(Part 2) Best books about psychotherapy according to redditors
We found 231 Reddit comments discussing the best books about psychotherapy. We ranked the 121 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
There are theories about the 'helping' professions (therapists, doctors, teachers, religious leaders, cops) attract psychopaths because of the power these positions give them.
See Adolf Guggenbuhl-Craig's book Power in the Helping Professions.
Why do you say that? It could very well be a consequence of a period intense self-reflective contemplation combined with meditation.
If someone who lives in modern Western society experiences the illusory nature of the self, or the non-dualistic nature of reality, then they may very well feel like they know some secret that no one else knows. If this same individual had existed within a society where such ideas are the norm, then it would seem like a completely natural part of intellectual/spiritual development.
For example, some people may feel confused or frighetened when they question the idea of free will, but if you look at it from the perspective of wu-wei or karma it may grant you a deep sense of peace instead.
Also, mental illness is a very vague term. Many people think of addiction as a mental illness, when in reality it may very well have everything to do with your environment, as proposed by the Rat Park experiment.
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Other things that may or may not be of interest:
Psychosis or Spiritual Awakening: Phil Borges at TEDxUMKC
Depression & Spiritual Awakening: Two Sides of One Door | Lisa Miller | TEDxTeachersCollege
Psychosis and Spirituality: Consolidating the New Paradigm by Isabel Clarke
I don't mean to lessen the touching tone of the article, but as one who lived most of their life with suicide ideation, I also seek solace in brutal honesty. One of my favorite authors, Susan Brison, put it well:
> But many trauma survivors who endured much worse than I did, and for much longer, found, often years later, that it was impossible to go on. It is not a moral failing to leave a world that has become morally unacceptable. I wonder how some can ask, of battered women, "Why didn't they leave?" while saying, of those driven to suicide by the brutal and inescapable aftermath of trauma, "Why didn't they stay?" [Holocaust survivor] Amrey wrote, "Whoever was tortured, stays tortured" and this may explain why he, Levi, Celan and other Holocaust survivors took their own lives decades after their (physical) torture ended, as if such an explanation were needed.
My favorite was #2: the guy who lives on a cliff. Along with the guy in Japan. My new heroes.
I recommend these books:
and Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time
Side note on Quran translation:
Stay away from
Try:
Misc:
Movie:
Tara Brach's True Refuge is wonderful. http://www.amazon.com/True-Refuge-Finding-Freedom-Awakened/dp/0553807625
the reason is a little bit of evolutionary fun (i.e. another reason why we clearly weren't "designed" to be "perfect")
the brains of homo sapiens are hard-wired to accept as normal whatever treatment is foisted upon them by individuals who are pair-bonded/impressioned to children as the "primary caretaker(s)"
the second scenario is defaulting to energy-conserving mode by the vagal nerve plexus system (the old reptilian system at the base of the brain)
the third scenario is severe affect dysregulation because of an attempt by the maturing brain to pair-bond with another, but feeling intense fear of abandonment in order to avoid scenario #2
fun times
more info:
https://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Guide-Polyvagal-Theory-Transformative/dp/0393707873
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393712850
cutting edge neuroscience, so it's not always light reading, but well worth it
I do not know how good these books are, but Dr. Barkley an ADHD specialist in 2009 recommend three professionals and their CBT programs. Note I said programs and not books. They three specialists also have books on this subject. The books may be good or may not be (sometimes the content of something may be awesome but the presentation sucks and is boring.)
These books may be better for your therapist and not you specifically, or they may be good for you, I do not know I have not read them.
The three people and the books they published.
 
 
 
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On formating I am not complaining but just trying to help if you want to learn some reddit techniques
Bullet points are caused by a * followed by 1 space at the very beginning of the line.
& nbsp; with no space between the & and the N followed by a hard return will create a paragraph space.
-- -- With no spaces between them will create a hard line like this.
John Cacioppo & Laura Freberg have a cool, more integrated, intro psych textbook. Btw, you'll want to include cognitive and developmental lessons too. Cross-cultural might be worthwhile as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRYBb48KZrs
http://www.amazon.com/books/dp/061818550X
I personally liked, "Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences" by Hinkle, Wiersma, and Jurs.
From amazon.ca / description:
> Unique coverage focuses on concepts critical to understanding current statistical research such as power and sample size, multiple comparison tests, multiple regression, and analysis of covariance
I used this textbook during my 4th year in undergrad and many of the concepts served me well even during my first year in graduate school. 1st year phd now; I still relish this book quite a bit.
Agree re: polyvagal! It was revelatory for me. And as someone who tries REEEEEEALLY hard at everything, learning about neural platforms kinda let me off the hook for things I was expecting to just will myself out of.
I've brought the topic up here before, but never garnered much interest. Hence the low effort, low commitment podcast :)
Therapist Uncensored podcast has a few good episodes on it, as does Dr Drew of all people (Allan Schore episode is better than Porges ones).
For anyone interested, recc reading:
Easy read: The Polyvagal Theory in Therapy: Engaging the Rhythm of Regulation
More in depth:
[The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation] https://www.amazon.com/Polyvagal-Theory-Neurophysiological-Communication-Self-regulation/dp/039370700
The Pocket Guide to the Polyvagal Theory: The Transformative Power of Feeling Safe
Sure! Right now I like these Yoga With Adriene videos: Gentle Yoga, and Yoga for Loneliness (I like that this one is low to the ground and pretty much all done on your back). I also like these Somatic Exercises for neck and shoulders.
The book I like best for explaining dissociation is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy by Pat Ogden/ Janina Fisher. The book is huge and a little pricey, but that's because the format is supposed to be like a workbook for client and therapist. You don't have to go through the exercises (I don't) but my therapist utilizes a lot of sensorimotor psychotherapy ideas and techniques in our work and I bought the book because there's just so much great information in there about dissociation and how trauma gets stored in the body. There's also a workbook that I recently bought that's pretty good so far: Coping With Trauma Related Dissociation.
There's also these books on recovery from psychosis without psychiatric drugs:
https://www.amazon.com/Soteria-Deliverance-Loren-R-Mosher/dp/1413465234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518044317&sr=8-1&keywords=soteria
https://www.amazon.com/Mad-America-Medicine-Enduring-Mistreatment/dp/0465020143/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0465020143&pd_rd_r=6970J61P9HCQQ0SCXDMS&pd_rd_w=hpEty&pd_rd_wg=QlKAN&psc=1&refRID=6970J61P9HCQQ0SCXDMS
https://www.amazon.com/Toxic-Psychiatry-Electroshock-Biochemical-Theories/dp/0312113668/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518044412&sr=1-5&keywords=peter+breggin
https://www.amazon.com/America-Fooled-Antidepressants-Antipsychotics-Deceived/dp/0977307506/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518044431&sr=1-1&keywords=america+fooled
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583919066/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Great question!
While I appreciate the person you respect's opinion, I completely disagree. You wrote:
"I recently was emphatically encouraged by someone I really respect to never ever to praise clients or make anything resembling a positive evaluation because it will take away from client's autonomy and put us in a position of power (to decide how good they and their actions are)."
We are already in a position of power. Clients are -- consciously or unconsiously -- coming to us to feedback on "how good they and their actions are". See:
https://www.amazon.com/Disabling-Professions-Ideas-Progress-Illich/dp/0714525103/ref=sr_1_13?crid=2OPIBTS3V0NUF&keywords=ivan+illich&qid=1554578467&s=books&sprefix=illich%2Cstripbooks%2C149&sr=1-13
... and ...
https://www.amazon.com/Witchdoctors-Psychiatrists-Common-Psychotherapy-Revised/dp/0060970243/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=torrey+psychotherapy&qid=1554578567&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull
Let's not pretend we are not in a position of power as therapists, for this way lies dragons. Let's recognize that power and use to for good.
See also:
https://www.amazon.com/Power-Helping-Professions-Adolf-Guggenbuhl-Craig/dp/0882143042
I was trained in psychodynamic perspectives, and I got the whole, "don't express praise for clients" thing in my training. While I value much of my psychodynamic training, for me personally this (praising clients) is an area I have come around 180 degrees quite strongly.
Life can be crushing for so many people we see. And (I began to ask myself) we're withholding praise?!? Further, I was taught to adopt a "neutral" stance. For many of us, we've been raised to recognize that "neutral" means "bad", so I would argue that it is impossible to for anyone to truly be neutral in therapy.
So yes, I praise. Always with sensitivity to client needs and dynamics, but I praise.
It seems to work ... both for me and my clients.
Then again, I might be wrong.
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I think the best resources are the people actually doing scientific research. Irving Kirsch, the Cold Control theory people, and The Oxford Handbook of Hypnosis--which is really expensive and really difficult to read, so see if your can borrow or download it before you buy.
Maybe T.A. for Tots?
https://www.amazon.com/Other-Prinzes-Transactional-Analysis-Everybody/dp/0843103752
It's called T.A. for Tots by Alvyn Freed. Look you can own your own copy! or even the Anniversary edition
The Physics of Radiation Therapy by Khan. I have yet to walk into a Medical Physicist's office and not see a copy of this book.
If you want a nice blend of the two topics, consider Social Psychology, as there are entire sections dedicated to groups processes (which may be what drew you to sociology.) I really liked Social Psychology by Kassin, Fein, and Markus; it was a really informative textbook with plenty of examples and critical thinking to keep the student engaged. I actually know one of the authors personally, though I read the book long before I met her.
Amazon has it here. The ISBN is 978-1133957751, if for some reason that doesn't work.
Man, this is a few editions later than the one I keep on my shelf. Time flies, huh?
IMO, it's a judgement call and there is no clear right and wrong answer.
Let me put it this way, I have a few friends of various calibre and even they have told me that psychology is not what it seems to be. (Specifically, they complain that uni psychology is more about the boring research methods rather than the interesting theories borne from it. Other times, they complain that all the memorising is largely pointless in real psychology research). This is roughly what I meant be the "disillusionment"... What makes you think you won't fall into the same trap?
> had enough crap from sec school already, i don't want another 2 years for JC.
While you were not the first to mention Junior College... this is the key mentality I was afraid of that you might have. Almost all my poly friends in uni (of varying calibre and courses) now have expressed JC as a more advantageous route as a prep for university. Psychology is an interesting course whereby you do have to mug almost as rigorously as JC. (I can go on about if there is any difference if you mug what you like or whether disillusionment is even a thing.)
For now, maybe you can pick up a textbook and answer a couple of questions. I'm sure you will take this advice... After all, you claim you like what you study right?
Not sure what direction you are thinking of heading in psychology, but if you are interested in therapy I would recommend The Making of a Therapist. This is one of the book that I recommend to new interns at work.
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Therapist-Norton-Professional-Books/dp/0393704246/ref=wl_mb_wl_huc_mrai_1_dp
If she keeps bringing up things from the past and shows stunted development, that is a good indication of childhood attachment trauma. Whether you think your family is awful or not, bringing up things from the past is a sign of early trauma.
And bpd is known to be caused by early attachment trauma.
So I would recommend she seek out trauma therapy with a qualified sensorimotor processing therapist. That therapy has helped my gf, who had a history of early abuse. Of course, her brother and sister think their family is just a-ok, thanks to the parents scapegoating her as the problem so that they didn't have to acknowledge to themselves what awful parents they were. And of course her brother and sister bought that scapegoating tactic hook, line, and sinker - because that's how dysfunctional families function.
I can tell you care about your sister, even though you don't see eye to eye with her. So I would suggest that if she ever becomes willing to recover from any attachment trauma (which does not have to be abuse, by the way - there are other types) then you can suggest to her sensorimotor processing therapy.
Here are some books you can read for more information:
https://www.amazon.com/Sensorimotor-Psychotherapy-Interventions-Interpersonal-Neurobiology-ebook/dp/B00D4WBUJQ/ref=mt_kindle?_encoding=UTF8&me=
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G3L1C2K/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
because bpd can induce psychosis-like symptoms, i've got interested in reading spiritualism aspects lately, so i skimmed parts of this book which I found enlightening:
http://www.amazon.com/Psychosis-Spirituality-Consolidating-New-Paradigm/dp/0470683473
Also see https://www.amazon.com/Witchdoctors-Psychiatrists-Common-Psychotherapy-Revised/dp/0060970243/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496036538&sr=8-1&keywords=psychiatrist+witch+doctor
Also relevant to the discussion is https://www.amazon.com/Depression-Cure-6-Step-Program-without/dp/0738213888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496036595&sr=8-1&keywords=ilardi+depression
Ilardi says that tribal people don't have deep fryers, TV, the splintering of the family unit, or medications that have lots of dangerous side effects. We also walk around with clothes from our wrists to our necks to our ankles, and they don't. They get a lot more exercise every day than we do. Their food isn't covered in pesticides. They wake up with the sun and go to sleep in the dark. All of those things add up.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1133957757/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1408680347&sr=8-3&pi=SY200_QL40. I think it's in the 11 chapter.
I didn't crossdress but I experienced very similar feelings growing up as you're describing. I convinced myself it was a fetish and that transitioning would never work for me. I realized about two months ago that I actually was transsexual and will be starting HRT in January.
One thing that really helped me was this book. It discusses the feelings that we've both had and has lots of testimonials from others who have experienced the same thing. In fact it has a whole section on the feeling going away temporarily post-orgasm. Knowing that other people also had the same feelings I've struggled with most of my life put my mind at ease.
No problem and thank you for the compliment. Overall, I love experiential and psychodynamic theories but I try to approach any theory as a means to an end. Any clinician that becomes too dogmatic risks missing the point (that is, helping the client and not serving your own ends). I like playing between affect and behavior with clients and attachment theory is behind it all for me.
In any case, why don't you ask an easier question? Haha. There is so much material out there for each modality that I could recommend plenty.
Strengths-focused
Experiential
Attachment
Psychodynamic
Hope that helps! Feel free to PM me too. I wonder if /u/evilqueenoftherealm would have any suggestions too.
You're right, I could have done better
> And there again is your problem because you can have different levels of energy of photons and electrons. A fact which is destroying your own case.
Incorrect. You stated, plainly, that photons are more damaging than electrons. That's false. Photons and electrons of equivalent energy have identical relative biological effectiveness. The absorbed dose is a function of energy, not particle, when comparing photons and electrons.
In fact, the way that ionizing photons cause damage to tissue is by transferring their energy to electrons, which scatter and then interact with the atoms in the cells. The either directly ionize atoms in the DNA, or they ionize atoms in H2O molecules, creating free radicals which then interact directly with DNA. The bottom line here is that it's electrons which are ultimately responsible for cell damage. The photons just scatter electrons. If this is true, it stands to reason that electrons of equivalent energy will have the same biological effect as photons of equivalent energy. That's exactly what I've been saying this whole time.
>Notice the change in what your original point is?
No, what do you think it is?
>In the past? The rest of the article and everything else contradicts what's generally accepted in the hard sciences. 2nd NASA source, 3rd source: Gamma ray, electromagnetic radiation of the shortest wavelength and highest energy
As I pointed out before - There is a small overlap in X-ray and Gamma ray radiation but I'm not surprised non-physicists in the medical fields would try to fuck up physics jargon they don't understand.
This is the trouble with relying on websites whose intended audience is the general public. The NASA sources are simplified and don't go into the distinctions between x-rays and gamma rays (which is, again, the source of the photons and not the energy). The third source actually does state that gamma rays are produced by nuclear decay and annihilation reactions, which supports what I've been telling you.
Here are my own sources: two textbooks used for educating radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and other professionals who work in radiation oncology. Both books are written by PhD physicists who have decades of experience working in the fields of radiation oncology, medical physics, and radiation protection.
The first source: The Physics & Technology of Radiation Therapy, by Patrick N. McDermott, PhD and Colin G. Orton, PhD
I took a photo of the relevant section from the book: http://i.imgur.com/kIaJyKd.jpg
Amazon link to the book so you can see more information about the book and its authors: https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Technology-Radiation-Therapy/dp/1930524447
The second source: The Physics of Radiation Therapy (3rd edition), by Faiz M. Khan, PhD
Photo of relevant section: http://i.imgur.com/0EOsWik.jpg
Amazon link (4th edition because the 3rd edition is no longer sold): https://www.amazon.com/Physics-Radiation-Therapy-Faiz-Khan/dp/0781788560/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1495904187&sr=1-1&keywords=physics+of+radiation+therapy
If you aren't satisfied with that because those are sources from medical physicists, here's another source from the MIT Department of Physics (see page 2) http://web.mit.edu/8.13/www/JLExperiments/JLExp31.pdf
>The name “x ray” is generally given to a photon if it
is emitted by a free or bound electron and has an energy
in the range from about 0.1 keV to about 100 keV.
Photons emitted directly by nuclei are generally called
gamma rays even if their energy is in the conventional
x ray range.
Another source, Idaho State University http://www.physics.isu.edu/radinf/terms.htm
> Gamma rays are electromagnetic waves or photons emitted from the nucleus (center) of an atom.
>X Rays are electromagnetic waves or photons not emitted from the nucleus, but normally emitted by energy changes in electrons. These energy changes are either in electron orbital shells that surround an atom or in the process of slowing down such as in an X-ray machine.
Across the field of physics, "gamma" is used to refer to photons produced by nuclear decay and annihilation reactions, whereas "x" is used to refer to photons produced by electron transitions.
>I get it. You are in medicine and think because your local jargon is confused it should affect the hard sciences.
False distinction. Medical physics and health physics are hard sciences and are subfields of physics. Medical physicists are just physicists who have been trained specifically for for the application of physics in the field of medicine. In my experience, many (most?) practicing medical physicists are people who studied in traditional physics departments and then transitioned as post-docs into medical physics.
>Appeal to authority is a logical fallacy.
Appeals to authority are actually sometimes valid. For instance, if the authority is recognized as an expert on the subject matter, their statements about the subject matter are generally considered to be valid. That doesn't mean that they are infallible, of course. An invalid appeal to authority would be trying to use the opinion of a physicist on something outside their expertise, like molecular biology. The way you're using this "appeal to authority" claim is to say that my sources are invalid because citing my sources is an appeal to authority. That cuts against you as much as it cuts against me.
>gamma radiation is defined in the hard sciences as based on the energy of the emission and not the source.
I've proven this wrong time after time. My sources are textbooks written for physics professionals and written by PhD physicists. Your sources are public education websites on the NASA website. I'm not trying to disparage those sources, because they have perfectly good uses, but you should not try to rely on those for an in-depth discussion of radiation physics.
>The fact is that ionizing photons released in nuclear decay can range from NONE to keV to MeV+ and the damage done is dependent on the energy released and penetration potential. Again - bumper cars vs trucks.
Yes, photons produced by nuclear decay can have MeV energies. So can beta particles produced by nuclear decay. That's why my point about equivalent RBE stands. The relative biological effectiveness of photons is the same as that of electrons. Please try to prove me wrong.
>And all of your jargon foo is a philosophical distraction from the main point which you have abandoned is that the energy of the photon or electrons in nuclear decay can vary widely and that determines amount of damage done.
Dude, I've never disagreed on this point. Of course the damage is dependent on energy. My point is that photons are not inherently more damaging than electrons, which is what you said. Photons and electrons of equivalent energy have the same relative biological effectiveness.
I'm going to repeat that.
Photons and electrons of equivalent energy have the same relative biological effectiveness.
If you can agree to that, then I think we're done here. Regardless, this will have to be my last reply. This has become too time consuming and this discussion really has little benefit to either of us, and I doubt anyone else is reading at this point.
https://www.amazon.com/Aftermath-Violence-Remaking-Susan-Brison/dp/0691115702
I TFed an intro undergrad course that used Alan Agresti's Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences. I didn't read much of it, but the students seemed to like it. He also has another book that's probably also pretty good. The intro course for non-stats students at my graduate school is Applied Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, which might also be worth a look. If those are too technical or hands-on, then the "for Dummies" book might also be a good choice - it's in very plain language and tries to keep things relevant to real-life examples.
Many of the bigger-picture "whys" become more apparent when you have a solid grounding in probability theory and the theory behind statistical inference, though. Some of them don't have very satisfying answers, either (Q: Why p = 0.05? A: Convention). In my opinion, the more you understand statistics, the more you realize it's less about finding exact answers than it is about quantifying imprecision. That can be hard for a layperson to wrap their head around!
Sounds like your medications are helping a lot! Mindfulness can help you experience that scary darkness, without being consumed by it. Basically you allow that sensation to exist, without identifying as it. Just a non-judgmental observer. Most of the time that feeling is toxic shame ("I am bad / defective" or "Something is wrong with me"), and our bodies do everything they can to avoid experiencing it.
Psychology and medications are important. However, spirituality can help you actually understand your heart, so it can become a source of joy and love, rather than fear. This takes a lot of time, and a willingness to sit with the scary feeling without acting on it.
I think of it this way: there is a universal unconditional love available to all of us. Then throughout the course of life, traumas happen (rejection, abandonment, betrayal) which falsely cause us to believe we are separate from that love. It is important to find that trauma, treat it with unconditional love, and restore our connection to our true nature.
My favorite resources on the heart:
http://intuitivecreativity.typepad.com/expressiveartinspirations/2014/07/understanding-your-core-pain-and-false-self.html
http://joy2meu.com/Fear_of_Intimacy.html
http://www.corelight.org/resources/returning-to-oneness/chapters/chapter-three/
https://www.amazon.com/True-Refuge-Finding-Freedom-Awakened/dp/0553807625
Glad it helped! I dont know if you want to add another thing to do right now but the book “the making of a therapist” was super helpful to me in my internship.
The Making of a Therapist (Norton Professional Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393704246/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JvHLDb8M715NH
I just bought it for myself lol. Another book I wanna buy is Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Interventions for Trauma and Attachment (Norton Series on Interpersonal Neurobiology) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0393706133/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_MTYRzb97NH9GV
>Also what is this I found called, "The True Religion of God?" by Dr. AB Phillips?
Dr. Bilal Philips has some Salafi leanings but overall most of his works is a good reference point. I wouldn't take every he writes as truth.
Also Islam House is a Salafi site. Salafi are a tiny minority of Muslims in the world yet they flood the internet with their propaganda. Only recently, within last five or years or so ,has traditional scholars has begun to refute their propaganda. My advice is stay away from any person who has ties to Saudi Arabia (Umm al Qurra University,Madeenah University,Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University) until you are grounded within traditional understanding of Islam.
Moreover watch out for anything from Dar Us Salam publishers, the largest English language publishers of Islamic Books, they have been known to rewrite traditional books from scholars to suit their Salafi ideology.
My advice to start with Treatise For The Seekers Of Guidance. Which gives an overview of traditional Islamic morals and behavior. As well as English language Qur'aan,which unfortunately all them have their bias and problems with them. The only three that I can recommend are M.A.S. Abdel Haleem translation , Muhammad Asad translation or Aisha Bewley's translation. Though all of them have their problems.