Self-Coaching: How to Heal Anxiety and Depression [Paperback]

Joseph J. Luciani Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2001

"A groundbreaking, fast-paced, action-oriented new training program for dealing with mild to moderate anxiety and depression, Self-Coaching is a dramatic and fresh departure from traditional therapeutic approaches and a motivational training program." -Harold H. Bloomfield, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Making Peace with Your Past and Healing Anxiety Naturally

"An excellent contribution to the self-help literature, Self-Coaching provides the reader with powerful tools to heal anxiety and depression. Dr. Luciani's message is clear and important: You can be your own coach and take charge of your life. If you really want to help yourself, buy this book and use it."-Sam Menahem, Ph.D., author of When Therapy Isn't Enough

A Powerful New Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression

You can feel better, starting right now! Whether you're anxious or depressed, this innovative book will teach you how to change your way of thinking and improve your life. Using the revolutionary concept of Self-coaching, you'll follow simple steps that will help you overcome the thought patterns that lead to anxiety and depression. As you achieve a positive outlook, you'll learn how to maintain balance, clarity, and spontaneity each and every day at home, at work, and in all your relationships.

Self-Coaching will inspire, motivate, and liberate you. Dr. Luciani's approach has been proven time and again by his patients. And now he can help you too! Self-Coaching will show you how to:
* Develop a fresh way of thinking, leading to a healthy, adaptive way of living
* Follow winning strategies so you can accomplish what you want in life
* Use the self-talk technique to coach yourself back to health

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Cognitive behavioral therapy is based on the idea that our thoughts and our interpretations of events greatly influence our moods. Therapists teach clients to listen to their negative internal dialogs and to use less depressive "self-talk." Clients may also be given "homework" in the form of relaxation exercises for anxiety or gradual acclimatization to frightening situations. The emphasis is on changing thoughts and actions, not on understanding their origins. Getting Your Life Back and Self-Coaching are both based on this approach. The latter, by clinical psychologist Luciani, advises readers to identify themselves as specific personality types (e.g., "Worrywarts," "Hedgehogs," "Perfectionists") and then gives specific instructions on how to change these thought patterns. The title by Wright and Basco, a psychiatrist/educator and a clinical psychologist/researcher, respectively, examines various psychological areas (e.g., thinking, action, biology, relationships, and spirituality) and invites readers to work on these areas in any order with valuable, morale-boosting checklists and examples. Getting Your Life Back is the better of the two because it discusses antidepressants and because the authors' instructions and exercises are much more thorough.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The prevailing therapeutic value of trying to change cognitive thought processes in order to ward off depression and anxiety is not new. However, the approach in this book puts the primary responsibility for making the change on the sufferer of either condition. For those who are uncomfortable with the thought of entering therapy or using medication, the self-coaching work here may be just the ticket to greater freedom from depression and anxiety. (There are a few useful self-tests.) As an alternative to traditional psychiatric options, the self-coaching and "self-talk" prescribed in the book may work to talk oneself out of temporary mild or moderate depression. Sufferers of major clinical depression might want to combine the approach here with therapy or medication. A viable option for the self-help section of library collections. Marlene Chamberlain
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471387371
• ISBN-13: 978-0471387374
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joseph J. Luciani, PhD (Dr. Joe)--- He's trained to run his fourth New York Marathon, he hunts dinosaur bones in Wyoming, and he practices yoga and meditation. Dr. Joe Luciani lives the life he wants. And he says that all of us can connect with the joys of life--even if we think something is holding us back.

Dr. Joe has been a practicing clinical psychologist for more than thirty years. He's the internationally best-selling author of the Self-Coaching series of books, published in nine languages, and he's written articles and been featured in numerous national magazines and newspapers, including O, The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, USA Today, Fitness, Health, Shape, and Body and Soul. He appears frequently on national TV, radio, and the Internet.

Dr. Joe is Executive Director of Mental Health for Healthy Living NYC Enterprises, LLC (www.healthylivingnyc.com), Co-founder of the M3 Lifestyle fitness program (www.M3lifestyle.com), and writes the popular "Ask Dr. Joe" column for his website, (www.self-coaching.net).

Dr. Joe's books are available in bookstores and on the Internet, in print, audio, and as e-books:
* Reconnecting: A Self-Coaching Solution to Revive Your Love Life
* Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression (completely revised and updated second edition)
* The Power of Self-Coaching: The Five Essential Steps to Creating the Life You Want
* Self-Coaching: How to Heal Anxiety and Depression
* Healing Your Habits: A Successful Technique for Overcoming Addictive Problems

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

122 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic! Not just for anxiety and depression!, October 15, 2002

By 

Mindguy (SoCal - United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Coaching: How to Heal Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

This book is fantastic, not just for anxiety and depression, but for issues of self-esteem, shyness, excessive introversion, anger, perfectionism, etc. I am exploring all these things in therapy and with medication, but felt that there was something more, some common thread, common cause...and the author has found it.

This book really helps you get to the root problem that all these have in common. Deep-seated insecurity and lack of trust in oneself to handle what life throws at you. Hard to admit, but it is the beginning of healing. The author shows how this insecurity (what he calls the Insecure Child), tries to maintain control of oneself and the outside world through immature coping strategies learned in, and repeated since childhood.

If you are a self-help junkie like me who has read countless books, but the result has only been "understanding" your issues better, but never overcoming them, I urge you to give these techniques a try.

At first read, they seem too simplistic, to simple, but in simple things there is power. Give it a try! What have you got to lose, except the misery you're living in?

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific guide for your first steps!, November 15, 2002

By 

C. K. Ogi (NW MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Self-Coaching: How to Heal Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

I purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend, and as a 'compantion of sorts to 'Undoing Depression.' This was one of those rare self-help books that genuinely seems to be centered on that premise.

Luciani give a brilliant background to what you can get from self-helping, and explains it in a way that doesn't make you feel 1.) hopelessly inacapable of accomplishing relief from depression, 2.) explains the causes in a way that don't make you feel like a failure for developing the thought patterns in the first place, and 3.) doesn't use a lot of psychobabble, (save the exception of the inner child thing, which is just a personal irritant of mine) so you actually can see where he's tryig to get you to go.

I really liked his approach to focusing your recovery more internally and on reminding you that it's not an overnight process. Another appreciation I found was that he recongized how difficult changing these patterns can be...and so you expect those hurdles, rather than get discouraged yet again.

I found this to be an excellent book for anyone suffering mild to moderate depression. (And I recommend buying this as a companion to 'Undoing Depression,' so you really get a good sense of what you are working with) If you are severely depressed, you should probably work through more of it before tackling self-coaching.

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Coaching stands above the rest!, May 11, 2001

By 

My Pal Val (Stone Ridge, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Coaching: How to Heal Anxiety and Depression (Paperback)

Having read many, self help books, I felt Self-Coaching stood above the rest! Although I could write pages on the benefits of this book, I will try to keep this short. I often find that it is difficult for those that have not had to deal with depression to understand or relate to what we go through, and the books out there tend to be very clinical. However, Self-Coaching gave me a new prospective on the self-help book. Dr. Luciani's methods of "coaching" have allowed me to begin taking control of my illness and my life. After years of therapists and medications that I never really thought would benefit, I truly feel I can do this! I will not be letting this book go, I have already gone back and reread several sections for motivation. I would recommend Self-Coaching to anyone, no matter how mild or severe your anxiety or depression is, it can change your life.