This week’s blog post is Part 2 of a 3-post series on my personal book recommendations related to a specific topic. Part 2 is related to stress and the body book recommendations. If you haven't seen Part 1 of this series, I encourage you to go check it out, but also as a quick background - this series was inspired by my book reading buddy sister-in-law (thanks Nousha). We frequently raid each other’s libraries for books that catch our attention giving us a chance to discuss the topics and meanings. While at times these are not therapy related books, other times they are, and I thought it would be a great idea to compile some of my favorites into my blog posts for anyone else out there who may be looking for a new (and hopefully helpful) read!
My one ask is to please send me some of your favorites - I am always trying to build my reading list and sometimes browsing the book store can grow stale…THANKS IN ADVANCE!
Do Books Replace Therapy?
I answered this in Part 1 of this series, but want to reiterate that the answer is no, books do not replace therapy. Although they can give a reader valuable information and insight, coupling this with psychotherapy from a registered professional can give incredible benefits and strides towards growth and healing. I recommend books from time to time to my clients either because I feel they may resonate with them in the season of life they are in presently, or because they have asked me for something to read in between our sessions that can reaffirm what we’ve been discussing. These book recommendations are all books I have personally read and have enjoyed. While this is not an exhaustive list by any means, I hope it can be a starting point for you, wherever you may be in your journey.
The Body, Stress & Therapy Book Recommendations
This is a topic I am now beginning to incorporate more regularly into my practice as I recently completed certification to become a Mental Health and Nutrition Consultant. That being said, here are some recommendations if you’re starting out on your journey of connecting the body + brain with mental health:
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
This is another one of those books I would recommend to any new therapist (or person interested in how trauma can be held in the body and manifest in other symptoms/ailments) to read. This book is lengthy but goes into so much depth on how various forms of trauma manifest in different ways and can have SUCH an impact on the body. I originally read this book right out of graduate school and remember feeling overwhelmed with the amount of content but have recently re-read it and reconnected with it. Trigger warning: some of the vignettes are challenging to read and are quite sad, but how stress and trauma can manifest in physical sickness is fascinating and super informative.
When the Body Says No by Gabor Mate
Gabor Mate is one of my favorite authors, and I thank my supervisor while I was completing my practicum for introducing his work to me. This book speaks on the hidden costs of stress and how psychological stress plays a role in many chronic illness onsets. While scary at times to read, I found it really groundbreaking in its main point of how important it is for us to limit stress. In a generation where everyone seems to be chronically stressed, having an awareness of what stress is, and how it impacts us and tools to combat this is immensely helpful.
What Happened to You? by Bruce D Perry & Oprah Winfrey
I will admit I did skip over this book countless times in my “to read” list as I wasn’t sure whether it was gimmicky (also thanks Tiktok), but I’m so glad I eventually purchased and read it. I love books that have “real” life examples and vignettes that explain a certain situation (kind of like a case study) as I find those to be way more helpful and relatable. This book was interesting in its format as it was more of a conversational narrative between the authors discussing those case studies and the impacts of trauma both on the individual, and on other generations.
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