Bibliotherapy
Bibliotherapy describes the use of reading or listening to books as a supportive companion to the healing journey. It can deepen self-understanding, support emotional healing and encourage personal growth. Books can help put words to our experience, offer clarity and validation, introduce new perspectives and tools, and reinforce insights from therapy.
The “current rotation” section highlights 3-4 of my top book recommendations at this time. This short list is updated every few months. The remainder of the page is organized by topic and includes resources I’ve found especially helpful in the healing process.
This list is curated, not exhaustive. For current clients: I keep an extended list of books I’ve personally read and vetted, and I’m happy to discuss or recommend additional options.
On Current Rotation
Meditation teacher Selassie is an excellent and witty storyteller offering a road map to reclaiming belonging and self-acceptance while resisting forces that perpetuate separation. I personally love her narration in the audio version of this book, and her weaving in of spirituality and anti-racism.
A powerful reframing of rest as a divine right and necessary and healing practice, challenging burnout culture and encouraging restoration, boundaries, and nervous system repair. This is a book I’ve returned to several times.
One of my favorite somatic practitioners, Dr. Schwartz lays out the polyvagal framework clearly and succinctly to deepen our personal understanding of how our nervous system responds to cues of threat and safety, offering a variety of evidence-based tools that support our nervous system in building more pathways to safety and ease.
Psychic medium Laura Lynne Jackson explores meaning, intuition, synchronicities, and ongoing connection, offering comfort and perspective to those navigating grief or spiritual questions. Best suited for readers open to symbolic and spiritual perspectives on connection and loss. I found her non-dogmatic approach to be inviting and accessible.
Books by Topic
-
Addiction
In the Realm of Hungry Ghost, Gabor Maté MD
Molecule of More, Daniel Lieberman MD & Michael Long
The Biology of Desire, Marc Lewis PhD
The Craving Mind, Judson Brewer
-
ADHD
Adhd 2.0, Edward Hallowell MD & John Ratey MD
Divergent Mind, Jenara Nerenberg
How to ADHD, Jessica McCabe
Scattered Minds, Gabor Maté MD
-
Belonging & Connection
How to be the Love you Seek, Dr. Nicola LePerla
Lost Connections, Johann Hari
The Enchanted Life, Sharon Blackie
You Belong, Sebene Selassie
-
The Body
Eastern Body Western Mind, Anodea Judith
The Wisdom of your Body, Hillary McBride, PhD
Your body is not an Apology, Sonya Taylor
-
Boundaries & Communication
Energetic Boundaries, Cyndi Dale
Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg PhD
Set Boundaries, Find Peace, Nedra Tawwab
-
EMDR
Every Memory Deserves Respect, Michael Baldwin & Deborah Korn PsyD
Getting Past your Past, Francine Shapiro PhD
-
Emotions
Atlas of the Heart, Brené Brown
Draw Your Feelings: A Creative Journal to Help Connect with Your Emotions through Art, Rukmini Poddar
How Emotions are Made, Lisa Barrett
Permission to Feel, Marc Brackett PhD
-
Grief
How to Carry What Can’t be Fixed: A Journal for Grief, Megan Devine LPC
It’s Ok That You’re Not Ok, Megan Devine LPC
-
Inner Child & Parts Work
Homecoming: Reclaiming & Healing Your Inner Child, John Bradshaw
No Bad Parts, Richard Schwartz, PhD
Reconciliation, Thich Nhat Hanh
There is Nothing Wrong with You, Cher Huber
-
Mindfulness & Spirituality
A Path with Heart, Jack Kornfield PhD
Breath, James Nestor
Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe, Laura Lynne Jackson
Wherever You Go There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn PhD
-
Parenting
Hold on to Your Kids, Gabor Maté MD
Parenting from the Inside Out, Daniel Siegel MD
The Whole Brain Child, Daniel Siegel MD
-
Polyvagal Theory & the Nervous System
Anchored: How to Befriend the Nervous System, Deb Dana LCSW
Polyvagal Exercises for Safety & Connection, Deb Dana LCSW
The Polyvagal Workbook for Trauma, Arielle Schwartz PhD
-
Relationships
Attached, The New Science of Adult Attachment, Amir Levine MD & Rachel Heller MA
Come as you Are, Emily Nagoski PhD
Fight Right, Julie Gottman PhD and John Gottman PhD
Hold me Tight, Dr. Sue Johnson
The Art of Giving and Receiving, Betty Martin, DC
-
Self-Compassion
A Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, Kristin Neff PhD & Christopher Germer PhD
Fierce Self-Compassion, Kristin Neff PhD
How to be the Love you Seek, Nicole LePerla PhD
Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach PhD
-
Self Development & Inspirational
How to Do the Work, Nicole LePerla PhD
How to Meet Yourself, Nicole LePerla PhD
Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
The Way Forward, Lighter & Inward, Yung Pueblo
-
Toxic Stress, Burnout & Rest
Burnout, Emily Nagoski PhD
Rest is Resistance, Tricia Hersey
Stolen Focus, Johann Hari
The Myth of Normal, Gabor Maté MD
When the Body Says No, Gabor Maté MD
Why we Sleep, Matthew Walker PhD
-
Trauma & Recovery
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, Lindsay Gibson PhD
Complex Trauma: From Surviving to Thriving, Peter Walker
In an Unspoken Voice & Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine PhD
Post-Traumatic Growth Workbook, Arielle Schwartz PhD
The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk MD
Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma, Janina Fisher PhD
What my Bones Know, Stephanie Foo
-
Yoga
Overcoming Trauma through Yoga, David Emerson & Elizabeth Hopper PhD
Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery, Arielle Schwartz PhD
Yoga and the Quest for the True Self, Stephen Cope
Yoga and the Subtle Body, Tias Little