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RESOURCES
- USEFUL SELF-HELP BOOKS, LIBRARY, LINKS
Linda's
Short List of Useful Self-help Books
Client
Lending Library
Links
Linda's
Short List of the Most Useful Self-help Books
The Happiness
Trap: Stop Struggling, Start Living Russ Harris
M.D. Exile Publishing (NSW & NZ, 2007) This book is useful
for people who want to improve the quality of their lives
in general and takes a life coaching/career coaching approach
to mindfulness and values driven action in place of experiential
avoidance driven action.
Wherever You
Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D. (Hyperion, New York, 1994) Another
beautiful book that can transport readers into contact with
their essence as well as provide very useful instructions
for learning mindfulness, and because the author has a Ph.D.,
and has worked in academic institutions, he has had more impact
on psychological science.
The Power of
Now. Eckhart Tolle (Hodder, Sydney, 2000 )
My original favourite book ever on how to get in touch with
what matters in this life. Not only are there great exercise
embedded in the text (I suggest you mark them as you read
so you can practice them regularly), but the reading of the
text itself transports many readers into that mindfulness
space and beyond into contact with their own beautiful essence.
The most powerful book on this planet, in my opinion. I have
been selling it to clients for almost a decade, long before
mindfulness became popular in psychological science.
Waking the
Tiger: Healing Trauma Peter A Levine Ph.D. with
Ann Frederick North Atlantic Books (Berkeley, CA, USA, 1997)
Demonstrates how people are often traumatized by seemingly
ordinary experiences and that it is not only the victims of
crime and war who have experienced trauma. Using a method
he calls "somatic experiencing", he describes a series of
exercises that help people to focus on bodily sensations and
heal their trauma. Available large bookstores and online.
e.g. www.fishpond.com
The Mindful
Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness
Mark Williams Ph.D., John Teasdale Ph.D., Zindel Segal Ph.D.,
and Jon Kabat-Zinn Ph.D. The Guilford Press (New York, London,
2007) This book also teaches mindfulness, and although
it is aimed at depression, which is one of the main results
of refusing to feel whatever feelings we have, it is useful
for everyone because almost all of us avoid unpleasant feelings
at least some of the time. Again, it has considerable impact
because three of the authors are respected research scientists.
Remember, however, that none of this information is new. Although
Buddhists have been credited with starting the mindfulness
meditation tradition, it was well know in China and Kashmere
Shavism in India thousands of years earlier, and even our
most famous Western spiritual teacher, Jesus Christ, could
not have taught what he did without being incredibly mindful
and in touch with his true essence.
ACT with Love:Stop
Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship
with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Russ Harris
M.D. (New Harbinger, Oakland, CA, 2009) This book is useful
for people who want to improve their relationships and it
takes a life coaching educative approach.
The Truth about
Love: The Highs, the Lows, and How You Can Make It Last Forever
Pat Love Ed.D. (Simon & Schuster, Sydney, 2001) Shows
how to create a long and loving relationship after the honeymoon
phase is over. Available large bookstores and online.
The Revolutionary
Trauma Release Process: Transcend Your Toughest Times
David Berceli Ph.D. (Namaste Publishing, Vancouver, Canada,
2008) This book explains in highly accessible language
that (1) trauma is an inevitable experience of human beings,
(2) most human beings have varying degrees of unresolved trauma,
(3) there is a gentle and simple set of physical exercises
that most people can practice unsupervised to deal with past
trauma, and (4) when all trauma has been released, the body
will return to a state where it naturally and spontaneously
relinquishes trauma like wild animals do. The advantage of
this trauma release process over most other approaches is
that release usually occurs without the person having to re-experience
the intense emotions. However, David does recommend, as I
do, that people are shown how to regulate the exercises at
least once by a certified TRE instructor. In addition, for
highly traumatized individuals, this process is not a substitute
for appropriate professional care, but should be used as an
adjunct to it.
The Healer
Within: Using Traditional Chinese Techniques to Release Your
Body's Own Medicine - Movement Massage Meditation Breathing
Roger Jahnke Doctor of Oriental Medicine (HarperSanFrancisco,
1999) This book is extremely useful for people whose unconscious
emotional patterns have damaged their physical health and
for anyone wanting to stay in excellent health as they age.
All methods are supported by research in Western Medicine.
Very motivating. Available Theosophical Bookstore in Melbourne
and Online.
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Client
Lending Library
It has long been
recognized that the company we keep is extremely important
in determining our level of well-being. While many people
may not have the opportunity to spend much time with such
individuals, it is possible to watch DVDs and receive a similar
but slightly lesser benefit. Some benefit can also be obtained
from CDs played while driving a car (provided they do not
make you drowsy) or falling asleep at night. Certain books
are also helpful for those who particularly like reading or
rarely have the opportunity to listen to CDs or DVDs.
Art of Living Psychology
has a lending library of DVDs, CDs and books suitable for
'keeping good company'. These are lent free of charge to clients.
A deposit of $30 is requested when borrowing commences. This
is returned to the client when all items loaned have been
returned in satisfactory condition.
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Links
Those interested in learning
more about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy / Training (ACT)
may like to visit the original ACT website: www.contextualpsychology.org/act
If you would like to do
the exercises in the very user friendly ACT book The Happiness
Trap or its sequel, ACT with Love, go to www.thehappinesstrap.com/free_resources
for worksheets.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy
(DBT) is a therapy or training with much in common with ACT.
Go to the DBT Self-help website to learn lots of useful skills
and tools. www.dbtselfhelp.com
For more about the Centre
for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society founded
by Jon Kabat-Zinn, go to www.umassmed.edu/cfm/home/index.aspx
For more information about
stress release and stress prevention exercises or trauma releasing
exercises (TRE), go to Dr David Berceli's original trauma
prevention website www.traumaprevention.com.
Those interested in learning
more about stress expert Dr Peter Levine's work and Somatic
Experiencing can visit www.somaticexperiencing.com
Those wanting to read Dr
Stephen Porges research on emotion regulation can go to www.stephenporges.com
and those wanting to read about the trauma research work of
van der Kolk can go to www.traumacenter.org/products/publications.php
Those interested in an
effective way of working with their negative thinking might
like to investigate a transpersonal cognitive therapy approach
which is explained in detail at www.thework.org
Those interested in using
powerful techniques for their spiritual and personal development,
might like to buy the book "The Power of Now" by
Eckhart Tolle or visit his website at www.eckharttolle.com
Another great helper who
assists people to live in the here and now and spends time
in Australia is a young Englishwoman called Unmani. You can
visit her schedule and buy books, CDs and DVDs from her site
at www.not-knowing.com
Others who visit Australia
and teach the value of living in the here and now include
John De Ruiter and Catherine Ingram. John's schedule is posted
on www.johnderuiter.com
It is also possible to purchase books, CDs and DVDs through
this site. Catherine's schedule is on www.catherineingram.com
Those who might like to
learn a little more about hypnotherapy might wish to visit
the site of the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapy
at www.asch.com.au
You might also find their journal interesting. It is published
by Australian Academic www.australianacademicpress.com.au
Further helpful links will
be added to this page from time to time.
Copyright
Dr Linda Edwards 2001-2011, Psychologist & ACT Therapist
Melbourne Victoria Australia. Art of Living Psychology Consulting
Rooms are in Melbourne inner east in the Camberwell Canterbury
Burwood corner of Surrey Hills and five minutes from Ashburton,
Balwyn, Box Hill, Glen Iris, Hawthorn, Kew and Malvern.
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