Mental Health & Community Resources

Books and workbooks can be valuable tools for learning more about mental health, developing new coping skills, and reinforcing the work you are doing in treatment. The resources below include evidence-based and evidence-informed books and workbooks commonly used or recommended by mental health professionals.

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Anxiety & Worry

The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook — Edmund J. Bourne, PhD
A comprehensive workbook for anxiety, panic, worry, and phobias. Includes cognitive-behavioral strategies, relaxation techniques, exposure exercises, mindfulness, and practical tools for managing anxious thoughts and behaviors.

The Anxiety and Worry Workbook — David A. Clark, PhD & Aaron T. Beck, MD
A structured CBT-based workbook that helps readers recognize anxious thinking patterns, challenge unhelpful beliefs, and develop healthier responses to worry, uncertainty, and fear.

The Anxiety Skills Workbook — Stefan G. Hofmann, PhD
Combines cognitive-behavioral and mindfulness-based strategies to help readers better understand anxiety and develop practical skills for managing fear, worry, and anxious thinking.

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Depression & Negative Thinking

Mind Over Mood — Dennis Greenberger, PhD & Christine A. Padesky, PhD
A widely used CBT workbook that teaches readers to understand the connections between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. It offers practical exercises that may be helpful for depression, anxiety, guilt, anger, low self-esteem, and other emotional concerns.

The Mindful Way Through Depression — Mark Williams, PhD, John Teasdale, PhD, Zindel Segal, PhD & Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD
Introduces mindfulness-based cognitive approaches for recognizing and responding differently to patterns of thinking that can contribute to depression.

The Negative Thoughts Workbook — David A. Clark, PhD
A CBT-based workbook focused on repetitive negative thinking, including worry, self-criticism, guilt, shame, regret, and other thought patterns that can contribute to depression and anxiety.

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Trauma, PTSD & Healing

Getting Past Your Past — Francine Shapiro, PhD
Written by the developer of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, this accessible book helps readers understand how difficult or traumatic experiences from the past can continue to influence present-day thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and relationships. Shapiro introduces concepts underlying EMDR and provides strategies for better understanding emotional patterns and moving toward healing.

The PTSD Workbook — Mary Beth Williams, PhD & Soili Poijula, PhD
A practical workbook providing education, exercises, and coping strategies for understanding trauma responses, managing PTSD symptoms, and supporting recovery.

The Body Keeps the Score — Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Explores how traumatic experiences can affect the brain, body, emotions, relationships, and sense of self while discussing different approaches to understanding and recovering from trauma.

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma — Stephanie Foo
A deeply personal memoir about the author's experience of living with complex PTSD and her search to understand and heal from childhood and intergenerational trauma. Blending personal experience with research and an exploration of treatment, the book offers an honest and hopeful perspective on living with and healing from complex trauma.

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A Note About Trauma-Related Reading

Books about trauma can provide validation, understanding, and hope, but they may also contain descriptions of abuse, traumatic experiences, loss, or other material that some readers may find emotionally difficult or triggering.

Consider choosing trauma-related books thoughtfully and discussing them with your mental health professional, particularly if you are early in your healing process or currently experiencing significant trauma-related symptoms.

Reading about trauma is not a substitute for trauma-focused psychotherapy, and you do not need to revisit or process traumatic memories on your own to heal.

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ADHD & Executive Functioning

Taking Charge of Adult ADHD — Russell A. Barkley, PhD
A practical guide to understanding adult ADHD and developing strategies for attention, organization, time management, impulsivity, and everyday functioning.

The Adult ADHD Tool Kit — J. Russell Ramsay, PhD & Anthony L. Rostain, MD
Uses CBT-based strategies to address procrastination, organization, motivation, time management, and other executive-function challenges associated with ADHD.

Smart but Scattered Teens — Richard Guare, PhD, Peg Dawson, EdD & Colin Guare
Designed for teens and their families, this book focuses on strengthening executive-function skills such as organization, planning, task initiation, time management, and emotional regulation.

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OCD & Intrusive Thoughts

The OCD Workbook — Bruce M. Hyman, PhD, LCSW & Cherlene Pedrick, RN
A self-guided resource designed to help individuals better understand OCD and develop evidence-based strategies for managing obsessions and compulsions.

Getting Over OCD — Jonathan S. Abramowitz, PhD
A structured CBT-based workbook incorporating principles of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), a first-line psychotherapy treatment for OCD.

The OCD Workbook for Teens — Jon Hershfield, MFT
Designed specifically for adolescents and incorporates CBT, mindfulness, and practical strategies for responding differently to obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors.

 

Emotional Regulation & DBT Skills

The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook — Matthew McKay, PhD, Jeffrey C. Wood, PsyD & Jeffrey Brantley, MD
An accessible workbook teaching core DBT skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets — Marsha M. Linehan, PhD
A comprehensive collection of DBT skills, exercises, and worksheets developed by the creator of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. This resource may be especially helpful when used alongside therapy or a structured DBT program.

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook — Daniel J. Fox, PhD
Helps individuals better understand patterns associated with borderline personality disorder while developing greater self-awareness, emotional regulation, healthier coping strategies, and relationship skills.

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Mindfulness & Self-Compassion

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook — Kristin Neff, PhD & Christopher Germer, PhD
Combines mindfulness and self-compassion exercises to help readers respond differently to difficult emotions, self-criticism, shame, and stress.

Self-Compassion — Kristin Neff, PhD
Explores how developing a kinder and less judgmental relationship with ourselves can support emotional resilience and psychological well-being.

Wherever You Go, There You Are — Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD
An approachable introduction to mindfulness and the practice of becoming more present and aware in everyday life.

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Sleep & Insomnia

Quiet Your Mind and Get to Sleep — Colleen E. Carney, PhD & Rachel Manber, PhD
A practical workbook based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I). It addresses racing thoughts, anxiety about sleep, unhealthy sleep patterns, and strategies for improving sleep.

 

Grief & Loss

It's OK That You're Not OK — Megan Devine
A compassionate exploration of grief that challenges expectations about how quickly someone should recover from significant loss and validates the many different ways people experience grief.

Bearing the Unbearable — Joanne Cacciatore, PhD
A compassionate resource about living with profound grief, finding meaning, and learning to carry loss without minimizing its significance.

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Substance Use & Recovery

The Addiction Recovery Skills Workbook — Suzette Glasner-Edwards, PhD
Uses cognitive-behavioral and motivational strategies to help readers recognize triggers, manage cravings, strengthen coping skills, and support recovery.

Beyond Addiction — Jeffrey Foote, PhD, Carrie Wilkens, PhD, Nicole Kosanke, PhD & Stephanie Higgs
Designed for family members and loved ones of individuals struggling with substance use. Uses evidence-based CRAFT and motivational approaches to encourage positive change while helping family members care for their own well-being.

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Parenting & Supporting Children

The Whole-Brain Child — Daniel J. Siegel, MD & Tina Payne Bryson, PhD
Helps parents better understand children's emotional and brain development while providing practical strategies for supporting connection and emotional regulation.

The Explosive Child — Ross W. Greene, PhD
Introduces a collaborative approach to understanding and responding to children who struggle with frustration tolerance, flexibility, emotional regulation, or challenging behaviors.

Good Inside — Becky Kennedy, PhD
A practical parenting resource focused on maintaining connection, setting healthy boundaries, understanding behavior, and helping children develop emotional regulation skills.

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