The most recommended psychiatrist books

Who picked these books? Meet our 119 experts.

119 authors created a book list connected to psychiatrists, and here are their favorite psychiatrist books.
When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

What type of psychiatrist book?

Loading...
Loading...

Book cover of Regeneration

Hue-Tam Ho Tai Author Of Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution

From my list on books for someone who grew up in wartime Vietnam in a family of anti-colonial activists.

Why am I passionate about this?

My interests lie in the personal experiences of war and revolution and their aftermaths. Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution is a tribute to my parents' generation of young Vietnamese who sought to combine their attempts to free themselves of the shackles of oppressive tradition with the struggle to win independence from French colonial rule before the introduction of competing ideologies.

Hue-Tam's book list on books for someone who grew up in wartime Vietnam in a family of anti-colonial activists

Hue-Tam Ho Tai Why did Hue-Tam love this book?

I discovered Pat Barker's Regeneration (followed by An Eye Through the Door and the River Road) after reading Wilfred Owen's war poetry. His "Anthem for a Doomed Youth"  spoke to me as I thought of Vietnamese youths fighting and dying in the Cold War. Owen and his mentor, Siegfried Sassoon, describe the war not as a noble cause but as a series of horrifying experiences.

By Pat Barker,

Why should I read it?

17 authors picked Regeneration as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Calls to mind such early moderns as Hemingway and Fitzgerald...Some of the most powerful antiwar literature in modern English fiction."-The Boston Globe

The first book of the Regeneration Trilogy-a Booker Prize nominee and one of Entertainment Weekly's 100 All-Time Greatest Novels.

In 1917 Siegfried Sasson, noted poet and decorated war hero, publicly refused to continue serving as a British officer in World War I. His reason: the war was a senseless slaughter. He was officially classified "mentally unsound" and sent to Craiglockhart War Hospital. There a brilliant psychiatrist, Dr. William Rivers, set about restoring Sassoon's "sanity" and sending him back…


Book cover of The Alienist

Irving Belateche Author Of The Origin of Dracula

From my list on refresh legends, myths, and historical events.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved novels that reinvent and refresh history and legends. They take these building blocks of culture and make them personal and emotional. These novels breathe new life into ancient tales and historical events, so they resonate with relevance. They reveal hidden depths and connections within familiar stories, transforming them into vibrant tales. This genre makes legend and history feel personal by taking me on one character’s unique journey, transforming the exploration of the past into a deeply engaging experience.

Irving's book list on refresh legends, myths, and historical events

Irving Belateche Why did Irving love this book?

This novel captivated me from the very first page. It masterfully blends historical figures and facts to create a gripping thriller. I was immediately drawn into New York City in 1896 and the groundbreaking investigation.

The alienist, which is what psychologists were at the turn of the century, uses a unique, untested, and ridiculed method to track down a serial killer: psychological profiling. The appearance of real historical figures, like Theodore Roosevelt, then police commissioner, and J.P. Morgan, added a rich layer of authenticity and intrigue to the story. For me, the meticulous details of the era made each twist in the investigation come to life.

By Caleb Carr,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Alienist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The internationally bestselling historical thriller, now a major Netflix series starring Luke Evans, Dakota Fanning and Daniel Bruhl.

Some things never change.

New York City, 1896. Hypocrisy in high places is rife, police corruption commonplace, and a brutal killer is terrorising young male prostitutes.

Unfortunately for Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt, the psychological profiling of murderers is a practice still in its infancy, struggling to make headway against the prejudices of those who prefer the mentally ill - and the 'alienists' who treat them - to be out of sight as well as out of mind.

But as the body count…


Book cover of Cry, Mother Spain

Johana Gustawsson Author Of Blood Song

From my list on resistance during The Spanish Civil War.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a French writer of Spanish origin. My two grandfathers shared history with Spain’s darkest hours. My maternal grandfather was born in Barcelona and he was a teenager at the time of the war; just like Salvayre’s parents, he had to flee Spain as the bombs were hitting his city. My paternal grandfather, who was in his twenties at the time of the civil war, decided to fight for the “International Brigades” to defend Spain’s freedom. It is to honour their memory and one of the millions of men and women who suffered from those almost four decades of dictatorship that I wrote Blood Song, a historical thriller, the third installment in the Roy and Castell series.

Johana's book list on resistance during The Spanish Civil War

Johana Gustawsson Why did Johana love this book?

The former French psychiatrist Lydie Salvayre won the prestigious Goncourt Prize for that brilliant novel about the Spanish civil war. Salvayre’s parents, who were Republicans, had to flee Franco’s regime, and we feel that her writing is sewn with emotion and memories. The two voices we hear echo perfectly that troubling period of Spanish history: the one of Salvayre’s own mother recounting her experiencing the civil war and the one of the French writer Georges Bernanos. A novel not to be missed.

By Lydie Salvayre, Ben Faccini,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cry, Mother Spain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Aged fifteen, as Franco's forces begin their murderous purges and cities across Spain rise up against the old order, Montse has never heard the word fascista before. In any case, the villagers say facha (the ch is a real Spanish ch, by the way, with a real spit).

Montse lives in a small village, high in the hills, where few people can read or write and fewer still ever leave. If everything goes according to her mother's plan, Montse will never leave either. She will become a good, humble maid for the local landowners, muchisimas gracias, with every Sunday off…


Book cover of Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex: But Were Afraid to Ask

Carren Strock Author Of Married Women Who Love Women and More

From my list on lesbianism and married women who love women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I believe that creativity has no boundaries and that it is only desire and determination that separate those who succeed from those who don't. I'm equally at home with a paintbrush and canvas, a needle and thread, or a hammer and nails, and am as eclectic in my writing as I am in my other interests. I'm best known for my definitive sociological study, Married Women Who Love Women and More, which began as a catharsis for myself when I realized I was gay. I'm also the author of an autobiographical how-to, an exciting mystery, a lesbian paranormal romance, a rhyming picture book, a cookbook, and a middle grade chapter book.

Carren's book list on lesbianism and married women who love women

Carren Strock Why did Carren love this book?

I found this book to be frank, compassionate, and sometimes funny. Some of the topics made me blush when I read it years ago. Others reaffirmed my normalness, and still others opened my mind to new possibilities. But I was especially interested in the alternative lifestyles section. It was years later that I realized I was a lesbian.

By David R. Reuben M.D.,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The original edition of Dr. David Reuben's "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask" is the most famous and successful book on human sexuality ever published. A #1 bestseller in over fifty-one countries, it has been read and enjoyed by more than 100 million people in virtually every country in the world. For more than thirty years, this modern classic has become part of our lives. It has made our sexual experiences more satisfying, our marriages more robust, and given our children a healthy and realistic attitude toward sex." [quoted from http://books.google.com/books/about/Everything_You_Always_Wanted_to_Know_Abo.html?id=PVxhQgAACAAJ ]


Book cover of The Secret Scripture

Jennifer Barraclough Author Of You Yet Shall Die

From my list on family secrets and mysteries from the past.

Why am I passionate about this?

With a professional background in medicine and psychiatry, I enjoy the kind of mystery novels that involve personal relationships and family secrets, such as unexplained deaths, disputed parentage, and concealed crimes. They may deal with some dark material, but I like it to be explored subtly, without explicit descriptions of violence towards people or animals. I have lived in New Zealand for many years but grew up in the south of England, so books set in places that I remember from my early life have an added appeal.

Jennifer's book list on family secrets and mysteries from the past

Jennifer Barraclough Why did Jennifer love this book?

In the 1970s, I worked in a large old English mental hospital, which was soon to be closed and replaced by community care services. This novel is set in an Irish hospital where the same process is underway. It concerns the developing relationship between two characters.

One is the psychiatrist tasked with assessing the long-stay patients prior to relocation. The other is a woman of about 100 years old who has spent all her adult life in the hospital and kept a secret diary. The book is beautifully written and serves as a reminder that aged people in institutions should not be undervalued.

By Sebastian Barry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret Scripture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Recording the events of her life from a mental hospital as her hundredth birthday approaches, Roseanne McNulty considers returning to society when she learns that the hospital is about to close, but her situation is complicated by the possibility that Roseanne remembers her life quite differently from what is documented in her patient records. 15,000 first printing.


Book cover of Mind Prey

Susan Fleet Author Of Guilty

From my list on crime with a quirky series character.

Why am I passionate about this?

My print-journalist father covered the crime beat. He often took me with him to the police station and I got hooked on crime. My background is eclectic, a professional trumpet player with a BA in Mathematics and a Masters in Fine Arts. While teaching at Berklee College of Music in Boston, I discovered my dark side and began writing crime thrillers. Most are inspired by actual events or news reports about stalkers, domestic homicides, or serial killers. In 2001, I moved to New Orleans. My crime thriller series features NOPD Homicide Detective Frank Renzi. I'm fortunate to be able to consult three former NOPD homicide detectives who advise me on police procedures and investigations.

Susan's book list on crime with a quirky series character

Susan Fleet Why did Susan love this book?

Even while pursuing the nastiest criminals Detective Lucas Davenport and his sardonic sense of humor make me laugh. A deranged man wants to punish the female psychiatrist who once put him in a mental hospital. When he kidnaps the woman and her two young daughters, Lucas focuses on who stands to benefit. The combative resentful husband she's divorcing, her business partner, and her elderly father's trophy wife who will inherit his fortune if his daughter dies. 

The kidnapper inflicts harsh punishment on the psychiatrist and plays mind games with Lucas. He telephones Lucas, taunts him and threatens to kill his captives. Lucas has no idea where they are, but he can play mind games too. An emotional roller-coaster ride until the last page of this gritty suspense thriller.

By John Sandford,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mind Prey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**Don't miss John Sandford's brand-new thriller Ocean Prey - out now**

A LUCAS DAVENPORT THIRLLER BY GLOBAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOHN SANDFORD

He knows how killers think. But what if this killer knows more?

It's raining when psychiatrist Andi Manette leaves the parent-teacher meeting with her two daughters. She's tired and distracted, so she doesn't notice the red van parked beside her, or the van door slide open. The last thing she does notice is the hand reaching out for her and her girls . . .

Hours later, deputy chief Lucas Davenport stands in the car park holding a blood-stained…


Book cover of The Swan Thieves

T.M. Blanchet Author Of Herrick's End

From T.M.'s 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Imagination flyer Bookshop roamer Dog lover Wander luster Mom

T.M.'s 3 favorite reads in 2023

T.M. Blanchet Why did T.M. love this book?

I’m a bit late to the party with this one, but I’m so glad I finally got around to reading this strange, haunting tale.

Kostova manages to blend the past and the present, art and commerce, and logic and desire together into one beautiful narrative. You don’t have to know a thing about art (or care much about it) to appreciate the wonderful details and descriptions. The author makes it easy to just let yourself sink into the story and time travel back and forth into two very different, yet strangely similar, eras.

The book lingers, making you resent the interruptions of daily life each time you have to put it down. I have a small house and one relatively small bookcase, which means I usually donate books when I finish them. But every once in a while, I come across a book that I just can’t let go of.…

By Elizabeth Kostova,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Swan Thieves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Psychiatrist Andrew Marlowe has a perfectly ordered life - solitary, perhaps, but full of devotion to his profession and the painting hobby he loves. This order is destroyed when renowned painter Robert Oliver attacks a canvas in the National Gallery of Art and becomes his patient. Desperate to understand the secret that torments this genius, Marlowe embarks on a journey that leads him into the lives of the women closest to Oliver and a tragedy at the heart of French Impressionism. Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy; from the late nineteenth century to…


Book cover of Michel de Montaigne

Nelson Johnson Author Of Darrow's Nightmare: The Forgotten Story of America's Most Famous Trial Lawyer

From my list on tell a story previously untold.

Why am I passionate about this?

Nelson Johnson is a New York Times bestselling author (Boardwalk Empire) and has been fascinated with history and Clarence Darrow’s career all his life. From having practiced law many years and presided over 200(+) jury trials as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge, Nelson is uniquely qualified to tell the story of Darrow’s and his wife Ruby’s worst two years together. Nelson’s first four books have all prepared him to tell this story. It’s a tale that asks the reader to judge Darrow.

Nelson's book list on tell a story previously untold

Nelson Johnson Why did Nelson love this book?

For me, Montaigne’s thoughts on life and human foibles compare favorably with those of St. Augustine. His insights on the human condition are valuable to anyone inclined to self-reflection on one’s own frailties. Montaigne’s advice on coping with one’s mortality is worth heeding. He counsels that in order to deny death its sting, “…let us deprive death of its strangeness; let us frequent it, let us get used to it; let us have nothing more in our mind than death.” Yet our mortality is only one of many issues he discusses. Montaigne offers up wisdom on everything from fear, prayer and solitude, to the virtues of social intercourse, avoiding unwanted relationships, and educating children.

By Michel de Montaigne, J.M. Cohen (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Michel de Montaigne as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Vintage paperback


Book cover of Running with Scissors: A Memoir

Laura Meer Barkley Author Of This Childhood of Mine

From my list on traumatic childhoods and dysfunctional families.

Why am I passionate about this?

My expertise and passion for these topics stem from my lived experiences. I never understood why I would be the only girl to suffer so much, but now, having written my memoir, I know it all had a purpose. Some people with similar backgrounds write to me, and I try to offer them compassion, encouragement, hope, and understanding. I advise them to write their own memoirs to shed light on different life issues and inspire meaningful conversations. I have been a platinum member of Audible since 2016 and have more than 1000 memoirs in my library—I hope this helped me to choose the best five memoirs for this list!

Laura's book list on traumatic childhoods and dysfunctional families

Laura Meer Barkley Why did Laura love this book?

I lived Augusten Burroughs’ life while walking in the U.S. National Arboretum through the medium of his audiobook. Augusten Burroughs’ parents had the same issues as my parents, and his life was as eclectic as mine. This allowed me to heal my long-time wounds in a way.

The more I read about the emotional struggles of others, the easier it is for me to fully remember the darkest moments of my childhood. This particular memoir also made it difficult for me to put it down because of its very bizarre plot and dark humor. Additionally, I was fascinated to read about the time before I was born. Isn’t it odd that the world once existed without us?

By Augusten Burroughs,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Running with Scissors as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times Bestseller

An Entertainment Weekly Top Ten Book of the Year

Now a Major Motion Picture

This is the true story of a boy who wanted to grow up with the Brady Bunch, but ended up living with the Addams Family. Augusten Burroughs's mother gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa Claus and a certifiable lunatic into the bargain. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients and a sinister man living in the garden shed completed the tableau. The perfect squalor of their dilapidated Victorian house, there were no…


Book cover of Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my entire adult life wondering if my world would be different if I hadn’t spent my teens and twenties on antidepressants. What I know for sure is that the person I am after psychiatric drugs is wildly different than the person I was while medicated, which has led me down a path of understanding the history and cultural significance of psychiatric drugs to understand my own story. Now, I am an advocate for safe psychiatric drug deprescribing education. My goal is to teach patients and parents how to ask their doctors the right questions, encourage true informed consent, and make prescribers aware of the signs and symptoms of over-medication and psychiatric drug withdrawal.

Brooke's book list on books every parent should read before taking their kid to a psychiatrist or psychologist

Brooke Siem Why did Brooke love this book?

Though this is technically an academic book, it is extremely readable and the best account of the manipulative marketing, hidden court cases, and corruption that occurred during the development of Prozac and Zoloft.

It’s one of those books where, if my mother or I had read it before I was medicated at 15, I’m quite sure we would not have made the same choices. 

By David Healy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let Them Eat Prozac as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A psychiatrist provides an insider account on the controversial use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
Prozac. Paxil. Zoloft. Turn on your television and you are likely to see a commercial for one of the many selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on the market. We hear a lot about them, but do we really understand how these drugs work and what risks are involved for anyone who uses them?
Let Them Eat Prozac explores the history of SSRIs-from their early development to their latest marketing campaigns-and the controversies that surround them. Initially, they seemed like wonder drugs for those with…


Book cover of Regeneration
Book cover of The Alienist
Book cover of Cry, Mother Spain

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,990

readers submitted
so far, will you?