The Self in Self-Help

A Re-Appraisal of Therapeutic Culture in a Time of Crisis

Bibliographic Data

ID2392392
AuthorsDaniel Nehring (0000-0002-5346-6301, Swansea University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume29
Issue2
Pages316-333
Publication date2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Research Online (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/13607804241242345
OpenAlexW4399298291
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited32

In this article, I analyse constructions of the self in bestselling self-help books in the United Kingdom. In doing so, I offer a re-appraisal of contemporary therapeutic culture. Therapeutic culture has long been associated with neoliberal governance, and scholars have argued that popular therapeutic narratives promote neoliberal accounts of an autonomous, masterful 'entrepreneurial self', able to thrive in the world on its own. However, beginning with the international financial crisis of 2008, neoliberalism has entered a period of serious and accelerating crisis and contestation. The question therefore arises to what extent popular therapeutic narratives might have changed during this period. In response, I analyse narratives of the self and self-improvement in UK self-help bestsellers between 2008 and 2022. Given their high sales and consumption, self-help books are prominent in the constitution of popular therapeutic discourse. I focus on the UK as an emblematic case, given its history of neoliberal politics, the latter's recent crisis, and the salience of therapeutic culture in the country. Across the analysed period, my findings point to the emergence of alternative, survivalist and spiritual, therapeutic discourses that move beyond the model of the entrepreneurial self, while ultimately retaining its core assumptions about rational, autonomous behavioural modification

Epistemology · Sociology · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Philosophy · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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