Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (often abbreviated as DMSMH) is a book by L. Ron Hubbard which sets out self-improvement techniques he developed, called Dianetics. The book is also one of the canonical texts of Scientology. It is colloquially referred to as Book One. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health and the book Scientology helped launch the religion in 1950, and are available in 32 languages.

In the best-selling self-help book, first published in 1950, Hubbard wrote that he had isolated the "dynamic principle of existence," which he states as "Survive," and presents his description of the human mind. He identifies the source of "human aberration" as the "reactive mind," a normally hidden but always conscious area of the mind, and certain cellular recordings ("engrams") stored in it. Dianetics describes counseling (or "auditing") techniques which Hubbard claimed would get rid of engrams and bring major therapeutic benefits.

The book was criticized by scientists and medical professionals, who charge that it presents these claims in superficially scientific language but without evidence. Despite this, the book proved a major commercial success on its publication, although B. Dalton's officials state that these figures were inflated by Hubbard's Scientologist-controlled publisher, who had groups of Scientologists each purchase dozens or even hundreds of copies of Hubbard's books, and who sold these back to the same retailers.