Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Self-Help That Works summary
John C. Norcross et al.
Resources to Improve Emotional Health and Strengthen Relationships
4.2 (54 ratings)
30 mins
9 key ideas
Audio & text
What is Self-Help That Works about?
Self-Help That Works (2013, Fourth Edition) offers the valuable service of taking the top recommendations from mental health professionals in the US and compiling the results in one handy volume. You’ll find which self-help resources the experts recommend on over 40 of the most popular topics.
About the Author
John C. Norcross, PhD, ABPP, is a board-certified clinical psychologist who works at the University of Scranton as a professor of psychology, and at SUNY Upstate Medical Center as an adjunct professor of psychiatry.
Linda F. Campbell, PhD, is an award-winning researcher who works at the University of Georgia as a professor and director of the training clinic at the university’s Department of Counseling and Human Development.
John M. Grohol, PsyD, is a researcher, author, and expert in developing and designing online psychology resources. He’s the author of The Insider’s Guide to Mental Health Resources Online.
John W. Santrock, PhD, is a professor at the University of Texas at Dallas. He’s the author of such psychology texts as Life-Span Development and Child Development, and coauthor of Your Guide to College Success.
Florin Selagea, MS, has a master’s degree in professional counseling from Georgia State University and is pursuing a doctorate in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia.
Robert Sommer, PhD, served as president of the American Psychological Association’s Division of Population and Environmental Psychology. He’s the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and a Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of California, Davis.
Table of Contents
Self-Help That Works
summarized in 9 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 9
The two self-help topics covered in this blink are 1) Career Development and 2) Self-Management and Self-Enhancement.
Our career choices are important. After all, what we do for a living can play an important role in how satisfied we are with our lives and how healthy our relationships are. So it’s no wonder that there’s an endless supply of self-help books on the topic of career development.
In fact, out of all the categories, and of all the books recommended, one of the most positively rated is a book that has helped millions of people for generations now: What Color Is Your Parachute? This book, written by Richard Bolles, first came out in 1975. But since then, it’s been updated multiple times. Recent additions include topics such as helping those with physical disabilities find meaningful employment.
There are many reasons why it remains a strongly recommended pick on the topic of career development after all these years. For starters, Bolles doesn’t assume readers are looking for their first jobs – or even their second or third, for that matter. It’s meant to be useful for people of any age and situation, be it a recent college grad or someone seeking a mid-life career change. It’s also written with warmth and humor, making it an engaging book to read.
Changing careers can go hand-in-hand with an overall effort toward self-improvement. This brings us to the category of self-management and self-enhancement, another popular issue for self-help books. Of the many books discussed, a few are strongly recommended.
At the top of the list is Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, by Steven C. Hayes and Spencer Smith. Hayes and Smith introduce readers to the principles of ACT, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. ACT is designed to help steer people away from spending a lot of time and energy on trying to change circumstances or conditions that are unlikely to change. Instead, it encourages people to practice acceptance – and focus that energy on healthier values.
In both categories in this blink, the surveyed mental health professionals recommended many internet resources.
For career development, the top websites include Peterson’s (petersons.com), a useful resource for anyone considering a new college degree, graduate school, or embarking on other forms of adult education in the US. And for those who are seeking a new job, the website Monster.com remains one of the most popular and biggest career development resources online.
For self-management and self-enhancement, few online resources are more recommended than Psych Central (psychcentral.com), a website that covers a wide range of mental health, psychology and self-help issues. For many of the issues covered here, the surveyed mental health professionals recommend Psych Central as a valuable online resource.
Want to see all full key ideas from Self-Help That Works?
Key ideas in Self-Help That Works
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Best quote from Self-Help That Works
Kidshealth is an outstanding website that has three distinct sections – one for parents, one for kids, and one for teens...
—John C. Norcross et al.
Who should read Self-Help That Works
- Anyone wondering what the best self-help books are
- People looking for tips on better living
- Couples and parents seeking advice
Categories with Self-Help That Works
Books like Self-Help That Works
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers