Have you been thinking about the idea of therapy for a while, yet haven’t quite trusted what you’ve heard or want to know more first? This is my starter pack of recommended therapy books, or therapy-related, that help you understand more and don’t require much advance psychology knowledge. These will help you understand what happens, and what’s possible in terms of personal growth, change, and agency over your life. Each book reflects different approaches to therapy. This may support you to better understand what you need or want. The links I provide bring you to Goodreads.
Books about therapy processes
The Gift of Therapy – Irvin Yalom
First on the list is Yalom, renowned therapist and prolific author. He is loved by clients and therapists both for the brutal honesty and humanistic warmth of his writing. He is most influential in psychology for his work on death anxiety, how the fear of death can haunt us at different times in our lives. Yalom addressed this particular book to therapists. However, as a client it will give you good insight into ‘things to watch for’ that most of us therapists try to use in our work.
Counselling for Toads: A psychological adventure – Robert de Board
This is a beautifully entertaining account of what it’s like for a person experiencing depression to work through it in therapy. It imagines Toad, a central character from the classic U.K. books and TV show ‘The Wind In The Willows,’ going through therapy. He learns to better understand himself and his emotional needs, and gradually get spark and vibrancy back into his life. Transactional Analysis is the form of therapy he engages with here. This gains its insights from analysing how we interact with others (our social ‘transactions’). It’s my favourite of my recommended therapy books, for its leap in imagination and how enjoyable it is to read.
Books with a more spiritual angle
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Much of the contents of this book are scarcely believable. Frankl details his harrowing survival of WW2 Nazi concentration camps in a brief, direct, and unflinching account. There is a short section at the end detailing the form of therapy he developed out of what he survived. Overall, this is a profoundly affecting read that continues to sell millions of copies because of the purity of its message. It’s one you will never forget.
Radical Acceptance – Tara Brach
Depending on who you are, it may be that you’re seeking a more spiritually-informed type of therapy. Brach’s therapeutic approach is deeply informed by Buddhist practice. Here, she discusses the concept of radical acceptance—learning to accept oneself fully, even the painful parts—which is helpful for anyone on a personal healing journey. It features a collection of guided meditations that you can undertake, too.
This book first came recommended to me by a past client. It’s a beautifully lyrical work of wisdom from Irish and Celtic culture. The name roughly translates from the Irish language as meaning ‘soul friend.’ Aside from its spiritual leaning, I found this book most valuable for what it taught me about friendship and connection. An unforgettable read, and one that will always take me back to the privilege of working with that particular person across their therapy process.
Books with a self-help direction
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself – Kristin Neff
Where better to start with self-help than compassion for ourselves? Neff, a pioneering researcher on this topic, emphasises how working to be a bit kinder to ourselves can lead to better mental health and resilience with life’s challenges. She offers simple tools to help cultivate self-compassion in your everyday life. This is something that can help with, for instance, the impacts of shame or depression. This is an enjoyable account of self-compassion, which many of us might painfully admit we struggle with.
In the next book on the list, Greenberger and Padesky provide us with a practical workbook of techniques for managing emotions such as depression, anxiety, and anger. It may feel a little aged because there are so many readily available smartphone apps that provide the same thing! However, their work is likely to be valuable for those interested in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The authors designed it so readers can use it on their own, without support. They provide step-by-step exercises to help change things like negative thought patterns.
Books with a scientific leaning
The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk
To finish, Van der Kolk’s book on the topic of trauma is another blockbusting bestseller on this list. He explains how traumatic experiences are stored in the body and the brain. However, his text is heavily informed by neuroscientific research. It’s less ‘readable’ than other books here as a result, more purely informative and educational. This is great if you love your science, just hold it in mind before diving in. An essential read for anyone wondering how the concept of trauma has become so ubiquitous – this book has certainly played a part.
In closing, there are so many other recommended therapy books I could include. However, I don’t want to make this post too long! If you feel like your understanding of the basics of what happens in therapy could be better, I invite you to read another post of mine.
