This collection of therapy books includes some of my top recommendations for books on mental health, books on different types of therapy, and books on effective therapy techniques.
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Therapy Books
There are SO many amazing therapy books out there, but this collection of therapy books features my absolute favorite, must-have therapy books for your professional library.
I couldn’t live without my therapy books. I refer to them often because even when I know a modality or technique like the back of my hand, refreshing my memory is always helpful. Plus, I’m a bit of a collector when it comes to therapy books. Each therapy book is like a mini-toolkit packed with valuable tools I can share with my clients and supervisees.
This therapy books resource page is divided into two main parts, each with the following sections:
- Therapy Books for Therapists
- Psychoeducation Books for Therapists and Clients
This therapy books resource list is pretty comprehensive, but it’s not complete. There are still so many other amazing books that I recommend for specific areas of interest.
Therapy Books for Therapists
This collection of therapy books was designed to support therapists, counselors, and mental health professionals in their work with clients. The therapy books on the lists below cover a broad range of topics, modalities, and approaches.
Books Just For Therapists
These books, written just for therapists, offer support for compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and therapist burnout. Each highly recommended book just for therapists offers perspective on the life of a therapist, and all it’s wonderfully intense joys and challenges.
The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
by Irvin D. Yalom
This incredible book from one of the premier experts of our field will have you feeling good about your choice of profession.
Sometimes Therapy Is Awkward: A Collection of Life-Changing Insights for the Modern Clinician
by Nicole Arzt
Nicole Arzt, LMFT, founder of Psychotherapy Memes, presents a candid and stripped down guide to being a mental health clinician.
by Mary Pipher
In this down-to-earth book, Dr. Pipher shares what she has learned in thirty years as a therapist, including relatable stories and helpful guidance for therapists of any age.
Psychotherapy Books
There are so many amazing books I could include in this list, but these are my top picks. These psychotherapy books offer targeted and effective therapeutic strategies that help clients with a variety of needs.
Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory
by Carl Rogers
From the founder of client-centered therapy, this book is vital to every clinician’s practice.
by Susan Johnson
EFT founder, Susan Johnson, presents an awesome attachment-based approach to working with individuals, couples, and families in this research-driven book.
Internal Family Systems Therapy, 2nd Edition
by Richard C. Schwartz & Martha Sweezy
If you’re interested in Internal Family Systems, then you need this book. See why this highly-regarded, evidence-based practice, and its “parts work”, will do wonders for your clients.
DBT Skills Training Manual Second Edition
by Marsha M. Linehan
This incredible treatment manual provides clear-cut tools to help your clients sharpen their mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance skills.
Family Therapy Books
I grew up on family therapy and I firmly believe once you think in systems, you will never go back. These family therapy books are my go-to resources to implement experiential family therapy activities and to keep my family therapy skills sharp.
Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods
by Michael Nichols & Sean Davis
This book covers everything you need to know about family therapy and all of its schools. Features helpful case studies from master family therapists, & the Pearson eText version includes helpful bonus material, too.
by Liana Lowenstein
This book is filled with creative session activity ideas. No matter what the goal of your session, this book has a family therapy activity idea to match.
Doing Family Therapy, Third Edition: Craft and Creativity in Clinical Practice
by Robert Taibbi
This amazing family therapy book is filled with creative strategies, easy-to-read case studies, and clear explanations of process, patterns, and how to move families through the stages of treatment.
Re-Visioning Family Therapy, Third Edition: Addressing Diversity in Clinical Practice
by Monica McGoldrick & Kenneth V. Hardy
This book is an amazing resource will help you provide therapy through a cultural lens. An exploration of diversity, intersectionality, privilege, and competence, this book will help you be more culturally available to your families.
Couples Therapy Books
The books below cover some of the best therapeutic approaches to working with couples in couples therapy.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert
by John Gottman
This book has not only been personally helpful, but I have used it professionally, too, with great success. Based on solid research and inclusive of all couples, this book is an excellent resource for couples therapy.
The Practice of Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: Creating Connection
by Susan M. Johnson
This book is an amazing resource for using EFT with couples. This second edition includes updated research and new info about working with couples today.
Art Therapy Books
As a trained art therapist, I have lots of favorite art therapy books. But here are my go-to favorite art therapy books that I go back to again and again.
Handbook of Art Therapy, Second Edition
by Cathy A. Malchiodi
Not only does this book provide an excellent foundation on art therapy, but it’s a must-have book for every art therapist. I refer to it often in my art therapy practice.
by Susan I. Buchalter
When it comes to art therapy activities and techniques, this book is my number one. I adore this book for all of its creative therapy activities, but it often inspires me to come up with my own ideas, too.
Essential Art Therapy Exercises: Effective Techniques to Manage Anxiety, Depression, and PTSD
by Leah Guzman
This amazing book is packed with fantastic art therapy exercises and activities. It can be use in a self-guided way, but works really well for art therapists in practice, too.
250 Brief, Creative & Practical Art Therapy Techniques: A Guide for Clinicians and Clients
by Susan I. Buchalter
This incredible book is full of inspired art therapy activities to do with clients. Filled with helpful instructions and case study examples, this book is an indispensable resource for art therapists.
Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss: A Guided Journal
by Hayley Wilds, MA, LPC
With 100+ creative prompts to support grieving, this guided journal designed for pregnancy loss survivors that can be used both as a supplement to therapy or as a standalone resource.
Family Art Therapy: Foundations of Theory and Practice
by Christine Kerr, Janice Hoshino, Judy H. Sutherland, Sharyl Thode Parashak, & Linda Lea McCarley
As an art therapist and family-based therapist, I love this book. It’s my go-to reference for all things family art therapy.
Trauma Therapy Books
These trauma therapy book recommendations include trauma therapy books for treating trauma and helping clients work through childhood trauma. They also include trauma therapy books that offer insight into trauma and how it impacts us.
by Linda Curran
This practical collection of therapy activities is highly regarded by trauma experts and therapists. The session activities and therapeutic exercises are well-designed and will definitely help you support clients with a trauma history.
by Peter A. Levine
Dr. Levine, who developed Somatic Experiencing, explores how trauma and memory are stored in the body, and offers a guide to healing, in this useful and accessible book.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk
This groundbreaking book from renowned psychiatrist & trauma expert, Bessel van der Kolk, describes how trauma rewires the brain in ways that keep us stuck, and he suggests methods of healing designed to combat this.
Trigger Warning: The contents of this book may be triggering for some individuals.
by Francine Shapiro
From the originator of EMDR Therapy, this book breaks down the basics and does a great job of explaining how to use this evidence-based approach to treat complex trauma.
The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook
by Bruce D Perry
An intense collection of trauma & abuse case studies as well as research and brain science about what trauma does to the brain and body.
Trigger Warning: The contents of this book may be triggering for some individuals.
Group Therapy Books
Group therapy can offer a super powerful experience for your clients and these group therapy books will help you ensure that the groups you facilitate are clinically-appropriate and effective.
The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy 6th Edition
by Irvin D. Yalom
This is the quintessential therapy book for group therapy. Written well, beloved by group therapists, and the ultimate handbook on how to run effective groups.
Art Therapy for Groups: A Handbook of Themes and Exercises
by Marian Liebmann
This group therapy guide for art therapists walks you through the basics of how to conduct effective art therapy for groups.
150 More Group Therapy Activities & TIPS
by Judith A. Belmont
This awesome book is jam-packed with creative group therapy activities to use with groups of all kinds. Never run out of ideas.
Grief Therapy Books
Grief is a universal experience. Yet it seems that each person’s journey with grief is unique. These grief therapy books can help you help your clients navigate their grief in supportive ways.
It’s OK That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand
by Megan Devine
This incredible, affirming book honors the grief experience and offers helpful ways to manage grief rather than “fix” it. I adore this book and it’s direct and validating description of the grief experience.
Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss: A Guided Journal
by Hayley Wilds, MA, LPC
With 100+ creative prompts to support grieving, this guided journal designed for pregnancy loss survivors that can be used both as a supplement to therapy or as a standalone resource.
Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy, Fifth Edition: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner
by J. William Worden
This well-organized book includes really helpful info about different models of mourning as well as how to facilitate and support the grieving process. This is my GO-TO book when doing grief work with clients.
Play Therapy Books
Play therapy is such a fabulous approach, and not just for kids. These play therapy books offer excellent information, guidance and therapy activities for using play therapy with kids, teenagers, adults, and families.
Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship
by Garry L. Landreth
This go-to play therapy book covers the Child-Centered Play Therapy model, which focuses on the connection between play therapy and child and the importance of understanding the child’s world and perspective.
by Alanna Jones
This super fun book is full of creative games and activities that allow for social emotional learning through play. I have used tons of the activities in this book to facilitate play with families.
101 Favorite Play Therapy Techniques
by Heidi Kaduson and Charles Schaefer
This play therapy book is filled with incredibly creative play therapy techniques that work really well with kids and families.
Cultural Competence Books
As clinicians, it’s crucial that we’re always working on cultural competence. When we honor the intersectional identities of each client, including facets like race, spirituality, sexual identity, gender identity, and socioeconomic experiences, we affirm and respect each individual’s unique culture. When we are culturally available to our clients, it strengthens the therapeutic alliance, and produces positive outcomes. Here are a few of cultural competence therapy book recommendations to help you continue along your cultural awareness journey.
by Lambers Fisher
This book from PESI Publishing presents an encouraging and non-shaming approach to culture becoming a culturally competent professional.
by Anneliese A. Singh
Useful for therapists and clients alike, this incredible book focuses on healing from the effects of racial trauma, internalized negative messages and feelings of shame/grief.
Cultural Humility: Engaging Diverse Identities in Therapy
by Joshua N. Hook, Don Davis, Jesse Owen, and Cirleen DeBlaere
This useful book combines multicultural theory therapists’ own lived experiences to engage clients around issues of culture and identity.
by Sand C. Chang, Anneliese A. Singh, and lore m. dickey
This excellent book helps ensure mental health professionals able to provide affirming care to their transgender and gender nonconforming (TNGC) clients.
LGBTQ Clients in Therapy: Clinical Issues and Treatment Strategies
by Joe Kort
A great resource for therapists working with LGBTQ clients! Author Joe Kort uses gay affirmative principles to help clinicians connect, affirm, and support their LGBTQ clients in competent ways.
Therapy Workbooks
This collection of therapy workbooks are highly-rated and loved by therapists and clients alike. Some of these workbooks are companion workbooks to the therapy books mentioned above, and others are standalone therapy workbooks. Use them in your clinical practice, either telemental health or in person, to strengthen your client’s understanding and connection to the work you are doing together.
by Dr. Frank Anderson, Martha Sweezy, & Richard D. Schwartz
This amazing treatment manual is like an IFS roadmap, with actionable interventions and exercises that will help your clients integrate their “parts” in order to feel better. Pairs well with Internal Family Systems Therapy, 2nd Edition (above).
DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets, Second Edition
by Marsha M. Linehan
This excellent workbook pairs with Linehan’s DBT Skills Training Manual Second Edition above. Filled with useful handouts and worksheets, this DBT workbook is a must-have for DBT practitioners.
by Marsha M. Linehan
This workbook is an amazing resource for queer and gender-nonconforming people in need of support to manage stress, discrimination, and life challenges.
The Attachment Theory Workbook
by Annie Chen
This workbook is based in attachment theory and helps individuals explore how their attachment style impacts relationships. Loved by therapists and clients alike, can be used both in and out of session.
by Nedra Glover Tawwab
This workbook is based is the companion to Set Boundaries, Find Peace, which is an excellent book in its own right. This incredible boundary-setting workbook is awesome on its own, or alongside the the hardcover.
by Leslie Korn
This workbook offers an accessible framework for exploring your own identity, understanding multi-dimensional culture, and building authentic rapport with your clients through a multicultural lens.
Child-Centered Play Therapy Workbook: A Self-Directed Guide for Professionals
by Jodi Ann Mullen and June M. Rickli
This workbook is an excellent resource for play therapists that’s based in a child-centered approach. The fun activities will help you develop and sharpen those play therapy skills.
Psychoeducation Books
These books make excellent psychoeducation books. These therapeutic books and resources are my top picks for helpful books for therapists and clients alike. You can recommend these excellent books and share them with your clients to enhance the clinical work and boost client progress.
Self Healing Books
These self healing books, or self-help books, are geared toward helping individuals gain insight and awareness into struggles of self. They touch on mental health issues, emotional reactivity, trauma, and the human condition. Full of inspiration and research-driven, these books tap into our innate healing power. I highly recommend using these excellent books to supplement the work you are doing with your clients.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
by Brené Brown
This fantastic book from renowned shame expert Brené Brown will inspire you to explore how finding the courage to be vulnerable can improve your relationships and life experiences.
Just As You Are: A Teen’s Guide to Self-Acceptance and Lasting Self-Esteem
by Michelle Skeen and Kelly Skeen
This awesome book serves as a guide for teenagers and those who love them (and love to work with them). Centered around building self-worth and self-acceptance, this book is a great tool for teen mental health.
Self-Love Workbook for Women: Release Self-Doubt, Build Self-Compassion, and Embrace Who You Are
by Megan Logan
Licensed social worker and experienced therapist, Megan Logan, presents a down-to-earth, compassionate workbook for women aimed at self-esteem and positivity.
Guided Journals
This special list includes my top guided journal recommendations for clients and therapists. Clients can use them on their own, as therapy homework in between sessions, or for therapeutic activities in session.
Creative Healing for Pregnancy Loss: A Guided Journal
by Hayley Wilds, MA, LPC
With 100+ creative prompts to support grieving, this guided journal designed for pregnancy loss survivors that can be used both as a supplement to therapy or as a standalone resource.
Give Yourself Kindness Journal
created by Rachel Smith
This beautiful journal offers a lovely space to process your emotions and increase self-awareness. The Give Yourself Kindness journal is rooted in science-backed self-compassion and approved by experts worldwide.
by Monica Sweeney
An amazingly direct and caring guided journal for finding peace and healing and learning how to not give a sh*t. ?
NOTE: Know your clients well enough to know if this journal would be a good fit. It cannot treat mental health issues. It’s also loaded with profanity. Recommend thoughtfully. ?
Let That Sh*t Go: A Journal for Leaving Your Bullsh*t Behind and Creating a Happy Life
by Monica Sweeney
A kick-ass way to view finding peace around unresolved issues and long-held grudges. Practical, moving, and funny exercises to get centered.
NOTE: Know your clients well enough to know if this journal would be a good fit. It cannot treat mental health issues. It’s also loaded with profanity. Recommend thoughtfully. ?
Trauma Books
These incredible trauma books are highly-rated and well-written. The trauma books on this list will not only provide psychoeducation on the experience of trauma, but they make great supplemental material to the work happening in therapy.
Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy
by Francine Shapiro
From the originator of EMDR, this self healing book is a perfect companion book for clients engaged in EMDR therapy with a trained therapist.
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey
This incredible exploration of how life events shape our futures. Through vulnerable stories and insightful discussions, Winfrey and Perry uncover a powerful lens through which to view trauma & healing.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
by Bessel van der Kolk
This groundbreaking book from renowned psychiatrist & trauma expert, Bessel van der Kolk, describes how trauma rewires the brain in ways that keep us stuck, and he suggests methods of healing designed to combat this.
Trigger Warning: The contents of this book may be triggering for some individuals.
Social Justice Books
These social justice books are informative, based in current research, and designed to push for positive social change. The social justice books on this list below explore the negative ways how racism and discrimination impact Black people, African-American people, Indigenous people, and People of Color, and offer strategies for how to be activists and allies toward social justice. These books are helpful for all therapists and clients.
by Ibram X. Kendi
This incredible book is educational, moving, heartbreaking, important, and a must-read for all humans. Brilliant Kendi breaks down the important tenets of being antiracist against a backdrop of his own life experiences. Highly recommend the audiobook for this one.
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
by Resmaa Menakem
This powerful book is a must-read for therapists. As mental health professionals, we are duty-bound to work toward racial justice, and Resmaa Menakem’s insightful words on trauma and body-centered psychology pave the path.
You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience
by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown
This highly-rated book features an amazing collection of works from Black writers who share their individual experiences with vulnerability and shame resilience. An exploration in response to Brene’s question: “How do you take the armour off in a country where you’re not physically or emotionally safe?“
Parenting Books
This collection of parenting books are my absolute favorite parenting books to recommend to parents who need a structured, positive parenting approach. They can be used independently, especially in combination with the parenting workbooks below. But they also make excellent companion books to use in family therapy and therapy with parents.
No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Dan J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
This parenting book is beloved by parents and therapists alike for its straightforward parenting tips and tangible techniques. Based in brain science, this super accessible parenting book presents a framework that is easy to implement. Also recommend the No Drama Discipline companion workbook, perfect for family therapy parenting work.
Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting
by Laura Markham
This amazing parenting book supports parents in working on their own “stuff” to model effective emotion regulation & better connect with their children. It has a companion workbook too, which makes it excellent for use in therapy.
No Bad Kids: Toddler Discipline Without Shame
by Janet Lansbury
This is a must-have resource for parents of toddlers. If you work with little ones or parents of little ones, this fabulous parenting book focused on toddler discipline features respectful parenting techniques handed down from child specialist and educator, Magda Gerber.
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
by Dan J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
This book is another one of my favorites from Dr. Dan Siegel and Dr. Tina Payne Bryson. Rooted in the brain science of attachment and development, this book walks parents through strategies that support growth and connection.
by Jane Nelsen
This book, along with all of the parenting books in the Positive Discipline series, are highly recommended for easy-to-implement, positive parenting approaches. I have used so many of the parenting tools presented in these books in my practice, while supervising therapists, and with my own family.
Parenting Workbooks
These parenting workbooks make the perfect companion books to the parenting books listed above. Using these parenting workbooks will not only help enhance the parenting skills work you are doing in therapy, but they will offer a way for parents to do the work outside of sessions, too.
by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
A companion book to No-Drama Discipline, this incredibly easy-to-use workbook allows parents a chance to really nail down their own personal plan for implementing the No Drama Discipline Workbook. It’s an awesome tool for working with parents in private practice or in the field.
by Laura Markham
If you like the Peaceful Parent series from Dr. Laura Markham, then this companion workbook is a must-have. It’s an excellent guiding support for doing parenting work in session.
The Whole Brain Child Workbook
by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
This companion book to The Whole Brain Child mentioned above offers parents an excellent way to solidify their learning and apply what they’ve learned in practical ways. Great for doing parenting work with your clients and families.
