Recommended Books

Here is the list of several useful books categorized by subject. The list was developed through time with the input from a peer group of experienced and talented psychotherapist I had the pleasure of regularly meeting with on a monthly basis for over five years.

Recommended Books

In this page I introduce or review books and articles that I find interesting and useful to read:

 

Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson, Ph.D.

Sue Johnson is a university professor and a relationship therapist who has revolutionized the field of couples therapy by articulating clear and definite steps to healing broken relationships.

Johnson uses Attachment Theory which was developed by John Bowlby in the 1940’s, to explain the effects of attachment in the relationship between parents and children.  Through many years of research Dr. Johnson concluded that Bowlby’s theory can apply to other relationships as well.  Understanding relationships from a new angle gave Johnson a valuable and useful way of understanding how they function and how they break down.  As a therapist she took her theory into the field and tested it on real couples having real attachment problems. Before long Johnson understood the hidden language behind disputes and began to teach couples how to have conversations with one another.

The result is a book that is part theory, part teaching tool and part self help book. Anyone can read it and get a good idea of how to improve their relationship or teach couples how to talk to one another in a way that heals instead of inflames. Hold Me Tight is nicely organized around seven types of conversations that couples can have that will build trust and attachment between them. Couples can use this book as a guide to learn how to talk to one another and by mastering the steps. I frequently utilize the concepts and the practical applications of the theories in the book in my work with couples and I highly recommend it.

The Gift of Therapy by Irvin D. Yalom, M.D.

I was first introduced to the works of Dr. Yalom in a Group Therapy course in graduate school. Years later I attended his lecture in Los Angeles and briefly spoke with him. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Stanford University and continues his clinical practice and lectures widely in the United States. He is the author of fourteen books of fiction and nonfiction.

Although The Gift of Therapy is written for psychology professionals, it also provides an open window into the workings of psychotherapy which can help you if you are in therapy or considering it.  Read this book to see beyond the myth and the mystery that surround this process. In eighty five short chapters in simple language Yalom writes on several aspect of psychotherapy and how the process can work effectively.

I frequently visit Yalom’s wisdom in the pages of The Gift of Therapy and recommend my clients to meet me there.

 Women Who Love Too Much by Robin Norwood

The catchy title on this book keeps its promise inside and you’ll sure find yourself or someone you know in it.  A colleague loaned this book to me, and between my appointments I started reading it and was intrigued by the subject and how it applied to many of the people I know. The book offers help to women who are attracted to painful love relationships and find it a challenge to transform unavailable men into fairytale sweethearts by loving them till it literally hurts.  I have recommended this book to many of my clients and have worked with them through some of the issues it presents.  This book is not just for women:  It takes two to be in this type of relationship, and men who are attracted to women who love too much have their own issues to work with.