Self-Therapy Made Easy

Circle Network Book Review: Self-Therapy Made Easy by Marian Van Eyk McCain Published by Psyche Books 99 pages £6.99 

From John Hunt Publishing’s ‘Made Easy’ series, this is an excellent primer covering the most prominent therapeutic techniques of the twentieth century. Many therapies used by psychotherapists are covered in this short volume, from Freud, Jung, Psychosynthesis, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis, and others. Bringing the book into today is an emphasis on the environment and a most relevant one, along with the importance of the viewpoint of an ‘elder’ of the community, and the simplicity of living in contentment and self-awareness.  Most people can deal with personal issues that detract from enjoyment of life through suggested methods, such as journaling, working with active imagination and interpreting our dreams, and we can achieve a considerable level of self-awareness through self-observation and listening to the self. Though the title is ‘self-therapy’, the author, (having spent her career working with people as a qualified social worker, psychologist and psychotherapist) states there are times when professional help is necessary: 

• If someone has a major mental illness, such as psychosis or a personality disorder; 
• If someone is currently considering suicide, or has done in the past; 
• If someone is using or likely to use illegal drugs or abusing drugs legally obtained; 
• If someone is harming themselves physically.    

It's a very valuable little paperback, currently available on Amazon for just £3.74

Marian Van Eyk McCain has also written two other books, both published by Earth Books, an imprint of John Hunt Publishing, titled ‘Downshifting Made Easy’ and ‘Green Spirit – Path to a New Consciousness’.  Reviewer: Wendy Stokes www.wendystokes.co.uk