SELF-HELP BOOKS USED BY RELIGIOUS PRACTITIONERS

Self-help books are frequently used by mental health professionals as adjuncts to the counseling process. This was the first study to assess self-help book utilization practices among explicitly religious pract itioners. All practitioner members of the Christian Association for Ps ychological Studies (N = 784) were mailed a copy of the Self-Help Book Survey: Ninety-two percent of the 243 respondents used self-help book s with clients at least some of the time. There were differences betwe en master's and doctoral level respondents with respect to how self-he lp books were used and the criteria used in selecting self-help books for clients. Most books recommended were explicitly Christian in natur e. Those self-help books most frequently recommended are listed and ma y be useful to practitioners who counsel Christian clients.