Dialectical behavior therapy
919940
A very helpful book and easy to read.  it gives specific information and steps to handle out of control emotions.  It would be supportive and helpful to traumatized veterans as well as those who fight their way through society.  It is valuable to me to counsel victims of violence and sexual abuse.
394573
Get this book if you have a high conflict divorce or partner with borderline personality disorder.  Key to transforming your communications.  Helps transition to helping get the communication outcomes you want and need to get such as with regards to your children (decisions, action) with people who don't apply regular logic or don't really care about how you feel.
871682
Introduction to Alternative and Complimentary Therapies is a compilation of overviews of modalities by various authors.  The authors are considered to have expertise in their respective field. For example, the chapter on art therapy is written by Dr. Laura Cherry, who is a board certified Art Therapist and an associate professor of art at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. Dr. Cherry has conducted art therapy programs for special needs children in the Caribbean. Dr. Trudy Duffy, PhD, the author of the chapter on psychodrama is a certified practitioner and trainer of psychodrama in addition to conducting academic research at Boston University and publishing professional writings on psychodrama.

 Each chapter in the book gives an overview of selected alternative and complimentary therapies.  The nine chapters or areas of focus are mindfulness, spirituality, poetry therapy, art therapy, psychodrama; dance / movement therapy, music therapy, animal-assisted therapy, and touch therapies. Each chapter includes an introduction to the modality as well as empirically based research and case examples. The editors state: "This book is intended to pique your interest, light your curiosity, and perhaps inspire you to learn more about one or two of these approaches in depth."

 My professional interest in reviewing this book comes out of a love for the complimentary therapies, particularly the arts as well as mindfulness / transpersonal therapy. There are certainly ways to incorporate bits and pieces of each complimentary therapy into one's practices. However, after reading each chapter, I gained a deeper appreciation for each discipline and a greater respect for the benefit of selecting one of these fields and receiving in depth training. Must I become a proficient artist to use art therapy with my clients? No, but it certainly helps.

 I was particularly humbled in reading the chapter on music therapy written by Dr. Jennifer Jones, who is a board certified music therapist who's resume includes working with children as well as working in an acute psychiatric hospital and working with substance abuse patients in recovery. Dr. Jones defines music therapy, gives examples, gives a historical perspective, speaks to the benefits of music therapy, and lists several techniques along with case examples. A music therapist needs to be highly skilled as a musician as well as a therapeutic clinician. Music therapy can include selecting a piece of music for clients to listen to on one end of the continuum, and on the other end, a music therapist should be able to assist clients to write songs and compose their own music as a part of the therapy as well as to help client create musical improvisations.

 Those seeking further information about a field of discipline will be pleased. Each chapter includes a meaty reference list, including books and articles from academic journals. A helpful appendix lists "Resources for Further Exploration" for each chapter. Here we find professional associations, study centers, internet resources, and professional journals. For example, resources for mindfulness include the Mind and Life Institute (co-founded by the Dali Lama), Sounds True: Audio, Video, and Music for the Inner Life, several periodicals, The Institute of Noetic Sciences, and four additional internet resources. Clearly those wanting more information will find it here.

 If you are considering adding a complimentary or alternative therapy to your practice but you are not sure which area to focus on, this book is a great place to start. If you already know which alternative therapy you will to explore, perhaps you would be better off selecting a book in your area of interest.
1852858
This book written by Doc Orman M.D. explains why being a negative thinker can cause you lots of problems. He approaches the issue of negative thinking in a unique and practical way, advising techniques that assist the reader to live a happier life. I would recommend it.

Daffy
3809900
After reading many dialectical behavior books, all easy to read, and practical heads up, even if you have been in therapy forever, dialectical behavior can really do the job.

I am now trying to work with this book of easy explanation for your moods and how to work past the pain, and the other suggestions, soothing yourself, making sure you have your personal hygiene under control, and with the little x list of 52 weeks, if you say to yourself, I have to commit to this program, because what it does is free up your good emotional energy that's been withering away under your negative thinking patterns.  Getting caught up in negative emotions - depression - and smashing the good out of your way. You don't even know you are doing this to yourself.  The book addresses people who cut and burn themselves, but we might all be included, even if we don't engage in self harm.  Drowning in nasty emotional thinking is enough to take you down and keep you down.

Anyway, want proof it works, in simple steps, My depression is letting go. I'm only on day 4.

It works, it's not a miracle, just a program that says stop letting what emotional energy you have pull you down and send it to the good things in your brain.  I like the opening.  Here the exercises, learn them, see that you do it often as possible, and mark it down in the diary in back.  A small diary on the side is recommended if you feel you need to write a ground breaking scene.  I had mine today, I started cleaning my kitchen!

It's important to remember anti-depressants help quite a bit, but if you still have to fight with that big ball of depression every day, unending, than this is a technique and a therapy (you can do it on your own), that's worth a try.
3829701
This is a self help book that teaches you to change the way you think.  I am using the book in conjunction with actual therapy, in fact my therapist recommended it.  I intend to read the book, and practice what it's teaching.  Then follow up regularly.  So far everything said in the book makes sense to me.  I will have to get further along before I can say if it actually helps, but I believe that it will.
3900788
I have been using Ego State approaches in the teaching and practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy for the past 20 years. For many years I have drawn on the Transactional Analysis theory of Ego states and found it most helpful, especially when used in conjunction with the more creative methodology of Gestalt therapy. A number of years ago I got introduced to the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of Ego States developed by Richard Schwartz. This opened up the Ego state field for me and expanded Ego States beyond the Parent, Adult and Child model of Transactional Analysis. It also offered very rich and promising possibilities for working with Ego states in the clinical setting. However it was when I read Self-Therapy that the possibilities of the IFS approach really came to life for me. I have found Self-Therapy to be one of the most clinically useful sources that I have come across in quite a while. Somehow, it expertly unpacks the IFS approach, and I find myself using it very actively with clients in a way that represents a considerable advance over my previous use of ego state methodology. I have told many of my clients, colleagues, and supervisees about the book and they are finding it helpful also. I am using it in teaching Ego state theory and practice to Adult Counseling and Psychotherapy trainees. They are reading the book and actively engaged with the experiential exercises contained in the accompanying workbook.  In Self-Therapy Jay Earley does full justice to the depth and complexity of the IFS approach but presents it in a most accessible and user-friendly way. The test of this is that people with no previous experience of the Ego States or IFS approaches can readily grasp and apply the concepts.
268227
I am a behavior analyst and have been in the field for over 13 years.  I was introduced to this book by the chair of the ABA department where I teach graduate level courses.  I found this book to be an excellent tool in helping design accurate treatment plans for children with disabilities.  In addition to helping with treatment design, I feel the function classification system really allows a behavior analyst to convey exactly what they are trying to achieve and what they have determined through their assessment.  this is particularly helpful when your audience is not versed in behavior analytic terminology.  I recommend this book to any behavior analyst looking for a resourceful book to add to their library which will often be used.
4769312
Compassionate, effective and realistic advice! This is the best book available for exploring techniques for dealing with behavior problems. Highly recommended!
168478
NOTE:  I received a free copy of this book to review for the web site Metapsychology Online Reviews; you can read a more detailed version of my review on that site.

In this self-help book, authors John Preston and Melissa Kirk encourage readers to be actively involved in their own treatment.  Thus each chapter which follows is filled with detailed, proven behavioral changes which those struggling with depression can implement in an attempt to produce a resulting improvement in mood.  Although the authors acknowledge that when one is depressed, one may have little motivation to attempt positive action, they make this process as easy as possible by providing specific advice as well offering useful exercises.  The areas of change which the authors address vary from making healthy lifestyle choices (e.g., sleep, nutrition, and exercise), incorporating cognitive strategies, enhancing self-esteem, managing intense emotions, improving social skills, to preventing relapse.  Particularly useful is the information on recognizing negative thought patterns, the suggestions for clarifying one's own value system, the basic overview on developing a mindfulness practice, and the very detailed information on becoming more aware of body language and engaging in more adaptive social communication, both of which would be especially helpful to those experiencing some social anxiety in addition to depression.

In their discussion of relapse, Preston and Kirk emphasize two basics of self-care (sleep and exercise) as well as stress the importance of having a support person involved.  They also suggest goal-setting as a means of maintaining balance and continuing progress.  The authors conclude their book with two Appendices, one which lists Medical Disorders That Can Cause Depression and one which lists Drugs That Can Cause Depression.  (Note:  the authors strongly recommend that anyone with depression first see a medical professional for a complete physical to rule out possible medical causes for their depression.  They also emphasis the importance of professional help in the treatment of depression, particularly for those with severe depression.)  Overall, this short book (with References, it's just under 140 pages) offers just what it promises--i.e., a practical self-help guide to the treatment of depression.  As a psychologist working in a college counseling center, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to my student clients.
2239899
Presents  the author's apparently successful use of psychodynamic psychotherapy as an approach for a range of patients for whom primarily supportive therapy would be underserving and traditional analysis would not be well indicated.  A somewhat charming diversion from manualized approaches to the widening scope conundrum, albeit more anecdotal than graduate students or practitioners might hope for.
4535514
Very educational book. I do not have any loved ones in this situation but do encounter quite a bit of patients with these symptoms during my time volunteering which made me interested in reading about it. This book goes into good detail about Dialectical Behavior Therapy and especially in the area of emotion regulation and distress tolerance. I think some of these are applicable when I go back to volunteering for the new cases I have to deal with. Great read!
3943673
"Instructions on Psychological Skills" by Joseph Strayhorn, Jr., M.D. is an excellent self-help book as well as a valuable tool for psychotherapists and for educators who wish to help clients or students acquire the psychological skills that are essential for effective living in mutually satisfying relationships.
  Dr. Strayhorn begins this book with an explanation of methods of influence, or ways in which people effect emotional, behavioral, and psychlolgical change in themselves or others.  The remainder of the book consists of esays which explain multiple facets of the sixty-two skills which have been identified by Dr. Strayhorn.  These skills vary from sustaining attention to tasks and purposefulness to courage, appropriate depending on others, and independent thinking.  There are superb essays on kindness, feeling gratitude, fortitude and frustration tolerance, forgiveness and anger control, respectful talk, and discernment and trusting.
  This is a serious book about serious matters.  Yet it is refreshing in that Dr. Strayhorn illuminates a path on the way to mental health rather than focusing on mental illness.  As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I frequently recommend this book (as well as Dr. Strayhorn's "The Competence Approach to Parenting") to adult clients, who consistently remark about its usefulness.  I also use this book in graduate education courses: teachers are given the assignment of reading selected essays and then writing lesson plans to teach these skills to students with emotional disabilities.  These graduate students usually rate this as one of the most useful parts of the class, and often indicate they have applied the readings to their personal lives as well.  I've given this book to each of my young adult children, who will be able to use its wisdom to help them in their journey through life.  I can think of no higher recommendation.
3719930
What should be the purpose of psychotherapy?  To alleviate stress?  Teach improved coping skills?  Change your philosophical outlook on life?  According to this book's author, the current trend toward manualized, quick-fix, cookbook interventions ignores that fact that when people face adversity or undergo life-altering challenges, they don't just want to "adjust" or "cope" - they want help in constructing some rungs of meaning that will enable them to hoist themselves out of the existential muck.  Consistent with this author's orientation toward a philosophical view of the Good Life, she critiques the modern "positive psychology" movement, which sometimes seems like a matter of pasting smiley-faces on distressed patients in order to gag their complaining and save treatment costs.
 Instead, the author offers a philosophically harder, but ultimately richer approach to helping patients deal with both predictable life difficulties and wrenching crises.  At some points, the author seems to forget that profound existential growth is not always the preferred therapeutic outcome in every case - sometimes, people just need symptomatic relief of anxiety or depression, or help with a practical family or job problem - but her approach is a useful corrective to the kinds of existentially sterile short-term interventions often applied cavalierly to serious life dilemmas.  This slim volume, although not the last word on existentially meaningful psychotherapy, is a good place to start.
- Laurence Miller, PhD, International Journal of Emergency Mental Health
3994303
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (often abbreviated CBT) is basically the logical conclusion of philosopher Rene Descartes famous phrase, I think therefore I am. Before jumping on to the think yourself thin bandwagon though, keep in mind that CBT is designed to address a problem everyone has - imperfect circumstances - and learning to control your thoughts rather than letting your thoughts or circumstances control you.

As a licensed clinical social worker CBT was not new to me, but I genuinely appreciated the way the book explained and explored it for the average non-psychologist. I think often we get wrapped up in clinical terms and expressions, and while the appropriate names of various things were given (ie intrusive thoughts, automatic thoughts, etc.) the explanations were very accessible and came with thoughtful application suggestions, including workbook sheets at the end. I also appreciated that unlike some forms of therapy, the author specifically suggested and gave examples of how CBT could work in various religious contexts, rather than dismissing religion/faith/spirituality as undermining the therapy. While I noticed the Kindle formatting may have muddled some of the text, as I think that perhaps some bullet points or possibly flow charts just came up as little boxes in a line, the general idea was well conveyed. For those of you who cant afford weekly therapy sessions this book may help you help yourself, which of course is what CBT is all about.
3025400
My psychiatrist told me that DBT typically doesn't help people with bipolar disorder but I also have issues with anxiety and depression and I found this book to be very good. If you only read the book and you do not do the exercises you will find that you wasted money.  Some of these exercises I keep in my mind all of the time, and some I need to refer back to the book to practice with.  If you have been diagnosed with bipolar, I think you might have bipolar and do not want to go see a psychiatrist, if you suffer from anxiety, or if you suffer from depression, these exercises  can and will help you if you put the items in the action.  Do not take this as advice to not seek out professional help or take meds, because I like many have to be on meds.  This is just added assistance and like I said before it can be used for non-bipolar if a person is seeking out a DBT book.
3000311
this book is the basis for the Recovery, Int. method of mental health
therapy. it did for me what 30 years of psycotherapy could not. it is
the forerunner of cognitive behavior therapy. changing your fear based
philosophy to reality based philosophy. stop isolating yourself and
enjoy life. Book is available at all Recovery, Int. meetings.