Dimensions auto-curatives et pré-engagement thérapeutique du « développement personnel »

Objective

“Self-help” refers to a heterogeneous collection of syncretic knowledge, delivered in the form of books, videos or training courses. This content is sought after by many people whose obvious objective is the quest for an authentic self, in a society where identity supports are wavering. In addition to being a critical consideration, our study aims to better understand the motivations of those who invest in this knowledge and who feed their preferences for these non-conventional approaches.

Method

Within the framework of a literature review in the form of clinical anthropology, three clinical vignettes are presented, based on clinical research interviews conducted with volunteers engaged in a personal development process.

Results

One of the participants is involved in a practice that includes two mentors; another pursues only a reflective approach nourished by his readings; and the last one supplements his readings with psychological consultations. All of them pursue a desire for inner transformation in connection with a questioning of identity.

Discussion

Reading such works can promote forms of symbolization mediated by reading. The first vignette provides a clinical illustration of the concept of “apérité” developed by Nicolas Marquis. It demonstrates that the possibility for the subject to identify himself with the contents of the self-help book, which allows him to develop new representations, linked to his personal life history, thereby helping him to move towards a clearer representation of his internal world and the functioning of his identity. The second subject is more motivated by the hope of the existence of an ideal of life that he could implement with the help of the concrete application of certain key factors. He is trying to rebound from a complex family situation that has pushed him to break with his family. By adopting a self-help approach, he is attempting to find the support and backing that he did not have in his family environment. The identification with mentors constitutes a support comparable to a religious precept. The practice of mentoring embodies a real system of reference and support in the life of the third subject interviewed. Over time, this practice enabled him to establish a new relationship with his parents and to gradually emancipate himself. The mentor is often assigned to accompany the individual in the development of a mindset that favors his or her empowerment. This practice also underpins a path towards self-awareness, by inviting the subject to consciously reconnect with his internal world and the different sensations that run through it at various moments of daily life. From the perspective of the participants in the study, personal development stimulates a self-therapeutic work whose limits are exceeded by a gradual openness towards another, in a process of therapeutic pre-commitment.

Conclusion

If it is possible to locate the coordinates of the current tendency to strive for personal development in certain mutations of the social bond, it seems necessary to develop a careful and rigorous approach to this form of therapeutic pluralism sought out by a portion of the general population.