We interview the therapists in our collective about a variety of different topics. Of course, we love to learn what it is like to work with them, what types of modalities and beliefs inform their practice, and so forth. However, we also just like to get tips and recommendations for them on a life well-lived. For example, we love to ask about their favorite books. Their recommendations can serve as useful resources as well as excellent entertainment. In this roundup, we look at some of our therapists’ favorite books, including both self-help/psychology/therapy books and books of any genre.
Therapists’ Favorite Books About Self-Help/Therapy/Psychology
Obviously, therapists enjoy reading about psychology and self-help. Many therapists are also happy to make psychoeducational book recommendations to clients who are interested in that. If you also like these types of books, here are some recommended reads:
1. The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
San Francisco Therapist Erma Kyriakos recommends this book to anyone interested in beginning to explore mindfulness meditation. Goodreads says, “In this beautiful and lucid guide, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh offers gentle anecdotes and practical exercise as a means of learning the skills of mindfulness–being awake and fully aware. From washing the dishes to answering the phone to peeling an orange, he reminds us that each moment holds within it an opportunity to work toward greater self-understanding and peacefulness.”
2. Us: How Moving Relationships Beyond You and Me Creates More Love, Passion, and Understanding by Terrence Real
Sonoma County Therapist Ingrid Tsong’s best therapy book recommendation is Us: How Moving Relationships Beyond You and Me Creates More Love, Passion, and Understanding by Terrence Real. It challenges the prevailing idea that we need to work on ourselves as individuals and instead suggests how to move forward in your relationships by working together as a couple.
3. The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck
San Francisco Therapist Erma Kyriakos says that this “oldie but goodie” (originally published in 1978) is a great place to start with self-help / psychology reading. The author has written many other books that are also worth checking out. Some of these expand upon the information in this book: Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Toward Spiritual Growth and The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety.
4. My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Mending of Our Bodies and Hearts by Resmaa Menakem
Recommended by California therapist Odessa Avianna Perez who specializes in working with issues of oppression and marginalization using a trauma-informed Somatic Psychotherapy approach with a focus on mindfulness, attachment, nervous system regulation, and dance and movement therapy. She says, “when we confront our collective trauma, we begin the work of finding true community and belonging in this world.”
5. Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication by Oren Jay Sofer
Bilingual SF Bay Area Therapist Sofía Escudero recommends this book about nonviolent communication. Mindfulness practice can enhance and improve nonviolent communication, which can, in turn, improve many of our relationships.
6. It Didn’t Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle by Mark Wolynn
Therapist Dena Ehrlich works holistically and collaboratively with children, teens, and adults. She recommends this book about inherited / intergenerational family trauma. Goodreads describes, “It Didn’t Start with You builds on the work of leading experts in post-traumatic stress, including Mount Sinai School of Medicine neuroscientist Rachel Yehuda and psychiatrist Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score. Even if the person who suffered the original trauma has died, or the story has been forgotten or silenced, memory and feelings can live on. These emotional legacies are often hidden, encoded in everything from gene expression to everyday language, and they play a far greater role in our emotional and physical health than has ever before been understood.”
7. The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya-Renee Taylor
Dena Ehrlich is also one of several of our therapists who recommends reading The Body is Not an Apology. Goodreads says, “As we awaken to our own indoctrinated body shame, we feel inspired to awaken others and to interrupt the systems that perpetuate body shame and oppression against all bodies. When we act from this truth on a global scale, we usher in the transformative opportunity of radical self-love, which is the opportunity for a more just, equitable, and compassionate world–for us all.”
8. “Radical Acceptance” by Tara Brach
Therapist Elizabeth Dausch recommends reading this book, which is subtitled, “Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha.” Goodreads says, “Radical Acceptance does not mean self-indulgence or passivity. Instead it empowers genuine change: healing fear and shame and helping to build loving, authentic relationships. When we stop being at war with ourselves, we are free to live fully every precious moment of our lives.”
9. Come As You Are by Emily Nagasaki
Sex therapist Ayala Kalisher (who also does somatic therapy and other forms of therapy) recommends this title. Goodreads description: “An essential exploration of why and how women’s sexuality works—based on groundbreaking research and brain science—that will radically transform your sex life into one filled with confidence and joy.”
BONUS Pre-Order Recommendation:
San Francisco Therapist Erma Kyriakos mentioned in her interview with us that the book she’s most looking forward to is Drama Free: A Guide to Managing Unhealthy Family Relationships. It’s described on the author’s website as “a road map for understanding and moving past family struggles — and living your life your way.”
Therapists’ Favorite “Non-Therapy” Book Recommendations
Obviously, therapists are humans. And humans read all different kinds of books. Here are some “non-therapy” books – both fiction and non-fiction – recommended by our therapists.
1. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
San Francisco Therapist Erma Kyriakos recommends this novel. It is about identical twin sisters who live very different lives – one passing as a white woman and the other living as a Black woman. Goodreads says, “Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person’s decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.”
2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
California therapist Odessa Avianna Perez says that this favorite book puts her in touch with all of our non-human relatives. Goodreads explains, “As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers.” This holistic perspective informs the work of many of our therapists.
Dena Ehrlich also chose this as her favorite non-therapy book in her therapist interview.
3. Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins
Odessa Avianna Perez also recommends this novel. She describes it as “the magic of smell, dance, and living forever.” Novels can teach us things, inspire us, distract us, entertain us, and remind us about the best parts of life.
4. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
Bilingual SF Bay Area Therapist Sofía Escudero recommends this memoir. It is the story of abuse in a same-sex relationship written in a genre-bending style.
Therapist Stephanie Bain also recommends this one.
5. Guardians of Being: Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats by Eckhart Tolle
Illustrated by Patrick McDonnell. This book comes recommended by therapist Elizabeth Dausch whose work is trauma-informed and also informed by attachment theory. Goodsreads shares, “More than a collection of witty and charming drawings, the marriage of Patrick McDonnell’s art and Eckhart Tolle’s words conveys a profound love of nature, of animals, of humans, of all life-forms. Guardians of Being celebrates and reminds us of not only the oneness of all life but also the wonder and joy to be found in the present moment, amid the beauty we sometimes forget to notice all around us.”
6. I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World by Kai Cheng Thom
Recommended by therapist Stephanie Bain who says, “serves as a memoir, collection of poetry, and commentary on how we interact with each other in queer and leftist circles. It’s beautiful, profound, and insightful.” Goodreads elaborates, “Taking its cues from contemporary thought leaders in the transformative justice movement such as adrienne maree brown and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, this provocative book is a call for nuance in a time of political polarization, for healing in a time of justice, and for love in an apocalypse.”
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