Why are Self Help Books like Go to the Light by G.C. Cline Helpful?

Before I started my career as a counselor, I found it difficult to communicate with others what I thought and felt. At that time in my life self help books gave me a safe environment in which I could read a book and be uplifted from my point of view with whatever the problem was. I often read spiritual based self-help books because I felt that God had to be part of positive change. It is not to say that others books that have no spiritual basis are not helpful, but that is what I connected to. I encourage readers to find self-help books that they feel they can connect with regardless if it is spiritual or not. I think the main point is to get something positive from it. I have many times opened up a self-help book with which I could not relate to, so I would move on to a another one that made me feel connected. To this day I like reading books by Joel Osteen because they are uplifting, spiritual and have many examples that I can relate to.

Go to the Light by G. C. Cline is one of the those book I can relate to and it deals with Inner Child work. Cline describes in her book events that occurred and the dialogue the character has with her inner child to help her mend wounds that occurred at a young age. Throughout the book, the author changes the negative internal dialogues that we all have into a positive healthy conversation with the Inner Child causing cognitive restructuring to occur. I like that Cline in her book gives numerous examples on how one can re-parent oneself.

I often see families and clients that react in the same way that they reacted when they were kids and teenagers. Erik Erickson, in his theory of development described stages as opposing parts-- healthy resolution and unhealthy resolution. Erickson believed if the person did not overcome the challenges of his or her developmental stage, these challenges would become ongoing problems. For example, a child who never establishes trust in infancy may grow into an adult who struggles with trust in romantic relationships. In Freud’s theory of psychosexual development, he postulated that if a person failed to progress through the stages completely or favorably and certain issues were not resolved at the appropriate stage, fixation would occur resulting in a fixation persistent focus on an earlier psychosexual stage. Freud further concluded that until the conflict was resolved, the individual will remain "stuck" in that stage. However,if these psychosexual stages are completed successfully, a healthy personality would result. There is a third explanation of what many people call “Arrested Psychological Development” that is a result from past traumas or disturbances in childhood, adolescent, family of origin. Specifically, when there have been conflicts in the parent-child relationship during childhood developmental stages , Arrested Development can occur because the individual cannot get past that stage until the person resolves or works thru the traumatic experience that he or she experienced during his or her younger years. Many people under estimate how their childhood impacts them as adult. I encourage readers to read for themselves Go to the Light. to get some pointer, on how to re-parent oneself.

Go to the Light Paperback – August 17, 2016 by G C Cline (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/Go-Light-G-C Cline/dp/0997572728/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1474651351&sr=1-1

Food for Thought

Self Help books are helpful in giving people additional information on how to handle a situation. Addiction and recovery books like Go to the Light, can give the reader additional insight or awareness that the reader may or may not have had prior. I often recommend self-help books to many of my clients when they seem to have difficulty grasping the general education that I provide. If it gives my clients another resource that can shed light into to the issue, I am all for it. Psycho-education books provide people many real life experiences that the reader may or may not have experienced. If you've never read a self help book, try to read one chapter a day or less because the purpose of the book is not to entertain you but to educate you about healthy habits that are intended to be good for you. Start off with some Healthy awareness books that have examples of people from where the author took that advice, almost every other self help book has that these days, so that won't be an issue. I still recommend getting professional help to assist with mental health issues.

Hector Oswaldo Chavez, MS, is a Marriage and Family Therapist, Professional Counselor, and Substance Abuse Counselor. He serves on multiple boards and has worked in a variety of clinical settings such as with the Army, Navy, Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient, Community Mental Health, and Private Practice. His professional views may not necessarily reflect the views of other mental health or medical professionals. If you have any personal or family concerns about the topic discussed, please seek professional assistance.