Therapist-Recommended Mental Health Books & Resources
Looking for trusted mental health books and resources for anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing, burnout, attachment, ADHD, and trauma? This collection includes some of the books I most frequently recommend to therapy clients. Whether you're struggling with high-functioning anxiety, people-pleasing, chronic stress, or relationship patterns, these evidence-informed resources can help you better understand yourself and support your healing between therapy sessions.
Many of these are books I've recommended to clients over the years or have personally found to be thoughtful, practical, and genuinely helpful. There's no perfect place to start, simply choose the topic that feels most relevant to what you're experiencing right now.
I hope these therapist-recommended resources offer insight, practical tools, and encouragement as you continue your healing journey. These recommendations are intended for educational purposes and are not a replacement for therapy.
"Where should I start?"
My mind won’t stop racing → Unwinding Anxiety
I have a hard time saying no → Set Boundaries, Find Peace
I constantly worry people are upset with me → Fawning
I always feel like I need to be perfect → The Gifts of Imperfection
I’m exhausted all the time → Burnout
I’m starting to realize my childhood still affects me → Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents
I’m curious about EMDR therapy → Every Memory Deserves Respect
I think trauma is at the root of my struggles → Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide Map to Recovering from Childhood Trauma
Anxiety
Anxiety can show up as overthinking, perfectionism, constant worry, physical tension, or feeling like your brain never turns off. These are some of my favorite books for understanding anxiety and learning practical strategies for creating lasting change.
The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook
One of my favorite workbooks for clients who want practical, evidence-based exercises they can start using right away to reduce anxiety and manage stress.
Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind
If you tend to overthink or feel stuck in cycles of worry, this is one of my go-to recommendations for understanding why anxiety happens and how to interrupt it.
I often recommend this book to clients who feel frustrated that insight alone hasn't created change. It does a wonderful job explaining why our nervous systems can keep us feeling stuck.
An excellent resource if saying "no" feels uncomfortable or you find yourself constantly putting everyone else's needs before your own.
Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
One of the books I recommend most often. It offers a refreshing alternative to self-criticism and teaches how self-compassion can actually support growth and resilience.
A thoughtful read for anyone wanting to approach difficult emotions with greater kindness instead of judgment.
Relationships & Dating
Our relationships often reflect the ways we've learned to connect, protect ourselves, and seek closeness. These books explore attachment, communication, boundaries, dating, and creating healthier, more secure relationships with others.
One of my favorite relationship books for couples who want to better understand attachment styles and improve communication.
A great choice if you're dating and want to recognize healthier relationship patterns from the beginning.
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find - and Keep - Love
Probably the best place to start if you're new to attachment theory and curious about how attachment influences romantic relationships.
Secure: The Revolutionary Guide to Creating a Secure Life
Offers practical guidance for building healthier, more secure relationships regardless of your current attachment style.
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
One of the best books I've found for learning how to communicate honestly while staying connected during difficult conversations.
Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself
A classic recommendation for anyone who struggles with over-functioning, rescuing others, or losing themselves in relationships.
The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, & Other Adventures
A thoughtful resource for anyone exploring consensual non-monogamy, with a strong emphasis on communication and healthy boundaries.
A look at how couples can maintain intimacy, desire, and connection in long-term relationships.
Perfectionism
Perfectionism isn't simply having high standards, it’s often driven by fear, self-criticism, or the belief that your worth depends on getting everything right. These books can help you let go of impossible expectations and build a more compassionate relationship with yourself.
The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power
One of my favorite recommendations for high achievers learning that perfection isn't the same thing as excellence.
The Gifts of Imperfection: 10th Anniversary Edition
A wonderful introduction to letting go of perfectionism while building greater self-acceptance and authenticity.
A wonderful resource for anyone who feels like anxiety and perfectionism go hand in hand. It offers practical strategies for quieting self-criticism, letting go of impossible standards, and building a healthier relationship with yourself.
Burnout
Burnout can leave you feeling emotionally exhausted, disconnected, and like you're constantly running on empty. These resources explore why burnout happens, how chronic stress affects the nervous system, and practical ways to recover and create a more sustainable life.
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
One of the first books I recommend to clients experiencing chronic stress or emotional exhaustion. It clearly explains why simply "taking a break" often isn't enough.
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
A beautiful reminder that difficult seasons are a normal part of life and that rest can be an important part of healing.
Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving
Perfect for anyone who feels guilty slowing down or believes their worth is tied to productivity.
Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation
Offers an insightful perspective on why so many millennials feel exhausted and overwhelmed.
A compassionate challenge to the belief that productivity determines your value.
The Hustle Cure: A New Approach to Burnout and Productivity for Women
A practical guide for redefining success without sacrificing your well-being.
ADHD
ADHD affects far more than attention, it can influence motivation, emotions, organization, relationships, and self-esteem. These books provide practical strategies and compassionate insights for understanding how your brain works and learning to work with it rather than against it.
How to ADHD: An Insider's Guide to Working with Your Brain (Not Against It)
A practical, encouraging guide filled with strategies for navigating everyday life with ADHD.
The ADHD User's Manual: From Understanding To Empowerment
Provides practical tools for understanding ADHD and developing systems that support success in daily life.
A Feminist's Guide to ADHD: How women can thrive and find focus in a world built for men
Explores the unique ways ADHD presents in women while offering compassionate, practical support.
Trauma & Nervous system healing
Trauma can impact the nervous system long after difficult experiences have passed, shaping how we think, feel, relate to others, and respond to stress. These books explore trauma recovery, nervous system regulation, attachment, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and healing with greater self-understanding and compassion.
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma
A foundational book for understanding how trauma affects the nervous system and why healing involves both the mind and body.
Offers practical nervous system regulation exercises that can help you feel more grounded and emotionally steady.
One of my most frequently recommended books for clients beginning to recognize how childhood emotional experiences continue to affect adulthood.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma
A moving memoir that beautifully captures the lived experience of healing from complex trauma.
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
One of my favorite books for understanding trauma through a compassionate, accessible lens. It shifts the question from "What's wrong with me?" to "What happened to me?" - a perspective that can be incredibly healing.
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies
An important book exploring how trauma can be carried through families, communities, and generations while offering pathways toward healing.
No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
An excellent introduction to Internal Family Systems (IFS) that encourages compassion for every part of yourself instead of shame.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving: A Guide Map to Recovering from Childhood Trauma
A classic resource for understanding complex trauma, emotional flashbacks, and the long-term effects of childhood adversity.
Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma
A practical guide for recognizing inherited patterns and creating healthier relationships with yourself and future generations.
People Pleasing
People-pleasing often develops as a way to maintain connection, avoid conflict, or feel accepted. These books explore the roots of people-pleasing while offering practical guidance for setting healthier boundaries, trusting yourself, and living more authentically.
Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves--and How to Find Our Way Back
A powerful exploration of the fawn trauma response and why people-pleasing often develops as a survival strategy rather than a personality trait.
Are You Mad at Me?: How to Stop Focusing on What Others Think and Start Living for You
Perfect for anyone who constantly worries they've upset someone or finds themselves seeking reassurance in relationships.
Stop People Pleasing: And Find Your Power
Offers practical tools for setting healthier boundaries while feeling less guilty about prioritizing your own needs.
Mindfulness & Self-Compassion
Mindfulness and personal growth aren't about becoming a different person, they're about understanding yourself more deeply and responding to life with greater awareness and intention. These books encourage self-reflection, emotional resilience, and living in a way that feels more connected to your values.
A great introduction to mindfulness, especially if meditation has always felt intimidating or "not for you."
Group: How One Therapist and a Circle of Strangers Saved My Life
A compelling memoir that highlights the healing power of therapy, vulnerability, and genuine human connection.
Encourages a more compassionate and accepting relationship with your body while challenging harmful cultural messages.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
One of Brené Brown's most beloved books, exploring how vulnerability can lead to deeper connection and a more authentic life.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Celebrates the strengths of introversion while challenging cultural myths that favor constant extroversion.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
One of my favorite books for anyone curious about what therapy is really like, told through both a therapist's and client's perspective.
A thoughtful resource for understanding high sensitivity and learning how to thrive without viewing it as a weakness.
Meditations
Guided meditations can be a helpful way to practice mindfulness, self-compassion, and nervous system regulation outside of therapy sessions. Whether you're looking to reduce stress, feel more grounded, or simply slow down, these resources offer a gentle place to begin.
Guided Self-Compassion Meditations
A collection of guided practices designed to cultivate self-kindness, emotional resilience, and nervous system regulation.
EMDR
If you're curious about EMDR therapy or want to better understand how trauma and the brain are connected, these resources provide an accessible introduction. They explain the science behind EMDR and how healing can occur when difficult experiences are processed in a safe and structured way.
A helpful introduction to EMDR concepts for anyone wanting to better understand trauma healing before beginning therapy.
Written by the founder of EMDR, this is my favorite recommendation for anyone curious about how EMDR works and why past experiences can continue to affect us today.
Every Memory Deserves Respect: EMDR, the Proven Trauma Therapy with the Power to Heal
A thoughtful introduction to EMDR therapy that helps explain how traumatic memories are stored and why EMDR can be such an effective treatment for healing them.
More resources are on the way!
I'm currently building this library and will be adding therapist-recommended podcasts, apps, worksheets, and self-assessments soon. Feel free to bookmark this page and check back.
Podcasts (coming soon)
Apps (coming soon)
Worksheets (coming soon)
Assessments (coming soon)
If you're looking for support beyond books, you can also learn more about:
FAQ’s
-
These books can provide valuable education, insight, and practical tools, but they aren't a replacement for therapy. Reading about anxiety, trauma, or relationship patterns can increase understanding, while therapy provides personalized support, guidance, and space to process your unique experiences. Many people find that books and therapy complement each other well.
-
It depends on what you're struggling with most right now. If you're dealing with anxiety and overthinking, I'd start with Unwinding Anxiety. If perfectionism is keeping you stuck, The Anxious Perfectionist or The Gifts of Imperfection are great choices. If you're beginning to explore the impact of trauma, What Happened to You? offers an accessible place to start. If you're curious about EMDR therapy, I recommend Every Memory Deserves Respect or Getting Past Your Past.
-
Not at all. Many of my clients begin therapy without reading any books first. These resources are completely optional and are simply meant to support your learning and growth between sessions or help you explore topics that resonate with you.
-
Many of these books are grounded in evidence-based approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), attachment theory, mindfulness, self-compassion, and EMDR. Others are memoirs or personal perspectives that can offer meaningful insight and validation. I've selected these books because I believe they provide thoughtful, helpful perspectives that many clients find valuable.
-
Absolutely. Many of the books on this list are especially relevant for people who appear successful on the outside but feel overwhelmed, anxious, or emotionally exhausted underneath. If you struggle with overthinking, perfectionism, people-pleasing, difficulty relaxing, or feeling like you always have to "keep it together," you'll likely find several resources here that resonate with your experience.
-
There's no "right" place to start. Choose the topic that feels most relevant to what you're experiencing right now. If you're unsure, Unwinding Anxiety, What Happened to You?, and The Gifts of Imperfection are three excellent starting points for many people because they provide a strong foundation for understanding anxiety, trauma, and self-compassion.
Books can offer insight, validation, and practical tools, but sometimes lasting change happens through personalized support. If you're ready to move beyond understanding your patterns and begin creating meaningful change, I'd be honored to support you.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit.