Behavioral bibliotherapy: A review of self-help behavior therapy manuals.

Reviews the current status of self-help behavioral treatment manuals. Organizing concepts and strategies for the development and evaluation of such programs are described. Programs that have been published or empirically tested for the treatment of phobias, smoking, obesity, sexual dysfunctions, assertiveness, child behavior problems, study skills, and physical fitness, as well as general instructional texts, are reviewed. It is concluded that the validation of available self-help behavior therapy manuals is extremely variable at the present time. It is suggested that future research evaluate manuals under conditions of intended usage, recruit clinically relevant Ss, employ follow-through and cost-effectiveness indices, include appropriate controls and follow-up assessments, and attempt to identify S or other clinical predictors of treatment outcome. The clinical and ethical issues raised by self-help programs are also briefly considered. (5 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)