Self Therapy

Circle Network Book Review: Self-Therapy by Marian Van Eyk McCain, 99 pages

Published by: Psyche Books, Paperback Price: £6.99  Author’s website: www.marianvaneykmccain.com    www.elderwoman.org

As most of us have an awareness of our inner lives and are interested in self-analysis, the book is a fascinating one. The author explores self analysis awareness as a new concept which previous generations did not have the opportunity to enjoy.  She puts forward the suggestion that we should be the most well adjusted, calmest, sensible and enlightened people in the history of our world - however we are not. The book sets out to be a short and effective primer to meet these criteria with exercises  which enable the reader to deal with the really important issues regarding health, wellbeing and embarking on a spiritual journey. 

The book is one in a series entitled 'Made Easy'. These are short books presenting fairly difficult subjects in a conversational and easy to digest style. This book is divided into two parts and is written clearly without technical jargon.  I read the book from cover to cover and then returned to re-read each part.  The first part deals with self-knowledge and understanding the inner workings of the mind.  The second part explains the techniques of self-therapy.  I appreciated that Marian does not fill the book with many case studies but explained the purpose of each part of the book clearly. I was interested to try the exercises and enjoyed them. Although this book is fairly short, it is concise and I think it covered the topic in an easily accessible and interesting way.  The exercises are achievable and do guide the reader to recognise how sub-consciously, we can prevent ourselves moving forward in life.  I enjoyed reading the book and it certainly made me think.

The author, Marian Van Eyk McCain holds the following qualifications BSW (Melbourne), MA East-West Psychology (C.I.I.S San Francisco) and is a retired transpersonal psychotherapist and health educator. She is now a freelance writer on various subjects including women’s health, psychology, green spirituality and environmental issues and is co-editor of the magazine “Green Spirit”.  She is an experienced author who has published several non-fiction books including: Transformation through Menopause, The Lilypad List : 7 Steps to the Simple Life and Downshifting made Easy: How to plan for your planet friendly future.  Marian has also written two fiction books – The Apricot Harvest and The Bird Members.  Reviewer: Susan Griffiths http://www.spiritualsteps.co.uk