I’m passionate about connecting with people through therapy and helping them to better understand themselves. There’s no better way to do that than through reading. I’ve always been interested in the human condition, reading psychology magazines and books about love, mental health, and self-identity from a young age. They helped me to navigate tougher times when I was experiencing my own adversity. I believe in the power of health literacy, and with lived experience in mental health as both a psychotherapist and a client, I manage my own mental health using the same techniques I share with readers in my book and those found through reading books such as these.
I wrote
Paperback Therapy: Therapist-approved tools and advice for mastering your mental health
This is the book I recommend to any clients or friends struggling with their anxiety. It’s a unique take on how anxiety has been understood throughout history and how it can impact us, told as Sarah goes on her own journey to discover how to live with the condition.
It’s beautifully researched, and I could see myself and my own beliefs about anxiety challenged and understood in so much of the text. My own copy is dog-earned, highlighted, and worn down due to multiple readings and referencing. A must-read!
If you love someone who is anxious, this book is for you.
I Quit Sugar founder and New York Times bestselling author Sarah Wilson has lived through high anxiety - including bipolar, OCD and several suicide attempts - her whole life. Perhaps like you, she grew tired of seeing anxiety as a disease that must be medicated into submission. Could anxiety be re-sewn, she asked, into a thing of beauty?
So began a seven-year journey to find a more meaningful and helpful take on…
I believe one of the best ways to get to know yourself is by learning about other people’s similar experiences – after all, we can’t be it if we can’t see it.
That’s why I love Maybe You Should Talk To Someone; it explores how different people can better understand themselves through the lens of the therapist, who is also going through her own adversities.
I saw myself in this book as both a therapist and a client. An easy read that blurs fiction and nonfiction, I recommend it to anyone who might not like dense academic reads but is looking to understand how therapy works and their mental health.
Ever wonder what your therapist is thinking? Now you can find out, as therapist and New York Times bestselling author Lori Gottlieb takes us behind the scenes of her practice - where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).
When a personal crisis causes her world to come crashing down, Lori Gottlieb - an experienced therapist with a thriving practice in Los Angeles - is suddenly adrift. Enter Wendell, himself a veteran therapist with an unconventional style, whose sessions with Gottlieb will prove transformative for her.
While anxiety and addiction get a lot of airtime in fiction, depression is less common. That’s why I devoured Jessie Stephen’s book. It brings life to what it’s like to live with depression through a page-turning story where you’re rooting for the main characters.
I recommend this book to anyone who has depression, but perhaps more importantly, to those who know and love someone living with a mood disorder. It has a way of demonstrating the nuances and intrusive thoughts that people with depression experience but often have difficulty verbalizing.
Want a fun, inspirational push building resilience? I recommend this book.
Hugh and his team have created an incredible and easy-to-understand program to help all Australians be happier, stronger, and more mindful. I most like to recommend this to my male clients who experience a bit more stigma about mental health ("it’s not good to be ‘weak’") because of the friendly way it’s written.
With loads of examples and scenarios, it’s easy to see the benefit of everyone, from school-aged kids to corporate adults reading this book. I’ll continually be gifting it to my male friends, clients and colleagues.
Hugh van Cuylenburg was a primary school teacher volunteering in northern India when he had a life-changing realisation: despite the underprivileged community the children were from, they were remarkably positive. By contrast, back in Australia Hugh knew that all too many children struggled with depression, social anxieties and mental illness. His own little sister had been ravaged by anorexia nervosa. How was it that young people he knew at home, who had food, shelter, friends and a loving family, struggled with their mental health, while these kids seemed so contented and resilient? He set about finding the answer and in…
I’m a big fan of almost anything John Gottman writes; however, this is my favourite. Yes, it’s targeted at couples, however I like to apply the principles to help with any type of interpersonal relationship.
This is an easy-to-follow yet scientific approach to having better connections, and I tend to recommend it to clients looking to strengthen their communication skills in the bedroom or the boardroom. It’s another book that I consistently reference, highlight, and apply sticky notes to.
The revolutionary guide to show couples how to create an emotionally intelligent relationship - and keep it on track
Straightforward in its approach, yet profound in its effect, the principles outlined in this book teach partners new and startling strategies for making their marriage work.
Gottman has scientifically analysed the habits of married couples and established a method of correcting the behaviour that puts thousands of marriages on the rocks. He helps couples focus on each other, on paying attention to the small day-to-day moments that, strung together, make up the heart and soul of any relationship. Packed with questionnaires…
Finding the time and money for professional therapy isn’t always possible – so this interactive book provides an invaluable first step. While not a substitute for therapy, this book will give you the tools you need to make positive changes in your life and improve your mental wellbeing.
Certified practicing counselor Tammi Miller takes you on a journey of self-discovery and healing. You’ll learn over 25 therapist-approved tools for everything from how to boost your self-esteem and live by your values to techniques for overcoming unhealthy habits and managing anxiety, stress, and sadness. With prompts and exercises proven to benefit your mental health and well-being, Paperback Therapy will help readers be happier and healthier selves.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
