This is an informative book meant
primarily as a quick and easy resource for the general public and mental health
care consumers in dealing with their own problems and issues. It’s very similar to the typical “Family
Medical Book,” except instead of physical ailments it deals with personal
problems, emotional and relational issues, and 
(dare I say it?) Philosophical
issues. It could be a useful reference
for new therapists and counselors because of its concise and practical approach
to helping suffering individuals. The
author has intentionally refrained from theorizing in favor of brevity and
immediate utility. Falcon offers many
simple and straightforward self-help suggestions as well as suggestions on how
to help others in a non-professional and caring way.

The text is divided into three main
sections. The first is titled “General
Information and Advice” and covers topics such as love, humor, thinking,
emotions, problem solving, stress management, and communication skills. The second section is titled “How to Solve Personal Problems” and covers
a wide range of topics including shyness, flirting and dating, sexuality, job
hunting, raising children, old age, death and suicide, depression, self-esteem,
addiction, and getting over the past. 
The third section is titled simply 
“Conclusion” and is a miscellany of discussions about how to understand
yourself, dreams, gun control, sex education, and the field of therapy and
counseling itself.

Many chapters end with suggestions
for additional reading, support group information, US hotline numbers, and
resources such as national associations and societies specializing in dealing
with specific issues such as addiction or childhood abuse. There are also a number of handy lists,
such as a list of ways to begin conversations and things to talk about in the
chapter on social life, a list of interests and activities a person could
pursue in order to make a life more interesting and fulfilling in the chapter
titled “Interests and Activities,”
problematic communication styles, both verbal and non-verbal, that can make
life difficult in the two chapters on communication skills, and a fascinating
list of feelings in the chapter on emotions.

To the author’s credit there are
two chapters near the end of the book titled “Warnings about Psychology” and
“Important Advice about Counseling.” In
the first he points out the notorious unreliability of diagnoses of mental
illnesses made by psychologists and other trained experts, he doubts the
existence of so-called multiple personalities, he criticizes the use of electroshock
therapy, he warns against the reliability of memories recovered through
hypnosis, and he draws attention to the fact that decades of scientific
research has proven the uselessness of traditional psychological testing that
is none-the-less still being taught to university students and employed by
clinicians. In the second he draws the
reader’s attention to the fact that cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy is the
only kind which has been proven to be more effective than placebo treatments,
he cautions against unethical therapists, and he reminds readers to not simply
settle on the first therapist they come across but to shop around to find both
the best service and the best results for their money. This is welcome honesty from a professional
working in the field.

I have only two specific concerns
about this book: first, Falcon
writes, “If you want to stop homosexual
behavior, you can work on this as you would work on any other addiction. Make heterosexual friends and practice
flirting with and dating members of the opposite sex. . . ” (p.138). 
This odd perspective on homosexuality raises a number of important
questions, such as, Is homosexuality really like an addiction? Does having too few heterosexual friends
bring on homosexuality? Is it true that
dating members of the opposite sex will change a homosexual person’s sexual
desire? In other words it raises
questions regarding the author’s beliefs concerning the “cause” of
homosexuality. It makes me wonder what
“causes” heterosexuality!

Second, there is no discussion of
how to deal with the many problems that can be generated by religious or
spiritual issues. With the revival of
fundamentalism in various parts of the world, including the US, religious
beliefs and institutions can have a major negative impact on individual,
family, and community life. In fact,
quite coincidentally, I’ve had three unrelated clients recently whose distress
was in large part due to a serious conflict between the teachings of the
religious organizations to which they belonged and their own spirituality and
personal values. I think Falcon ought
to add a chapter to the next edition of his book devoted to this topic.

A more general concern I have is that, like the
family medical book, this book may be helpful to those individuals who are able
to define exactly what their problems are. 
As with physical ailments, it’s often difficult for the one in distress
to determine exactly what the problem is, not to mention adequately treating
it. This book is a good source of
“first aid” but I would recommend professional care for serious problems. Otherwise this is a very well organized book
full of helpful information that I think is well worth having.

© 2002 Peter B. Raabe

Peter B. Raabe
teaches philosophy and has a private practice in philosophical counseling in
North Vancouver, Canada. He is the author of the books Philosophical
Counseling: Theory and Practice (Praeger, 2001) and Issues
in Philosophical Counseling (Praeger, 2002).

Categories: SelfHelp, General