Salerno was a visiting professor of journalism at
Indiana University, has taught as an adjunct instructor at
Lehigh University, and teaches at the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In November 2005, Salerno appeared on a segment of
Anderson Cooper's 360° to discuss the validity of the self-help industry. He discussed the self-help industry further on ABC Radio National where he was quoted as saying that the "happiness industry is banking on keeping us unhappy."
Book His book
SHAM, a critique of self-help, received mostly positive reviews, with some reviewers describing Salerno's coverage as overreach in his analysis of self-help's broader effects in society. In the book, Salerno argues that self-help in recent decades has done significant damage to the American social fabric. Salerno argues that damage principally to self-esteem-based education and the fallout from the two polar schools of self-help thoughts, victimization and empowerment. He is highly critical of
Alcoholics Anonymous and derivative
12-step programs. He has also described the self-help movement's intrusion into politics. He also wrote of self-help having fatal consequences for participants at a self-help seminar by guru
James Arthur Ray in 2009. After the book's publication Salerno wrote essays on self-help's influence in politics and medicine. == Awards ==