Self-Coaching

April 15, 2001
Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts and our interpretations of events greatly influence our moods. Therapists teach clients to listen to their negative internal dialogs and to use less depressive "self-talk." Clients may also be given "homework" in the form of relaxation exercises for anxiety or gradual acclimatization to frightening situations. The emphasis is on changing thoughts and actions, not on understanding their origins. Getting Your Life Back and Self-Coaching are both based on this approach. The latter, by clinical psychologist Luciani, advises readers to identify themselves as specific personality types (e.g., "Worrywarts," "Hedgehogs," "Perfectionists") and then gives specific instructions on how to change these thought patterns. The title by Wright and Basco, a psychiatrist/educator and a clinical psychologist/researcher, respectively, examines various psychological areas (e.g., thinking, action, biology, relationships, and spirituality) and invites readers to work on these areas in any order with valuable, morale-boosting checklists and examples. Getting Your Life Back is the better of the two because it discusses antidepressants and because the authors' instructions and exercises are much more thorough.

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2001
The prevailing therapeutic value of trying to change cognitive thought processes in order to ward off depression and anxiety is not new. However, the approach in this book puts the primary responsibility for making the change on the sufferer of either condition. For those who are uncomfortable with the thought of entering therapy or using medication, the self-coaching work here may be just the ticket to greater freedom from depression and anxiety. (There are a few useful self-tests.) As an alternative to traditional psychiatric options, the self-coaching and "self-talk" prescribed in the book may work to talk oneself out of temporary mild or moderate depression. Sufferers of major clinical depression might want to combine the approach here with therapy or medication. A viable option for the self-help section of library collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)