This is a list of resources that many people have found helpful. They can be used outside of therapy, though it is often most effective to use them in conjunction with a therapist who can help you integrate the information.
Anxiety
Ready…Set…R.E.L.A.X.
Workbook with activities for younger children to practice relaxation and techniques to train their brain to focus on positive and calming thoughts and feelings. Great for anxious children as well as overactive kids who could benefit from practicing self-control and body awareness.
Turnaround: Turning fear into freedom
Comprehensive program for elementary-aged children experiencing significant anxiety. Includes a workbook and CD set, including a relaxation CD. Very helpful and informational, but needs parent guidance and follow-through.
Anxiety and Phobia Workbook, 5th Edition
A classic resource in the field, written for adults who experience anxiety and specific fears. Provides essential information on anxiety as well as practical tools for addressing fears both inside and outside of therapy.
Depression
Beyond the Blues: A workbook to help teens overcome depression
A very helpful workbook for tweens and teens to do in conjunction with therapy. Comes with a CD version of the workbook so that pages can be printed and completed more than once.
Beyond Blue: Surviving Depression and Anxiety
A book for adults written by a woman who has suffered from depression and anxiety for much of her life. It provides candid and accurate portrayals of what it is like to feel depressed, as well as helpful and realistic ideas for improving your mood.
Parenting
Parenting from the Inside Out
A workbook for parents with the intention of helping them understand their own experience of being parented and then facilitate their ability to be more present and attuned with their children. Many parents find it insightful and particularly helpful with young children.
Becoming Attached: First Relationships and How They Shape Our Capacity to Love
A lengthy book that describes the development and implications of attachment theory: the notion that babies require not only proper feeding and basic care, but that the presence of a caring, emotionally present and attuned caregiver is essential for good development. It is thorough, but an easy read – great for parents, but also for adults who are coming to terms with their own experience of being parented.
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind
Relationships/Personal Growth
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
This resource helps to cultivate better self-understanding, acceptance, and mindfulness via creative expression. It is a great adjunct to therapy for those who enjoy the creative arts, but even helps those who consider themselves more ‘left-brained’ to see things in a new way.
Traveling Mercies: Some thoughts on faith
The author writes beautifully about the complexities of living an imperfect life, including struggling with depression, addiction, and broken relationships, and yet striving for goodness, restoration, and greater understanding of what it means for her to grow spiritually.
