Workbooks for therapy

Has anyone used any workbooks in therapy that they would recommend?

I'm trying to gather some resources for either self-help or that could be used together with therapy. The workbook topics would be the sort of thing one might work on in therapy such as anxiety, depression, learning to express one's feelings, regulate one's emotions, manage anger, communicate better, etc.

I'm also curious about how you used the workbook. Did you do it for therapy "homework" or use it in session? Or on your own independently from therapy?

Any leads are appreciated. Thanks!

I briefly and loosely used a book called "SOS Help for Emotions" managing anxiety, anger, & depression by Lynn Clark PhD. His extensive experience is in community mental health centers and community agencies.

It's an easy to use book, straightforward and REBT style. Albert Ellis, founder of REBT, describes it: "Beautifully captures the spirit of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in concise, evocative, and humorous language." It has quizzes and exercises.

It is a good way to learn about emotions, emotional regulation, and to learn that we have choices about how to respond, and that we can learn about and challenge our responses.

Chopin is doing a workbook on boundaries right now. Have you seen her posts?

There is a workbook I utilized a long time ago. It asks one question a week for a year. Mostly about healing from csa
"Beyond Survival" by Maureen Brady. I found it in a used book store.
very helpful to me at the time

I like Dr. Tucker-Ladd's online book: http://www.psychologicalselfhelp.org/ as it covers "all" subjects and has excellent references and ideas for further study. I like that it is online and can be downloaded, both, and is free so one can use it alone or with a therapist or group, etc.

I went through "Mind over Mood" years and years ago. It's a CBT workbook for depression. I personally hated it (so, sorry this isn't particularly helpful), but then again, I tend to balk at my emotional life being reduced to worksheets.

That said, I did just comment on one of stopdog's posts about DBT handouts. I should say that I found those helpful more from an informational, than a "workbook" standpoint.

on what subject or area sunrise?

I really like this book, which my T and I are doing together. It's based on the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model. But as you can see from the title, it doesn't require a T. In addition to the questions at the end of the chapter the book has an accompanying website with additional worksheets.

Jay Earley, PhD, Self-Therapy: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Wholeness and Healing Your Inner Child Using IFS, A New, Cutting-Edge Psychotherapy

Do you mean just general psych books, or specifically those with a detailed programme to work through?

I tried only one, and hated hated hated it. so I won't give you the title!

but I did see Claudia Black's "Repeat After Me' - about ACOA - and thought it was very interesting (although T1 had no interest in using it with me).
http://www.amazon.com/Repeat-After-M...2884263&sr=1-1

This is the one I'm going through:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/boun...aries+workbook

The sorts of issues one might work on in therapy, such as feeling better, depression, anxiety, learning to express feelings, learning to manage emotions, communication skills, anger, relaxation, building social skills, etc.

Not general psych books, but books that I think of as "workbooks", with worksheets in them, or graphical organizers, or exercises to work through. Something that is quite concrete, rather than books that emphasize psychological theories, discussion of research findings, etc.

This looks really interesting, Chopin. Thanks. It is all about setting boundaries (for those who didn't click on the link).

These are some great ideas, everyone. Thank you very much! I am going to look some of the suggestions up.

I've not been specific about what I'm looking for because I'm trying to identify resources in a number of areas. I think CBT and DBT workbooks would be of interest (I know little about practical exercises that accompany these approaches), mindfulness, stress reduction, dealing with anxiety, dealing with feelings that seem overwhelming, dealing with social phobia.

Also, a particular interest I haven't seen workbooks or exercises on is helping those who don't know they have feelings learn that they have them, learn to express them, etc. I've heard one way to start is doing a body scan guided meditation. Looking for other ideas on this..

Has anyone heard of The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns and would recommend it (or pan it)?
http://www.amazon.com/Feeling-Good-H...tt_at_ep_dpt_2

It's good; the only caveat is that it takes a overtly religious view of the subject. I am Christian and it's a bit much even for me, but there is enough practicality to gain benefit from the workbook and the book itself (gotta have both)!

apparently it is supposed to be very good. i read about ten-fifteen pages of it and threw it across the room, then donated it.

just not my cup of tea!!!

Oh! Love that kind of book I did that multiple times with Napkin Notes: On the Art of Living http://www.amazon.com/Napkin-Notes-O.../dp/0960255206, my favorite psych book of all time.

This sounds really good. I'm going to order it. Perna, one of the reader reviews on Amazon says the person threw it across the room. Could that be you?

I am really curious about the response of throwing a book across the room. Is it because the material was totally irrelevant to you and so was annoying? Like, "yeah, right, this is sooo not going to help me!"

I have a few books on ADHD and some are definitely more helpful to me than others. The really practical ones are helpful to me, with tips and clear ideas on how to implement. The ones that have not been helpful for me say stuff like "let's look at the real reason you are procrastinating, let's dig deep and discover why you do this to yourself." I tend to like to go deep, but yet there are some things I don't want to dig deep on. I just want to fix them, and if keeping lists and setting timers will help me be better organized, that's all I need.

Not relevant isn't "annoying", that would be "boring"? It's relevant but one doesn't want it to be.

Napkin Notes has to be read from page one through, you can't skip around, it's a "whole" as it is told. You start with a guru and mucking out a stable for a zillion years and learn NOTHING from that story you just read and it gets worse from there :-) The best part for me though, that I take with me now, in me, are the examples of being responsible for yourself at all times; how stepping off the curb and getting run over by a car is your fault/responsibility and the role of dissociating while reading a book (getting "lost" in the book) and having the roof cave in on your head. The guy makes everything extremely simple and you can't really wiggle out of it but have to accept it and I think that is what really made me angry, having to learn to accept "what is true is true, whether I like it or not" (slogan I made up for myself and try to remember/live by).

The book is actually about getting the "drama" out of your life.

I think throwing a book across the room would be therapeutic in itself!

I don't have a workbook per se, but I bring a notebook with me every time I see my T. It's my ongoing saga of therapy I guess you could say. I take notes in session, write down any assignments, record dreams, write stuff I want to remember to talk about, doodle, whatever. I recently started my 2nd notebook and when I read through them from the beginning it's pretty cool to see the changes I've made evolving over time.
So I guess I'm sorta creating my own 'workbook'. I also borrow books from my T all the time on a variety of topics.

I need to come up with a good 'signature' on here.

I found this book long winded and redundant. It does a very detailed job with cbt skills, but I felt after awhile it was really trying my patience.

Now my T likes The Anxiety & Phobos Workbook. I don't really deal with either of those issues, but he had me just work with the chapters in the middle dealing with cognitive distortions and mistaken beliefs. They are well written and not nearly as cumbersome as the Burns book.

have a look at ACT workbook, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
I like them.