are some example 3 x 3 tables which could be adapted.

Quizzes
Quizzes are a direct way to engage readers. But don't make quizzes too hard or long. It is better to have one or two review questions per major section than a long quiz at the end. Try to quiz conceptual understanding, rather than trivia.

Here are some simple quiz questions which could be adapted. Choose the correct answers and click "Submit": {Quizzes are an interactive learning feature: + True - False
 * type=""}

{Long quizzes are a good idea: - True + False
 * type=""}

To learn about different types of quiz questions, see Quiz.

Conclusion
The Conclusion is arguably the most important section. It should be possible for someone to read the Overview and the Conclusion and still get a good idea of the topic.