Successful Problem Solving: A Workbook to Overcome the Four Core Beliefs That Keep You Stuck [Paperback]

Patrick Fanning (Author), Matthew McKay (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2002

Some problems just don't seem to go away. Another season goes by, and you're still behind the same desk, even though the promotion you wanted didn't come through again. Month after month, you and your spouse quarrel about the same old issues. And you still haven't lost the weight you wanted to lose, or kept up that exercise program. You make resolutions, or promise yourself you'll think of a plan. Time passes, and nothing happens. You're right back where you were, and nothing has changed.

Something inside you stands in the way. Maybe you tell yourself you just don’t deserve to get what you want, or it’s too dangerous t orisk a change. Maybe you doubt your ability to fix the problem anyway, or you worry that you might hurt someone else if you tried to change things.

Now, in this new guide, best-selling authors Matthew McKay, Ph.D., and Patrick Fanning will show you how to challenge these four core beliefs that keep you stuck in old ways of acting and living. You will discover the tools you need to work out any problem that you’ve been unable to solve—whether in your career or finances, your relationship or your family, your health or your lifestyle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Everybody has problems and most people have difficulty in solving them. In a clear, comprehensive fashion the authors demonstrate first the type of ineffective problem solving methods that are used frequently and then demonstrate five easy strategies to solve the usual problems.”
—Aaron T. Beck, MD, Director of The Center of Cognitive Therapy, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania and author of Love is Never Enough and Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility and Violence

“Users of this engaging, enlightening, supportive, and exercise-filled book will not read passively! They will be active participants in learning how to identify and overcome their personal speed bumps on the road to solving many of their most pressing problems in living.”
—Cory F. Newman, Ph.D., ABPP, Center for Cognitive Therapy, University of Pennsylvania

“Well-written, logical, and easy to follow, Successful Problem Solving takes the mystery out of moving from hopeless frustration to workable solutions. The first self-help book to teach readers not only how to solve problems, but also how to modify dysfunctional beliefs that interfere with effective problem-solving.”
—Thomas E. Ellis, Psy.D., ABPP, Retired Professor of Psychology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, and author, Choosing to Live: How to Defeat Suicide through Cognitive Therapy

“This book provides one of the clearest descriptions of how to use cognitive strategies to change longstanding, negative core beliefs, and provides detailed suggestions for overcoming emotional blocks to solving problems effectively. If negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, depression, and anger keep getting in the way, the exercises in this book will help. I recommend it highly.”
—Martin M. Antony, Ph.D., Director, Anxiety Treatment and Research Centre, St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, and author of When Perfect Isn’t Good Enough and The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook

“Living life means solving problems. Of course there are some problems that get in the way of solving problems. Organized, upbeat, and scientifically grounded, McKay and Fanning help readers become better equipped to make effective decisions and important changes in their lives. After all, problems worth solving are worth solving well.”
—Thomas F. Cash, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, Old Dominion University and author, The Body Image Workbook

From the Publisher

Whether it is staying at that miserable job, reviving an old disagreement with our spouse, or breaking that umpteenth weight loss resolution, there are some problems that we never seem able to solve. According to these best-selling author of "Self-Esteem", four core beliefs are to blame. This new book teaches us which core beliefs are at work in our own holding patterns, and offers step-by-step instructions in how to assess problems, brainstorm possible solutions, evaluate consequences and develop an action plan.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: New Harbinger Publications; 1 edition (November 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572243023
• ISBN-13: 978-1572243026
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #229,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Problem-Solving That Works, July 31, 2006

By 

Donna Waldron (Connecticut USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Successful Problem Solving: A Workbook to Overcome the Four Core Beliefs That Keep You Stuck (Paperback)

I've been looking for a good resource on problem solving for ages and finally found it in this (apparently overlooked) book. Countless other problem solving guides that I've found, and then discarded, offer only the most general advice and scattershot techniques. Successful Problem Solving, on the other hand, devotes at least half the book to exercises that help readers identify their own dysfunctional core beliefs (about competence, self-worth, safety and primacy of their own needs) that block their efforts to solve their most stubborn problems. This alone would be worth the price of the book.

What follows in the second half of the book is a proven step-by-step process for more effectively solving any kind of problem. This book is not for everyone, however (hence the four stars.) It requires active engagement in the exercises, a fair amount of time to think through the material, and a willingness to introspect, but for me paid off from the first few chapters in new insights, old resolutions kept and problems (finally) solved. I would recommend it to anyone with an intractable problem. This works.