Initial List compiled by: Alyce Wellons, LCSW – https://www.alycewellons.com/recommended-readings

A

Abusive Relationship

• Why Does He Do That?: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men
• The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to recognize it and how to respond
• The Battered Woman
• The National Domestic Violence Hotline: Call 1-800-799-7233 or Text 1-800-787-3224

Assertiveness & healthy communication

• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
• The Dance of Connection: How to Talk to Someone When You’re Mad, Hurt, Scared, Frustrated, Insulted, Betrayed, or Desperate
• Your Perfect Right: Assertiveness and Equality in Your Life and Relationships (9th Edition)
• The Assertive Woman (Personal Growth)
• You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation

ADD & Attention concerns

• Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain: A Creative Approach to Getting Organized
• What Does Everybody Else Know That I Don’t?: Social Skills Help for Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
• Time Management for the Creative Person: Right-Brain Strategies for Stopping Procrastination, Getting Control of the Clock and Calendar, and Freeing Up Your Time and Your Life
• Learning Outside The Lines: Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution
• Making the System Work for Your Child with ADHD
• Mastering Your Adult ADHD: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Program Client Workbook (Treatments That Work)
• Taking Charge of ADHD, Third Edition: The Complete, Authoritative Guide for Parents
• Driven to Distraction (Revised): Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder

Anger

• Letting Go of Anger: The Eleven Most Common Anger Styles And What to Do About Them
• Beating Anger: The Eight-Point Plan for Coping with Rage
• How To Control Your Anger Before It Controls You
• Dance of Anger: A Woman’s Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships

Attachment

• Secure Love: Create a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

B

Borderline personality disorder

• I Hate You–Don’t Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality
• Sometimes I Act Crazy: Living with Borderline Personality Disorder
• The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder: New Tools and Techniques to Stop Walking on Eggshells
• Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder

C

Caregiver stress

• The Resourceful Caregiver: Helping Family Caregivers Help Themselves, 1e
• The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life

Childhood Physical Abuse

• Adult Survivors of Childhood Abuse podcast by Cathy Kezelman
• The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Hurtful Parenting
• Outgrowing the Pain: A Book for and About Adults Abused As Children
• A Child Called It: One Child’s Courage to Survive

 

Childhood Sexual Abuse

• Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: RAINN: Rape Abuse & Incest National Network
• Hush: Moving From Silence to Healing After Childhood Sexual Abuse
• The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse, 20th Anniversary Edition
• The Courage to Heal Workbook: A Guide for Women and Men Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
• Voices of Courage: Inspiration from Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Lucky

Ritual Abuse During Childhood

• Not Without My Sister: The True Story of Three Girls Violated and Betrayed by Those They Trusted

Male Incest Survivors

• A Beautiful World: One Son’s Escape from the Snares of Abuse and Devotion
• Father’s Touch, Second Edition

Teen Survivors of Sexual Abuse

• It Happened to Me: A Teen’s Guide to Overcoming Sexual Abuse (workbook)
• How Long Does It Hurt: A Guide to Recovering from Incest and Sexual Abuse for Teenagers, Their Friends, and Their Families

Chronic Illness

• Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired: Living with Invisible Chronic Illness (New Edition)

 

Codependency

• Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
• The Language of Letting Go: Hazelden Meditation Series

 

Confidence & Self-Esteem

• The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
• The Self-Esteem Workbook
• Ten Days to Self-Esteem
• Radical Self-Acceptance: A Buddhist Guide to Freeing Yourself from Shame
• The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Building Social Confidence: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Overcome Shyness and Social Anxiety (The New Harbinger Compassion-Focused Therapy Series)

Couples

Marriage

• The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert
• Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships
  Why Marriages Succeed or Fail: And How You Can Make Yours Last

All Romantic Relationships

• What Makes Love Last?: How to Build Trust and Avoid Betrayal
• The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples
• Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help YouFind – and Keep – Love
• Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
• Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples, 20th Anniversary Edition
• The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts

 

Sex & Intimacy

• Intimacy & Desire: Awaken the Passion in Your Relationship
• Mating in Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence
• Passionate Marriage: Keeping Love and Intimacy Alive in Committed Relationships
• The Return of Desire: A Guide to Rediscovering Your Sexual Passion

 

Infidelity & Affairs

• After the Affair, Updated Second Edition: Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner Has Been Unfaithful
• Torn Asunder: Recovering From an Extramarital Affair
• Shattered Vows: Hope and Healing for Women Who Have Been Sexually Betrayed

Breakups, Separation, and Divorce

• Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay In or Get Out of Your Relationship
• Dinosaurs Divorce (A Guide for Changing Families)
• The Boys and Girls Book About Divorce
• Should I Try to Work It Out?: A Guidebook for Individuals and Couples at the Crossroads of Divorce
• The Divorce Remedy: The Proven 7-Step Program for Saving Your Marriage

 

D

Difficult Childhood

(Abusive, Neglectful, or Unhealthy Parents)

• Resources for Adult Survivors of Child Abuse and Neglect
• Adult Children of Alcoholics
• Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life
• The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self
• Children of the Self-Absorbed: A Grown-Up’s Guide to Getting Over Narcissistic Parents
• If You Had Controlling Parents: How to Make Peace with Your Past and Take Your Place in the World

 

Difficult Emotions & Painful Times

• The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation & … Tolerance (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
• Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
• The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics)
• When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala Classics)
• Free Mindfulness Podcasts

 

Depression & Anxiety

• Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
• Depression and Mental Health Social Community Support Groups
• Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
• Overcoming Depression: A Cognitive Therapy Approach Workbook (Treatments That Work)
• Mastery of Your Anxiety and Worry: Workbook (Treatments That Work)
• The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook
• I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression
• Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)

Disordered Eating, Body Image, & Weight Concerns

• Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight
• Dying to Be Thin: Understanding and Defeating Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia–A Practical, Lifesaving Guide
• Beautiful You: A Daily Guide to Radical Self-Acceptance
• Intuitive Eating
• Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life
• Overcoming Your Eating Disorders: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach for Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating Disorder Workbook (Treatments That Work)
• Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder
• Skills-based Learning for Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder: The New Maudsley Method

 

G

Grief & Loss

• On Death and Dying
• A Grief Observed
• On Children and Death: How Children and Their Parents Can and Do Cope With Death
• The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses including Health, Career, and Faith
• Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations For Working Through Grief
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People
• When Someone You Love Dies

For Survivors of Suicide

• After Suicide Loss: Coping with Your Grief
• Dying to Be Free: A Healing Guide for Families After a Suicide
• Healing After the Suicide of a Loved One
• Unfinished Conversation: Healing from Suicide and Loss
• Black Suicide: The Tragic Reality of America’s Deadliest Secret

 

GLBTQQI: Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, & Intersex

• Coming Out of Shame: Transforming Gay and Lesbian Lives
• Is It a Choice? Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions About Gay & Lesbian People, Third Edition
• The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Other Identities
• The Velvet Rage: Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World, Second Edition
• Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together
• What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality

 

M

Mental Health & Wellness

• Happy
• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
• Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
• The ART OF LIVING CONSCIOUSLY: The Power of Awareness to Transform Everyday Life
• Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind
• Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha

 

N

Narcissm

• Trapped in the Mirror: Adult Children of Narcissists in their Struggle for Self
• Emotional Vampires: Dealing with People Who Drain You Dry
• Disarming the Narcissist: Surviving and Thriving with the Self-Absorbed

 

O

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Stop Obsessing!: How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions (Revised Edition)
• The Woman Who Thought too Much: A Memoir

 

R

Race, Culture, Ethnicity & Identity Development

• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations About Race
• White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism
• What Are You?: Voices of Mixed-Race Young People
• Dim Sum, Bagels, and Grits: A Sourcebook for Multicultural Families
• Adolescent Ethnic and Racial Identity Development (presentation)

 

Rape & Sexual Assault

• National Sexual Assault Hotline | 1.800.656.HOPE(4673)
• The Rape Recovery Handbook: Step-by-Step Help for Survivors of Sexual Assault
• Recovering From Rape
• Journey to Wholeness: Healing from the Trauma of Rape
• If She is Raped
• The Sexual Healing Journey: A Guide for Survivors of Sexual Abuse (Revised Edition)
• Recovery: How to survive sexual assault for women, men, teenagers, their friends and families
• I Can’t Get Over It: A Handbook for Trauma Survivors

Acquaintance Rape

• I Never Called It Rape: The Ms. Report on Recognizing, Fighting,

 

S

Schizophrenia

• Surviving Schizophrenia, 6th Edition: A Family Manual
• The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness
• How to Live with a Mentally Ill Person: A Handbook of Metally Ill Strategies
• Coping with Schizophrenia: A Guide for Families

 

Social Anxiety & Shyness

• Painfully Shy: How to Overcome Social Anxiety and Reclaim Your Life
• Overcoming Social Anxiety and Shyness: A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques
• The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Building Social Confidence: Using Compassion-Focused Therapy to Overcome Shyness and Social Anxiety (The New Harbinger Compassion-Focused Therapy Series)
• Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety and Phobia
• Diagonally-Parked in a Parallel Universe: Working Through Social Anxiety

 

Setting Boundaries

• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
• Safe People: How to Find Relationships That Are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t

 

Spirituality & Purpose

• Man’s Search for Meaning
• A New Earth – Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
• The Last Lecture
• The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning
• The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living

 

Stress Reduction & Management

• The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)
• Wherever You Go, There You Are

 

Supporting Loved Ones With Mental Health & Addiction Concerns

• “One Hour At A Time,” a free podcast by Mary Woods
• Al-Anon: Support and Resources for Family and Friends of People with Drug or Alcohol Problems
• NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness (Resources and Support for Family and Friends)
• Everything Changes: Help for Families of Newly Recovering Addicts
• Demystifying Psychiatry: A Resource for Patients and Families
• Talk Therapy TV – Videos about the warning signs, symptoms, and treatment options for mental illnesses and addictions.

 

Supporting Loved Ones Who Are Survivors of Assault or Abuse

• When You’re the Partner of a Rape or Incest Survivor

 

Substance Abuse, Addiction & Problem Drinking

• Online Recovery Resource Directory
• Tips for Reducing Alcohol Consumption
• The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
• My Name Is Bill W
• Twenty Four Hours a Day
• A Gentle Path through the Twelve Steps: The Classic Guide for All People in the Process of Recovery
• 12 Smart Things to Do When the Booze and Drugs Are Gone: Choosing Emotional Sobriety through Self-Awareness and Right Action
• 12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery: Avoiding Relapse through Self-Awareness and Right Action
• Trauma and Addiction: Ending the Cycle of Pain Through Emotional Literacy

 

T

Teenagers & Parenting

• Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
• How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
• Yes, Your Teen is Crazy!: Loving Your Kid Without Losing Your Mind
• Getting to Calm: Cool-Headed Strategies for Parenting Tweens + Teens
• Parenting Teens With Love And Logic: Preparing Adolescents for Responsible Adulthood, Updated and Expanded Edition
• Positive Discipline for Teenagers, Revised 3rd Edition: Empowering Your Teens and Yourself Through Kind and Firm Parenting
• Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall: A Parent’s Guide to the New Teenager, Revised and Updated
• Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls
• Parents, Teens and Boundaries: How to Draw the Line
• If Your Adolescent Has an Anxiety Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents (Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands’ Adolescent Mental Health Initiative)
• All Grown Up And No Place To Go: Teenagers In Crisis, Revised Edition

 

Traumatic Experiences

• Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy
• The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment (Norton Professional Book)