Resources
These books are intended to provide general information about a variety of mental health topics. In order to get the most out of therapy, I believe it's important to be an informed therapy consumer. These books can help get you started.
Aging
Aging Well by George E. Vaillant, M.D.
Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer,
Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives by David Snowdon
Therapeutic Interventions With Ethnic Elders: Health and Social Issues
by Sara Aleman (Editor), Tanya Fitzpatrick (Editor), Thanh V. Tran
(Editor)
Anger
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames by Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh
Dr. Weisinger's Anger Work-Out Book by Hendrie Davis Weisinger
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner
Anxiety
Don't Panic: Taking Control of Anxiety Attacks by R. Reid Wilson, Ph.D.
Healing Anxiety Naturally by Harold Bloomfield
Attention Deficit Disorder
Driven to Distraction by John Ratey and Edward Hallowell
Women With Attention Deficit Disorder by Sair Solden
Buddhism & Psychology
Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart by Mark Epstein, M.D.
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Career
The Power of Purpose by Richard Leider
A Year to Live: How to Live This Year As If It Were Your Last by Stephen Levine
Constructive Living
Constructive Living by David K. Reynolds
A Natural Approach to Mental Wellness by Gregg Krech
The Concise Little Guide to Getting Things Done by Gregg Krech and Linda Anderson Krech
Playing Ball on Running Water by David K. Reyonlds
Depression
You Can Beat Depression by Dr. John Preston
Willow Weep For Me: A Black Woman's Journey Through Depression by Meri Nana-Ama Danquah
How to Heal Depression by Harold Bloomfield
Depression and the Body by Alexander Lowen
The Brain Wellness Plan by Jay Lombardo, M.D. and Carl Germano, R.D.
Food
Food and Mood by Elizabeth Somer, M.A.
Healing the Mind the Natural Way by Pay Lazarus
Nutritional Influences on Mental Illness by Melvyn Werback, M.D.
Potatoes Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaison, Ph.D.
Happiness
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living by Pema Chodron
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
The Pursuit of Happiness by David G. Myers
Loss
How to Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando
On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold S. Kushner
Mental Illness -General
Helping Someone With Mental Illness by Rosalynn Carter
Mind/Body
Exercising Your Way to Better Mental Health by Larry Leith
Spontaneous Healing by Andrew Weil
Parenting/Families
Children: The Challenge by Rudolf Dreikurs
The Family Virtues Guide by Linda Kavelin Popov
The Shelter of Each Other by Mary Pipher
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey
Between Parent and Child by Haim G. Ginott
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber
and Elaine Mazlish
Raising Black Children by James P. Comer and Alvin F. Pouissant
To Listen to a Child by T. Berry Brazelton
Recovery/Substance Abuse
Love First: A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug
Addiction (A Hazelden Guidebook)
Passages Through Recovery: An Action Plan for Preventing Relapse by
Terence Gorsky
Today I Will Do One Thing: Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope for Those
of Us With Addiction and Emotional or Psychiatric Illness by Tim
Mc/Hazelden Meditations
Relationships
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher
(a fascinating look at developing win-win solutions to disagreements
from a world-renowned negotiation specialist)
Reconcilable Differences by Andrew Christensen and Neil
S. Jacobson
Getting the Love You Want by Harville Hendrixs
Women
All About Eve by Tracy Chutorian Semler
It's Not All in Your Head: Now Women Can Discover the Real Causes of
Their Most Commonly Misdiagnosed Health Problems by Henrietta Leonard