Book recs for Patients

[TheRightMedication]

I need to get organized with my book recommendations for patients. What books or online resources would you suggest for ...

Autism Spectrum?
Nutrition and mental health?
Exercise and mental health?
Sleep and mental health?
Habit formation / management?
A general text and also a workbook for each psych dx?
Behavioral activation / motivation
Caffeine, alcohol, cannabis and mental health?
Pregnancy and risks of medications?
Anything better than Listening to Prozac 1/2 for a meditation on taking psychotropics while human?

My cursory search shows mostly prior book recs for residents, but I'm happy to be redirected if I've missed any old posts that I'm duplicating here. I'm certainty open to any recs not on my list above. I'm especially interested in pithy, direct resources with clear recs for self-guided behavioral modification to help patients address everything they can.

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[Bartelby]

These are kind of general, but great starting points for CBT and ACT-based self-help:

Feeling Good by David Burns
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris

I have had some success with these either as standalone recommendations for patients I am working with in a "med management" style framework and as background reading for patients who are participating in weekly psychotherapy.

 

[Stagg737]

I'll second the Happiness Trap. I'm not a fan of their version of radical acceptance that we can't/don't have control over our emotions or feelings, but I do think it's a great read for patients who need to work on expectation management to help them understand that feeling happy all the time is unrealistic or that negative emotions are bad and should be avoided at all costs.

I'd also recommend the CBT Toolbox. I had a patient tell me about it in residency and while it's not a replacement for therapy, I've had several patients who either couldn't afford therapy or didn't want to see a therapist say it was helpful for learning some coping skills and understanding their thought processes. It's around $30-$40 on Amazon and has a lot of worksheets and exercises, so fairly easy for patients to understand and use without much guidance.

 

[djo208]

"The Worry Cure"by Leahy is a great CBT-oriented book for GAD.
"Overcoming Health Anxiety" by Owens is a great book for illness anxiety disorder.

I often make my own handouts individualized for each patient and then I eventually ended up having a whole set of handouts that I find myself using over and over.

 

[splik]

Michigan has a nice online thing for behavior activation that I give to pts: https://medicine.umich.edu/sites/de...oads/Behavioral-Activation-for-Depression.pdf
For nightmare rescripting: https://depts.washington.edu/uwbrtc/wp-content/uploads/Nightmare-Protocol.pdf
Handouts from Russ Harris' ACT books: https://www.actmindfully.com.au/upimages/2016_Complete_Worksheets_for_Russ_Harris_ACT_Books.pdf
CBTi workbook from the VA: https://www.mirecc.va.gov/docs/visn...ach_for_Veterans_with_Insomnia-March-2017.pdf
MIND diet handouts: https://med.stanford.edu/content/dam/sm/adrc/documents/june2022/the-mind-diet-english-9-20-19.pdf and https://khn.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/04/mind_ph_module-1_mind-diet_v2.pdf

I do think Chat GPT does a good job at creating patient information handouts. You can edit them to your liking but it provides a good starting point.

Books:
Say Goodnight to Insomnia by Gregg Jacobs (insomnia)
When Panic Attacks by David Burns (anxiety disorders, not just panic)
Overcoming unwanted intrusive thoughts by Sally Winston and Martin Seif (OCD-spectrum disorders and anxiety)
Getting Unstuck from PTSD by Patricia Resick
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk (while im not a fan of his, this seems to resonate with a lot of patients)
Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss (negotiating skills)
It Didn't Start With You by Mark Wolynn (intergenerational trauma)
The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegel
Breaking Negative Thinking Patterns by Gitta Jacob (schema therapy)
Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson (couples problems from an EFT approach)
The Complex PTSD workbook by Arielle Schwartz
Taking Charge of Adult ADHD by Russell Barkley
Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey
It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine (grief/bereavement)

 

[Jules A]

A psychologist colleague recommended and I have seen this used with ASD, ODD and conduct do adolescents.

A 5 Is Against the Law! -Autism Awareness

Using a direct and simple style with lots of examples and hands-on activities, A 5 Is Against the Law! speaks directly to adolescents and young adults.

autismawarenesscentre.com

 

[djo208]

I have also used "Improve Your Social Skills" by Wendler with some patients to good effect.

With most books, I find it more useful to pick out the parts that I find high-yield for the patient, assign those as homework, and work through them as an adjunct to in-session treatment, rather than assign the whole book, but I've certainly heard of people doing it either way.

 

[R. Matey]

If your patients prefer apps, CBT thought diary by Clarity is great. It helps people familiarize themselves with the basics of distortions and reframing so good for getting familiar for the ABC's (pun very much intended) of CBT in an easy and accessible way.

 

[djo208]

Love the pun, R. Matey.