Self-Assertion for Women [Paperback]

Pamela E. Butler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 13, 1992

The bestselling assertiveness guide that shows women how to get what they want--reissued with a new preface by the author.

Self-Assertion for Women offers practical advice with realistic sample dialogues and step-by-step exercises showing women how they can:

• learn to communicate clearly and effectively

• protect themselves from misread signals in public, as well as intimate, situations

• maintain professional authority without becoming aggressive

• deal appropriately with sexual harassment

• express positive and negative feelings without anxiety

• set boundaries and assert themselves freely while maintaining loving relationships

• idenify "assertiveness blind spots"

Butler's strategies can be applied by all women in any situation that requires direct, effective, and positive action.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; Rev Sub edition (March 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062501259
• ISBN-13: 978-0062501257
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #440,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dr. Pamela Butler is a Clinical Psychologist who has been in practice since 1972 in Mill Valley, California. She was born in Tuscaloosa Alabama and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Alabama in 1967. She received her Ph.D. degree in 1971. Dr. Butler came to California to complete a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of California at Berkeley. She began working for the Behavior Therapy Institute in Sausalito, California where she conducted assertiveness training groups. This led to her first book, Self Assertion for Women, which has sold over 100,000 copies. Realizing that individuals in her assertive training groups spoke to themselves in ways they would never speak to another person led to her second book Talking to Yourself. Along with the bestseller, Feeling Good, it was among the first books to be published for the general audience on the newly emerging field of cognitive therapy. This book sold well and was also published in French, Japanese and Chinese. Dr. Butler loves animals, especially cats and horses, and enjoys Renaissance history and costumes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Butler's book is a classic; it's information has lasting value for women--and men too., January 20, 2009

By 

Marcia Naomi Berger (San Rafael, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Self-Assertion for Women (Paperback)

Pamela Butler does a terrific and thorough job walking women through the obstacles we face to asserting ourselves. She explains step-by-step with numerous examples and sample scripts how to assert in a way that respects both oneself and the other.

Over the years I have found this book excellent personally and professionally. After recommending it to patients in my psychotherapy practice, I have been impressed by how they have been able to incorporate Butler's teachings into their lives.

Butler writing combines serious professionalism with a down-to-earth approach that is accessible to people of all levels of psychological sophistication. While women have some gender related issues that canget in the way of self-assertion, they do not have a monopoly on difficulties in this area; many men can gain much from reading this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Help, December 7, 2009

By 

Jaye (east coast, south) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Self-Assertion for Women (Paperback)

If you have ever had trouble expressing your boundaries, this is the book for you. It gives clear concise ways to say No very clearly without being offensive. It changed the way I deal with those people who are slightly but annoyingly obnoxious.
I had a house guest who didn't seem to be leaving. The situation gave me a headache, as my "hints" were not working. I read the book, decided what to say, said it, and was amazed at how easily I was understood and respected.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still hugely helpful after all these years, May 10, 2009

By 

Riça Night "Editor / Writer / Seminar Leader" (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Assertion for Women (Paperback)

While geared toward women, this book also contains much that's proven useful to men I know. Butler offers accessible, sensible advice on, among other subjects, how to set limits, handle criticism, and distinguish between assertiveness and aggressiveness.

The chapter "What Are You Telling Yourself?" serves as a fine introduction to self-talk; for more on this topic, see Butler's other classic, "Talking to Yourself."

So many of us have been trained to "be nice at any cost"--even when doing so means suppressing and denying our most essential selves and thereby incurring a host of unfortunate consequences, from not fulfilling our potential to full-blown chronic depression (with which women are diagnosed at a rate nearly twice that observed in men). One chapter, "Slef-Assertion in Your Professional Life," contains a fine section on "Positive Self-Presentation," which discusses why women often have such a hard time acknowledging their own competence, strengths, and accomplishments; it's worth a review by anyone who wants to succeed in the business world.