Nowlan is sceptical about the effectiveness of such "distance therapy" "It is not the same as being listened to," she says. "There is such value in being listened to and that is where the transformation really begins." But it is not therapy, according to Mind Gym MD, Octavius Black, it is a "mind workout". The sector's popularity is, he believes, less about personal transformation and more about shifting expectations among ambitious Baby Boomers. They pull you together for a day or two, making you feel a little bit better, more in control, but they don't get to the foundations of what is wrong and ultimately change things." This is why, she adds, they are popular with men who have more hang-ups about accessing help when suffering from anxiety, stress and depression. Epitomising the business book as DIY therapy is The Mind Gym, the product of the eponymous consultancy. The book raced to the top of bestseller lists with its mix of applied psychology and practical advice on everything from delivering bad news and dealing with your demons to creative visualisation, a favourite pastime on the self-help business circuit: think rich and you'll become rich, say the gurus.

Buyers of the book are given free passwords to access the Mind Gym website and take advantage of more detailed questionnaires that read like transcripts to therapy sessions. Weakness is not admitted to in such a competitive atmosphere. "People are so isolated they buy books like this to give them solace on the train after these really driven days." But they are little more than emotional aspirins, she claims, offering only momentary relief "Things like this act as a sticking plaster. Dirk Bogarde had taken a brave step, and he had assisted in the making of an authentic film of protest - part of the mood that would soon liberalise the law.

Bogarde was also established in other ways by the time of his death, in 1999. He was by then a respected actor; a successful writer (both memoirs and novels); and someone knighted by the Queen. But to the very end, Sir Dirk lacked the inner freedom to admit to his own emotional life. In other words, the repressive forces of English fear and respectability oppressed him still, no matter that the law had been reformed.