Self-Study on the Journey to Better Mental Health

When it comes to therapy, I generally encourage some level of self-study, as I see that clients that engages in this generally recover remarkably fast (sometimes 50% reduction in symptoms in just 3-4 sessions), and that this progress seems to be easier to sustain. Not everybody has the resources or the mental surplus to study a great deal by themselves at the beginning of therapy, but that usually comes as symptoms related to emotional dysregulation reduces session by session. Should you be interested in accelerating your own journey towards better mental health, I have added some recommendations in the below. Be mindful that most of these books can also be found as audiobooks, if this is preferred. 

*I have no financial afficiliation with the authors mentioned in the below.

"Feeling Great. The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety by Psychiatrist Dr. David Burns: 
If you want to give yourself a good understand of what causes emotions, especially very negative emotions, and how to change these emotions using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, this is one of my favorite books. Matter of fact, it is rare that I treat a client without using any of Dr. Burns' work, and if we are working on a technique in the session that you have already read about, it will only make it so much easier for you to grasp, and you will therefore experience much faster improvement when using this technique. I use the teachings of this book especially when working with depression, anxiety and stress. 

"The Whole Brain Child" by Daniel Siegel:
I honestly believe that everyone ought to read this book, but especially parents. The book gives a foundational understand how the brain reacts under periods of high stress, and in 'easy-to-understand' terms explains the steps to go through with your child during this times. This involves not jumping into problem-solving, but rather taking an approach where focus is on helping the child understand the emotions they are currently going through, and why these emotions came about. Once the child is calm, then we can start focusing on problem-solving. It can be difficult for our adult brains to understand that logic and rational thinking is the last thing that a child needs when dysregulated, but after reading this book, you will realise why it will be much more impactful to talk to the emotional experience of your child befoe anything else in such situations. 

"Feeling Good Together" by Dr. David Burns:
The Whole Brain Child in combination with this book has made a tremendous difference in my ability to talk to children about difficult emotions, helping them regulate, and helping them develop appropriate coping mechanisms in the long term. However, while I have used it quite successfully with children, the techniques were initially designed for adults, and they are just as powerful, if not more, with this demographic. In this book you will read about The Five Secrets of Effective Communication, which is a powerful communication tool to get closer to loved ones, including both our children, partners, friends, colleagues etc. Mastering the "Five Secrets" will empower you to engage in challenging but necessary conversations where you will be able to resolve conflicts in a productive and empathetic manner. 

"Neurodivergent Friendly DBT Workbook" by Erica Garcia
While targeting the neurodivergent audience, this book is a simple and easy to understand workbook that takes you through various Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) techniques to regulate emotions during times of distress. There are exercises throughout the book to learn the skills, and if you have no prior knowledge about DBT, I'd say that this is the book for you emotions sometimes becomes overwhelming for you in "in the moment". I mainly use DBT skills with clients who struggle to regulate their emotions, and therefore have anxiety attacks or anger outbursts. However, I do find that DBT skills as stand alone techniques are inadequate to treat long term depression, anxiety etc. DBT skills can be considered "emergency breaks", whereas other methods, such as CBT or EMDR working by making long lasting changes to our neurochemistry and thinking patterns.