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Self-help resources & strategies

If you feel you have a good grasp of what your problem is and would like to give self-help approaches a try, we invite you to look at a list of self-help resources we have found useful in our work with students.

• Advantages of a self-help approach
• Limitations of self-help
• Structured self-help therapy programmes
• Books, films and online resources
• Further Useful Information

Advantages of a self-help approach

Adopting a self-help approach has a number of clear advantages:

• Self-help may be easier for a busy person to make time for. Since you decide what you do and when you do it, it may be easier to accommodate alongside other commitments.
• Self-help is entirely private and may therefore be a useful starting point for those who do not (yet) feel able to bring their difficulties to a counsellor.
• Self-help can be empowering.  The skills and ways of thinking you develop while engaged in the self-help process are likely to be helpful across many different aspects of your life, not only with your present problem.
• There is good evidence from research that self-help can be as effective as face-to-face work with a counsellor provided you apply yourself in a disciplined way.

Limitations of self-help

• Your ability to help yourself will only be as good as your ability to be objective and clear about the nature of your problems. All too often, we have blind spots and can benefit from another person’s perspective.
• Self-help requires a high level of discipline and motivation to carry through. If you are ambivalent about getting to grips with the problem, self-help isn’t likely to work.
• There are benefits from working in a therapeutic relationship with a professional counsellor that cannot be replicated through self-help. It can be a great relief to tell someone about difficulties you have struggled with on your own. A professional can help to normalize your experience and place it in context. Finally, a professional can bring objectivity, critical distance, and knowledge and experience of dealing with problems of all kinds. This often leads to seeing a problem in a new way, and feeling more able to get to grips with it.

Structured self-help therapy programmes

There are now many on-line self-help packages available to address common problems, but the quality is variable. We often recommend the self-help packages available from the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) in Western Australia, because they are based on sound and rigorously-tested principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and invite you to do the same kinds of thinking as you would do working with a CBT therapist.

Each package consists of serveral modules, designed to be walked through in sequence. Each module includes information, worksheets, and suggested exercises or activities.

• Overcoming Procrastination

• Overcoming Perfectionism 

• Coping with Depression

• Overcoming Low Self-Esteem 

• Improving Assertiveness

• Mastering Your Worries

• Coping with Social Anxiety

• Coping with Panic Attacks    

• Coping with Bi-Polar Disorder

• Overcoming Disordered Eating 

• Facing Your Feelings (Mindfulness)

For depression, you might also like to consider using:  

• Students against Depression

• Moodgym

For depression and a variety of other psychological and emotional difficulties, the following NHS website has a range of podcasts including relaxation and mindfulness:

• Wellbeing Podcasts

Books, films and online resources

With thousands of self-help and other psychology books in print, and the vast resources of the internet, it can be difficult to know where to start. We have used all of the following books and resources in our work with students. However we do not represent any of these as the definitive source on an issue. Everything here needs to be looked at with a critical eye, and different resources will suit different individuals.

Further Useful Information

Below are references to websites that other students have found helpful. We are happy to pass on their recommendations but must record here that the University and the Counselling Service cannot accept responsibility for the quality of the information and the guidance they offer.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/shw/?path=shw - University's policies on confidentiality, along with information and self-help pages on a number of topics.

http://www.osmhn.org.uk/ - Wide range of information on resources relating to student mental wellbeing.

http://www.student.counselling.co.uk/ - Access to a number of University Counselling Services' self-help pages.

http://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/resources/consumers.cfm - Comprehensive self-help materials designed to help with a wide range of issues.

http://www.mind.org.uk/help/information_and_advice - National voluntary organisation with a range of information and advice.

http://www.octc.co.uk/product-category/booklets - Access to booklets on, for example, managing depression.

http://www.studentdepression.org/ - Website and chat room specifically for students affected by depression.

http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/index.asp - Free resource containing practical advice to aid more effective study at university.

http://www.lc.unsw.edu.au/ - Comprehensive study advice.

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