It is said that psychological books have a certain effect on psychology. Is it true?/You don't say. Is it really useful for me to explain psychology books to you?
Q: Psychology books are selling well now. What do you think of this?
A: The best-selling psychology books didn't start just now. From the beginning of 1980. Of course, Buddhist scriptures are also psychological books, so they should also be counted as psychological books. Psychology books have been selling well for thousands of years. In the 1980s, Freud and Maslow were super bestsellers, but most readers' interest in psychology books still stayed on the satisfaction of knowledge. At that time, there were many cynics, all of whom were in the 1960s and had elegant taste. Look at Cui Jian, Wang Shuo and Zhang Yimou. Now these young people can't compete with each other. In the early 1990s, The Psychologist, edited by Yi Fajian and others, began to sell like crazy, which should be regarded as an early popular science reading of clinical psychology. Later, psychological books became popular all the way, and many publishers rushed to publish psychological books, whether they were popular science, translated works or works. Many city newspapers have opened psychological columns, and some national magazines have also appeared. Many therapists learn to do psychotherapy by reading, and they are also used to recommending books to visitors during the treatment.
In some countries in Europe and America, psychological books are special publications, and a large number of books and audio-visual products are put on the market every year, and they are also standardized and professional. At present, the publication of psychological books in China is still chaotic. At first glance, it can be known that amateurs are doing this market. Not only the editors of publishing houses don't know much about psychological counseling and psychotherapy, but also many authors and translators have a little knowledge. Some books are just a waste of energy and money, while some good books can't be published or are of poor quality. Even if they are published, they don't know how to publicize them. However, laymen also have the advantage that some books or authors that are easily overlooked can easily get ahead.
Q: One question that everyone is concerned about now is whether psychological books are useful. Can reading cure psychological disorder?
Answer the first question first. Is it useful? Reading is certainly useful. To put it bluntly, the book comes from the Golden House, and the book has its own Yan Ruyu. Say something elegant? Reading thousands of books does not beg for food, but taking off millet takes precedence over books. If you want to know what you have always known, you will be happy to drink water. ? Reading is a transcendental realm of life. Pick up a book and think about how much benefit this book can bring me. From the Confucian point of view, this is called a villain. Why are you so utilitarian? Are you so poor? After reading this book, Zhu wrote a poem called Random Thoughts on Reading. Half an acre of square pond opened, and the sky was overcast. Ask the canal to be so clear, because there is running water at the source. ? This kind of reading is a Confucian practice. Now there are small traders who are full of evil thoughts such as writing books to make money and buying books to make money. Naturally, it is impossible to publish a few good books. Liu Xiang said,? Books, especially medicine, can a good scholar cure a fool? . The intelligence of China people is declining, and there are few good readers.
The second question, can reading cure psychological barriers? This question is about the evaluation of curative effect research. To answer this question, we must first understand the evaluation criteria of the curative effect of psychological counseling or psychotherapy. There are five grades to evaluate the efficacy of psychotherapy. Today, I only talk about the lowest and highest grades. The lowest level of evidence is the experience of experts. For example, an expert named Lao Wang said that reading in my experience can treat psychological disorders. The words of such an expert are very unreliable because of this assertion? Can reading treat psychological disorder? Maybe it's Lao Wang's wishful thinking. In fact, reading has no influence on his visitors. It is also possible that he is really kind to visitors, but actually reading has no effect, and other factors have an effect. Even if most visitors to Lao Wang achieved the therapeutic effect through reading, we can only say that most visitors to Lao Wang achieved the therapeutic effect through reading? Instead of saying? Does reading have a therapeutic effect? . Because those who come to Lao Wang may happen to be a group of people who are sensitive to reading therapy.
Or in other words, what do you say? Reading is effective? It's too general. What books to read and what psychological barriers are effective? So if we want to avoid all these mistakes, we need experiments that meet the requirements of scientific research and design to confirm them? Is bibliotherapy effective for mental disorder? Such a proposition. This scientific research method is called randomized controlled trial, or RCT for short. The more randomized controlled trials of a certain method, the better the quality, which means that the scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of this therapy is more sufficient. So now there is a trend in the field of medicine and psychotherapy, called Evidence-based practice (EBM), which is to find the best diagnosis and treatment method based on the best scientific evidence. One of the main tasks of evidence-based practice is to report how much RCT supports the effectiveness of a certain therapy and how these randomized controlled trials are designed. Such reports are called meta-analysis. Meta-analysis is the most powerful scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of a certain therapy, which uses many statistical techniques. So, your second question, can reading treat psychological disorders? Switching to professional language means that what is the evidence-based practical evidence supporting reading therapy for various psychological disorders, and is there a meta-analysis?
Q: Oh, I see. What about the evidence?
A: The evidence is conclusive. If there is a meta-analysis, it is found that cognitive reading therapy (Gregoryetal, 2004) is very effective in treating depression, especially for adolescents and adults. In addition, for sexual dysfunction, several meta-analyses have found that the effect of reading therapy is particularly good (Van Frank Wilde JJ, 1998). Impotence patients don't have to take Viagra in a hurry, just buy a book to read. Unfortunately, the books recommended in the study have not been translated. There is a common superstition about drugs. People always think that taking medicine is better and injection is better. It's not the same thing. Among various psychological disorders, the effect and long-term benefit of psychotherapy exceed that of drugs. There is sufficient scientific evidence for this, but many psychiatrists of the so-called biological school don't believe this and have no choice. There are also psychotherapists who follow suit and say that those who are easy to treat will be treated with psychotherapy, and those who are difficult to treat will be treated with drugs. There are hundreds of studies on reading therapy. In addition to depression and sexual dysfunction, there are psychological disorders such as anxiety, substance addiction, insomnia and eating disorders, which can be used. Reading therapy is sometimes used as the main treatment and sometimes as an auxiliary treatment. John C. norcross and others have done a survey, and 80% of psychotherapists will recommend books to visitors. Reading therapy is also recommended to treat panic disorder, mild to moderate depression disorder and eating disorder, especially in the early stage, in the evidence-based medicine manual compiled by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). (Frood 2005)
In addition, it is worth mentioning that our country can also study reading therapy, and there are more than 100 articles and a monograph in the database. Gong Meiling and others have done a lot of empirical research, and Wang Bo's research on reading therapy is also very profound, and he also links the theory of traditional Chinese medicine with reading therapy, which is very avant-garde.
Q: Are they all reading?
A: Of course not. Any method has its limitations. Reading therapy is generally aimed at minor disorders, and not all books are suitable. What we are concerned about now is whether books can replace face-to-face consultation. A study completed by Menchola and Arkowitz last year shows that reading therapy is better than no therapeutic intervention, but it is still not as good as psychotherapy. (Arkowitz et al. However, there are also opposite opinions. For example, in 2003, Lewis and Anderson found that reading face to face was similar to holding a book. (Lewis etal, 2003) Another meta-analysis shows that reading therapy combined with face-to-face therapy is more effective than other methods. (Clum， 1993)
Q: What misunderstandings will readers encounter when they contact psychological books?
A: I haven't seen the exact research results on this issue. I can only tell you from experience that there are several misunderstandings. One is to blindly believe in books, fallacies are fallacies, and so are printed books. Isn't Mein Kampf written by Hitler? Nowadays, popular science books are particularly messy. Many books are nonsense and mislead readers. Some books are pieced together by booksellers looking for writers. Another misunderstanding is that you just watch and don't do it. Many self-help books have homework that readers are required to complete. Just reading and not doing is equivalent to buying an air conditioner and going back to read the instructions, and then asking: Why not cool it?
Q: So how should readers choose good psychology books?
A: Personally, I think, first of all, let's look at the author, what does this author do, what he studies, and whether this person is doing psychological counseling/psychotherapy. Secondly, look at the references in this book. Reference refers to the place where the author speaks. Not every sound can be called music, and not all animals without hairy legs can be called people. Although the authors of some books are professionals, what they say is very unprofessional. This impetuous disease will be transmitted with the media, right? Sometimes it is the publishing industry that deletes references and thesaurus written by others, and amateurs guide experts. Moreover, those titles that are too inflammatory and look like aphrodisiacs are generally deceptive, and booksellers contract poor scholars to do them. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, Burns's "10 Days to Improve Self-esteem" is actually very good, but the title is tacky. Some books tell you that you can solve all problems in one or two ways, which is also one-sided. Only those who are not good at dialectics can say such big and empty words. Finally, it should be noted that reading therapy is best carried out under the guidance of a psychotherapist. However, if you meet a therapist who can't read or understand the law, you are out of luck.
Q: Is there such a therapist?
Yes, a lot. Some of them are hooligans besides being illiterate and ignorant of the law. I won't tell you just now, not all people with two legs, not all monks in cassock, now what era, every industry is fake and shoddy. Psychologists are half doctors, right? Doctors are particular, right? Excellent medical skills and noble medical ethics? Similar to the benevolence and righteousness of artists. Now this industry is highly skilled, just wait and see, and make great efforts to do moral construction first. Do we also need psychological people? Persuade people with virtue? All right.
Q: Why is reading therapy effective?
A: It's a long story. Let's start with the name of bibliotherapy. The bibliotherapy we are talking about is bibliotherapy, which means Greek books, so some people call bibliotherapy bibliotherapy. The ancient Greeks believed that reading had the power to heal the soul. There is a sentence written on the door of Thebes Library. The healing place of the soul? .
Many people put forward that book therapy is a branch of library science, which makes sense and provides a place to heal the soul. This is the meaning of the existence of the library. Reading can help people establish a correct insight into life, which naturally has a healing effect. I know a philosopher. When you are in a bad mood, you go to see Zhuangzi Wandering, which is a spontaneous book therapy. Of course, this is metaphysical. From the perspective of ordinary people, books can provide visitors with information, help them understand, stimulate them to discuss with others, improve their ability to identify other people's psychological problems, provide solutions to some problems, and use books to help themselves after treatment. Specifically, you can read a book, Reading Therapy written by Wang Wanqing (Wang Wanqing, 2003). I think reading therapy can promote the therapeutic alliance between therapists and visitors, so that visitors can complete the identification process. The book itself can also exist as a transitional object to help visitors solve the anxiety of separation. Of course, this is analyzed from an unconscious perspective.
Q: I heard that Freud disapproved of psychoanalysts reading psychoanalytic books?
At first he agreed, but later he disagreed. Freud is just like us in China-fickle. Jung also disapproved of psychoanalysts reading, but his old man read more than anyone else. Be kind.
Q: A counselor responded, and a visitor said that I have read many psychological books, and I know what my problem is and what makes the counselor uncomfortable, so I will continue to consult. What do you think of this problem?
Answer; This question is super professional. You are so talented. This is an empathy-anti-empathy problem, and consultants facing this situation need to be supervised. I have encountered many such situations, and there are many psychological mechanisms of this situation ―― a person with inferiority or narcissism may reveal his knowledge at the beginning, or feel unsafe and uneasy about consulting, so he should read a lot in order to make others respect him and value him. The key is why the consultant is uncomfortable. Is it inferiority, jealousy and guilt? The solution of this problem involves how the consultant accepts himself and how to tolerate himself. In fact, this problem has little to do with reading itself. This is a question of how to establish and deepen the therapeutic relationship.
Q: I heard that you also read a lot of books. Do you feel inferior?
A: Yes. There is no other skill, and it doesn't matter at home. I have to amuse myself by reading. So if I meet a visitor and say, I've read a lot of books on psychology, I know what my problem is. What is this? I'll like him better. Because I saw who I was. But on the other hand, I also have a side that I don't like reading. For example, I don't like reading test books very much, so I didn't do well in the exam.
Q: but some people say that a good psychotherapist should not read books, but should pay attention to feelings?
A: Therapists who read less like to say that reading is not important and feel important; Therapists who read a lot like to talk, but they still have to read more. As for what qualities an excellent therapist needs, we can see some empirical research reports. I haven't seen this study. I just need to know that I am a good therapist and what needs to be improved.
Q: Many therapists also recommend literary works to visitors. Why?
A: Literary works are generally used to help visitors have a sense of identity with characters and improve their ability to understand others. However, the research on the therapeutic effect of literary works is not as much as that of non-literary works. (Campbell & ampSmith, 2003) In addition, I think if the therapist always recommends his favorite book to visitors, if this book has little to do with treatment, is it too rambling? If a consultant likes watching Jin Ping Mei and recommends it to everyone, is it wrong?
Q: What books do you like to recommend to tourists?
A: My personal likes and dislikes are not important. Some foreign research reports contain books recommended by reading therapy, but many of them have not been translated. A domestic publishing house organized a group of people to translate a treatment guidance plan, which mentioned many self-help books, but none of them were translated.
Wang Bo, China has listed the bibliography. Yes, there are several sets of bibliographies at home and abroad. You can look them up in the database. (Wang Bo, 2004)
I will recommend different books according to different patients. Of course, each category still has personal preferences, such as the Handbook of Depression Regulation-Ten Days to Enhance Self-esteem, the Handbook of Strategic Short-term Treatment and the Technical Guide of Cognitive Therapy, which I recommend to many visitors. In addition, I will recommend specific books according to specific problems, such as Men from Venus and Women from Mars, which was told by my American teacher who taught cognitive therapy. I know an excellent therapist who will recommend many books and articles, including professional papers, to visitors. But I think reading too much is a problem. Let's make a joke and diagnose one. Learning personality disorder? Sometimes reading is really used to avoid many problems. I used to read too much. But with what? Reading personality disorder? There is another extreme called. Learning phobia? Or? Learning weariness syndrome? Well, you can't study well when you are sick and bored. You should still have fixed reading time. The disappearance and compression of reading time is the sorrow of modern people and is called infernal affairs. If you have no time, you will live in hell.
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