Books

Mental Health in BriefBooks

24 May

Written By Robyn Bowman

-and websites and other mental health resources

(More added regularly)

All of the books that I list below come out of solidly evidence based mental-health science.

BOOKS FOR KIDS AND TEENS

Stuff that Sucks by Ben Sedley - Acceptance and Commitment therapy based advice for teens in a fun format.

Superpowered from the Gozen team. Resilience building for Kids and Teens

Hey Warrior - by Karen Young from Heysigmund. For 5-12 year olds. A book for kids about anxiety. Kids can do amazing things with the right information.

The Red Beast - Helping Children Cope with Angry Feelings by K.I. Al-Ghani Actually, the by line is “Helping Children on he Autism Spectrum Cope with Angry Feelings” but I think this book resonates with many neurotypical kids too (and some angry adults, in my opinion) . There is also a workbook available.

Taming Sneaky Fearsby Dr. Diane Benoit and Dr. Suneeta Monga. Teach your young children to be brave with this engaging story and workbook. You will learn some things too.

The Boy, the Mole, The Fox and the Horse. I just loved this book about courage. This one doesn’t come from any particular therapeutic approach. I just think kids and adults love it. I bought it in Big W. Its also a movie.

Books about Grief for Kids and Teens (that adults will love too)

Tear Soup

The Memory Tree

BOOKS FOR GROWN UPS

The Happiness Trap (How to Stop Struggling and Start Living by Russ Harris. I used this link because its Russ Harris’s actual page. This guy is a skilled communicator, and a world renowned trainer in ACT (my favourite counselling modality). I can’t recommend this book and all his other stuff highly enough. He is also very generous with all his resources and also a really nice person.

Growing yourself up by Jenny Brown (most impactful book I have read) a journey through each stage of life to see predictable patterns of relationships and to show how to use this knowledge to make purposeful adjustments in yourself. Jenny is the leading trainer and therapist in Family Systems therapy in Australia.

Everything isnt Terrible by Kathleen Smith - A helpful and humorous guide to shedding our anxious habits and building a more solid sense of self in our increasingly anxiety-inducing world. This one also comes out of the Family Systems Therapy school.

What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey, Dr Bruce Perry

WEBSITES

h eysigmund.com We know that anxiety can be tough for anyone. We're here to help you deal and fight anxiety. (Karen Young’s website)

actmindfully.com.au Russ Harris’s Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (my favourite counselling modality) website.

www.thepathway2success.com provides social emotional learning (SEL) and executive functioning supports, strategies, and resources for educators and parents.

https://wholeheartedschoolcounseling.com/ Engagingcounselling & social emotional learning resources, trauma informed strategies & coping skills for kids.

Brave Online a free online treatment program based on cognitive behavioural therapy which is designed for young people aged 3 to 17 years who are experiencing anxiety. There is also a supporting program for the young person’s parents.

(much much much more to come, I promise)

Podcasts

See my Podcast blog for lots of entertaining, fun and informative mental health podcasts