One of the studies done on mental health treatments had some interesting results.
The 1st group had medication only.
The 2nd group had talk therapy only, and
The 3rd group had both talk therapy and medication.
Group 1 showed the lowest recovery rate, while
Groups 2 and 3 had the highest recovery rates, at about the same level.
It seemed to indicate that the most important part of the therapy was communication. The study (at least the part that I read) did not indicate what kind of "talk" therapy was used or which medication was taken. But I thought the result were interesting. Personally, I don't think a pill (or a book) can take the place of human contact, especially when people are having emotional difficulties.