Skip to main content

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

Preferred term

self-help  

Definition

  • Self-help, also referred to as self-improvement, is the act of improving oneself personally, professionally, or spiritually, without direct reliance on others, or more particularly, professional therapists. Self-help resources have become a large source of guidance for many Americans, and reports from the research firm Marketdata indicate that the self-help industry was worth $10.5 billion in 2010. [Source: Cultural Sociology of Mental Illness: An A-to-Z Guide; Self-Help]

Broader concept

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/self-help

Download this concept: