Reading Recommendations

In my counseling sessions, I sometimes offer reading recommendations and self-help books as an adjunct to our work together. Often, my clients find that the work they do outside of psychotherapy is a catalyst for further exploration during our sessions.

The recommended books are meant to be in addition to therapy, not instead of it. Although I’m familiar with the books listed, I am not necessarily in agreement with all aspects of them.

The following books, workbooks, and self-help books can be purchased online at Amazon.com or from local San Jose and San Francisco area book stores. Whether you are a layperson or a therapist you will find many of these books useful.

Books are listed below according to issue to make searching for them easier.

Reading recommendations about relationships

After the Affair: Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner Has Been Unfaithful. Janis Abrahms Spring, Ph.D. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1996.

Conscious Loving: The Journey to Co-Commitment: A Way to Be Fully Together Without Giving Up Yourself. Gay Hendricks, Ph.D., & Kathlyn Hendricks, Ph.D. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1990.

Emotionally Abusive Relationship, The. Beverly Engel. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2002.

Gay and Lesbian Rights, 2E: A Guide for GLBT Singles, Couples and Families. Brette McWhorter Sember. Naperville, IL: Sphinx Publishing, 2006.

How Can I Get Through to You? (Reconnecting Men and Women). Terrence Real. New York, NY: Scribner, 2002.

Permanent Partners: Building Gay and Lesbian Relationships That Last. Betty Berzon, Ph.D. New York, NY: Penguin Books, Inc., 1988.

Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work. John M. Gottman, Ph.D. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1999.

Should You Leave? A Psychiatrist Explores Intimacy and Autonomy — and the Nature of Advice. Peter D. Kramer. New York, NY: Scribner, 1997.

Reading recommendations about anxiety

Anxiety and Depression: A Natural Approach. Shirley Trickett, Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2000.

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook. Edmund J. Bourne. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2005.

Calm Energy: How People Regulate Mood with Food and Exercise. Robert Thayer. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, USA, 2003.

Coping With Anxiety: 10 Simple Ways to Relieve Anxiety, Fear & Worry. Edmund J. Bourne. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, 2002.

Coping With Anxiety: Integrated Approaches to Treatment. W. Walter Menninger, MD., editor. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, Inc., 1996.

Easing Anxiety and Stress Naturally. Susan Lark. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 1999.

End to Panic, An: Breakthrough Techniques for Overcoming Panic Disorder. Elke Zuercher-White, Ph.D. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc., 1995.

The Food-Mood Solution: All-Natural Ways to Banish Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Stress, Overeating, and Alcohol and Drug Problems–and Feel Good Again. Jack Challem and Melvyn R. Werbach, MD. New York, NY: Wiley, 2007.

The Feeling Good Handbook. David D. Burns. New York, NY: Plume, 1995.

Reading recommendations about depression

Dealing with Depression Naturally: Alternatives and Complementary Therapies for Restoring Emotional Health. Syd Baumel. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

Depression-Free for Life: A Physician’s All-Natural, 5-Step Plan. Gabriel Cousens. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2001.

The Food Allergy Cure: A New Solution to Food Cravings, Obesity,Depression, Headaches, Arthritis, and Fatigue. Ellen Cutler. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2003.

The Food and Mood Handbook: Find Relief at Last from Depression, Anxiety, PMS, Cravings and Mood Swings. Amanda Geary. New York, NY: Thorsons, 2001.

I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression. Terrence Real. New York, NY: Scribner, 1997.

Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn’t Teach You and Medication Can’t Give You. Richard O’Connor, PhD. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 1997.

User’s Guide to Natural Remedies for Depression. Linda Knittel. North Bergen, NJ: Basic Health Publications, 2003.

When Words Are Not Enough: The Women’s Prescription for Depression and Anxiety. Valerie Davis Raskin, MD.

Reading recommendations about addiction

The Addictive Personality: Understanding the Addictive Process and Compulsive Behavior. Craig Nakken. Center City, MN: Hazelden, 1996.

Addiction: Why Can’t They Just Stop? Susan Cheever. New York, NY: Rodale Books, 2007.

Alcoholics Anonymous – Big Book 4th Edition. AA Services. New York, NY: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2002.

End Your Addiction Now: The Proven Nutritional Supplement Program That Can Set You Free. Charles Gant. Clayton South, Vic, UK: Warner Books, 2002.

Natural Highs: Supplements, Nutrition, and Mind-Body Techniques to Help You Feel Good All the Time. Hyla Cass. New York, NY: Avery, 2003.

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. AA Services. Center City, MN: Hazelden: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., 2002.

The Encyclopedia Of Addictions And Addictive Behaviors. Esther, M.D. New York, NY: Facts on File, 2005.

Seven Weeks to Sobriety: The Proven Program to Fight Alcoholism through Nutrition. Joan Mathews Larsen. New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.

Reading recommendations about ACAs

Adult Children of Alcoholics. Janet Woititz. Deerfield Beach FL: HCI;, 1990.

Another Chance: Hope and Health for the Alcoholic Family. Sharon Wegscheider. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books, Inc., 1981.

Codependent No More. Melody Beattie. Center City, MN: Hazelden Educational Materials, 1987.

It Will Never Happen To Me. Claudia Black, Ph.D., MSW. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, Inc., 1981.

Reading recommendations about codependency

Minding the Body, Mending the Mind. Joan Borysenko. New York: Bantam, 1988.

Recovery: A Guide for Adult Children of Alcoholics. Herbert L. Gravitz and Julie D. Bowden. New York, NY: Fireside/Learning Publication Book, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 1985.

Recovery from Addiction: A Comprehensive Understanding of Substance Abuse With Nutritional Therapies for Recovering Addicts and Co-Dependent. John Finnegan and Daphne Gray. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 1990.

Repeat After Me. Claudia Black, Ph.D., MSW. New York, NY: Mac Publishing, 1995.

Struggle for Intimacy. Janet Geringer Woititz. Deerfield Beach FL: Health Communications, 1985.

Time to Heal, A: The Road to Recovery for Adult Children of Alcoholics. Timmen L. Cermak, MD. Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1988.

Treating Adult Children of Alcoholics: A Developmental Perspective. Stephanie Brown. New York, NY: Wiley, 1996.

Reading recommendations about trauma and abuse

Allies in Healing: When the Person You Love Was Sexually Abused as a Child. Laura Davis. New York, NY: HarperCollins, Inc., 1991.

Betrayal of Innocence: Incest and Its Devastation. Susan Forward, MSW, and Craig Buck. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1979.

Courage to Heal, The: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Ellen Bass and Laura Davis. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1988.

Father-Daughter Incest. Judith Lewis Herman. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1981.

Female Sexual Abuse of Children. Edited by Michele Elliott. New York, NY: The Guilford Press, 1994.

I Never Told Anyone: Writings by Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse. Edited by Ellen Bass and Louise Thornton. New York, NY: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., 1983.

Me Nobody Knows, The: A Guide for Teen Survivors. Barbara Bean and Shari Bennett. New York, NY: Lexington Books, Macmillan, Inc., 1993.

Right to Innocence, The: Healing the Trauma of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Beverly Engel, MFCC. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, division of Random House, 1989.

Secret Survivors: Uncovering Incest and Its Aftereffects in Women. E. Sue Blume. New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1991; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1990.

Victims No Longer: Men Recovering from Incest and Other Sexual Child Abuse. Mike Lew. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1988, 1990.

Reading recommendations about eating disorders

Conscious Eating. Gabriel Cousens, Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2000.

The Eating Disorder Sourcebook. Carolyn Costin. New York: Lowell House, 1996.

Improve Your Mood with Food: A Guide to Fighting Fatigue, Anxiety, Stress, and Depression Through Food. Alexandra Massey and Anita Bean. New York, NY: Virgin Books, 2006.

Nutrition Counseling in the Treatment of Eating Disorders. Marcia Herrin. New York: Brunner-Routledge, 2002.

Nutrition And Eating Disorders. Lori A. Smolin, Mary B. Grosvenor, Richard J. Deckelbaum, M.D., and Robert R. Williams. New York: Chelsea House Publications, 2004.

Nutrition for Recovery: Eating Disorders. Kathryn Reichert. Boca Raton : CRC, 1993.

The Psychology of Eating: From Healthy to Disordered Behavior. Jane Ogden. Ames, IA: Blackwell Publishing, 2002.

When Food Is Love: Exploring The Relationship Between Eating and Intimacy. Geneen Roth. New York: Plume, 1992.