{"id":95979,"date":"2025-05-15T09:28:52","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T13:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=95979"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:36:58","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:36:58","slug":"self-help-books-check-credentials","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/self-help-books-check-credentials\/","title":{"rendered":"Looking for Mental Health or Wellness Advice in a Book? Check the Author’s Credentials First"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Looking for Mental Health or Wellness Advice in a Book? Check the Author's Credentials First\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

This article is republished<\/a> from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by The Conversation<\/a> from various sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joanna Pozzulo<\/a> is a Chancellor’s Professor and professor of psychology at Carleton University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Self-help books are a mainstay of the non-fiction market. According to a 2022 study by BookNet Canada, self-help titles account for 17 per cent of non-fiction book sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these books can go on to sell millions of copies<\/a>, but popularity doesn’t always equal credibility. Achieving bestseller status can reflect effective marketing campaigns<\/a>, a large social media following or the appeal of personal storytelling rather than academic or clinical credentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand the current self-help landscape, my graduate student and I are reviewing New York Times<\/em> bestsellers under the “Advice, How-To & Miscellaneous” category, which includes self-help books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our preliminary analysis for April 2025 identified 22 relevant books, with only three written by authors with advanced training in psychology or medicine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n