Books for your health, home, and relationships
Photo by Joyce Hankins on Unsplash
Dive into these summer reads
Who doesn’t love a good beach read?! Reading is a great way to learn new skills, unwind from a busy day, and connect with others about shared interests and topics! And bonus: Research shows that reading is good for our health!
If you’re like us, you may have a long TBR (to be read) list saved on your notes app or Goodreads or scratches of paper! When it comes to books about our mental health and well-being, here are some that we highly recommend on a regular basis to our clients!
Relationship Books:
Eight Dates: Essential conversations for a lifetime of love by John Gottman, PhD and Julie Schwartz Gottman, PhD. Written by a husband and wife team, this book helps couples navigate crucial conversations in their relationship. The book is user-friendly and has resources and guides in each chapter.
Secure Love: Create a relationship that lasts a lifetime by Julie Menanno, LMFT. Popularized recently by social media, “attachment” has become a buzz-word for many individuals and couples seeking to learn more about each other. Long before Instagram reels and TikTok though, John Bowlby developed the concept of attachment theory in the 1950s. Today, we continue to explore how our attachment styles impact our relationships. In Secure Love, Menanno walks readers through how to identify and develop a secure, healthy attachment in their romantic relationships.
Anxiety:
Anxious kids, anxious parents by Lynn Lyons, LICSW. Lyons is a well-known and respected therapist and author. She specializes in treating anxiety and her methods are proven to get to the root causes of anxiety vs. bandaid-ing the situation! This book is easy to read, applicable to real life, and offers tools that work for kids and parents!
The anxiety audit: 7 sneaky ways anxiety takes hold and how to escape them by Lynn Lyons, LICSW. Ahem, yes, we’re clearly biased! This book is well-researched, written in easy-to-understand language, and offers hands-on resources for kids, teens, and adults! Lyons expertly weaves personal stories and examples with case studies and tangible tactics for you to use right away!
Rewire your anxious brain: How to use the neuroscience of fear to end anxiety, panic, and worry by Catherine M. Pittman, PhD. Anxiety is less scary when we understand the neuroscience behind why we worry about meeting new people, speaking in public, or flying! This book is a crash course on how our brain works and offers practical, scientifically backed interventions to reduce daily worry and fear.
Family and Home
Drama Free: A guide to managing unhealthy family relationships by Nedra Tawwab offers a gentle, compassionate look at how to heal from family experiences that were harmful in our past (and present). While this book may focus on family experiences where functioning was less than ideal, it is for anyone who wants insights on improving healthy family relationships.
Adult children of emotionally immature parents: How to heal from distant, rejecting, or self-involved parents by Lindsay C. Gibbons. In this book, readers learn how to identify unhealthy patterns in parenting styles and how to navigate the after effects, as well as set up healthy relationships in their current family.
Home therapy: Interior design for increasing happiness, boosting confidence, and creating calm by Anita Yokoto. Yokoto is a trained marriage and family therapist AND interior designer. Home Therapy takes a close look at the importance of our environment on our mental health. While we cannot always redesign our spaces, the tips and tools in this book help us to examine the choices we make everyday and rearrange our homes to be more comforting and calming in a motivating and mindful approach to daily habits in the home.
Whatever book(s) you pick up this summer…
… we hope they provide you with hope, healing, and helpful tools for your health, home, and family! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Books are an incredible resource but do not replace therapy with a licensed counselor or therapist. They offer insights and information that we encourage you to bring into your therapy sessions to discuss with your therapist or counselor.
Ready to start collaborating? Reach out today to set up a complimentary phone consultation with one of our providers! We are so grateful to start this journey together.
About the Author
Megan Nyberg, MA, LPCC has worked in the mental health field since 2021 in outpatient clinics serving adolescents and adults. Previously, she co-led an anxiety, depression, and trauma intensive outpatient program (IOP) for adolescents.