Recommended Reading

Mind Over Mood by Dennis Greensberger, Ph.D and Christine A. Padesky, Ph.D

This book is exactly what the title sounds like. It teaches you how to improve your life by changing your thoughts. Through concrete suggestions, you can learn to understand and combat negative thoughts and feelings.

The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne, Ph.D

This is similar to how Mind Over Mood works, but with the emphasis on coping with anxiety and phobias. It provides a comprehensive guide to understanding symptoms and how to deal with them. Anyone dealing with these issues will find this book comforting and helpful.

Passionate Marriage by David Schnarch, Ph.D

No matter if you’re dating or married, or what your sexual orientation is, this book can help you understand relationships. It discusses how couples can achieve greater intimacy and sexual pleasure. It is written in a positive, life-affirming manner.

That’s Not What I Meant! by Deborah Tannen, Ph.D

Dr. Tannen, a world-renowned sociolinguist, shows how having different backgrounds can make or break conversations, and therefore, relationships. Many of us take communication failures personally. She teaches us to consider factors such has other people’s ethnicities, ages or personalities. This book covers how to improve casual conversations, work miscommunications, and relationships with friends and family.

This Changes Everything by Christina Robb

Learn how relationships shape us as we grow. Robb covers the work of groundbreaking theorists Carol Gilligan, Jean Baker Miller, and Judith Lewis Herman, who changed how the psychology of women was understood. This work can help clarify how relationships have shaped who you are.

The Courage to Heal by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis

A detailed, gently written book for survivors of sexual abuse. This volume includes information about the healing process and tells other survivors’ stories, which can help reduce feelings of isolation. I also recommend this book for partners or other loved ones who are trying to understand a survivor’s experiences.

On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D.

This classic work describes the emotional stages of patients facing terminal illnesses. It is helpful for patients, their loved ones and health care professionals. Bear in mind that the “stages” do not always follow in a linear fashion. People may vacillate from one stage to another.