Books

**Admin** · Admin Join date: 2009-06-05 Posts: 23

This a section to suggest books that have been useful to you, or to others in your life, when dealing with O.C.P.D. or A.P.D.

**meerkat** · O.C.P.D. Location: USA Join date: 2009-09-01 Posts: 10

"The Obsessive Personality" Salzman, Leon

"Autonomy and Rigid Character" Shapiro, David

"The Power of Now" Tolle, Eckhart

"A New Earth" Tolle, Eckhart

"Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy" Burns, David

"A New Guide to Rational Living" Ellis, Albert & Robert A. Harper

"Plato, not Prozac!" Marinoff, Lou (he's a philosophical counselor)

"Beyond Psychology" Rank, Otto

"The Meaning of Anxiety" May, Rollo

[I'm also including some books that critique the mental health field. I think one of the reasons why so many people don't get better after seeing a therapist is that psychotherapy and drug therapy aren't nearly as effective as the mental health industry and drug companies want us to believe. Yes, we can be stubborn and resistant to change, but that's only part of the story.]

"Cultures of Healing" Fancher, Robert (a critique of the mental health field by a psychologist who also has a Ph. D. in philosophy

"The Undiscovered Mind" Horgan, John

"The Death of Psychotherapy" Eisner, Donald (a critique of psychotherapy by an attorney who specializes in lawsuits regarding psychological issues)

"Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry" edited by Ross, Colin A. & Alvin Pam

"The Myth of Mental Illness" Szasz, Thomas

"The Myth of Psychotherapy" Szasz, Thomas

"Junk Science" Agin, Dan (there's a chapter entitled "The Talk Therapy Flea Market")

Please comment on this list. I'd love to hear what you think, and whether you like these books or not. Smile

**Danae** · Subject: Re: Books Tue Sep 15, 2009 12:55 pm

I definitely think I'm going to check out "The Obsessive Personality," "Beyond Psychology," and "The Myth of Mental Illness" first. I need to get through my Psychology books for school first, and then I'll check them out. Smile

Thanks for this great list of choices!! Which ones were the most beneficial to you and why?

**meerkat** · O.C.P.D. Location: USA Join date: 2009-09-01 Posts: 10

Danae wrote:

Which ones were the most beneficial to you and why?

"The Obsessive Personality"----really helped me understand myself better

"Autonomy and Rigid Character"---same as above (chapter 3 of this book is about ocd)

"Feeling Good"----best self-help book I've read. Clearly written, easy to read, explains cognitive psychology very well.

"A New Guide to Rational Living"----Albert Ellis is the grandfather of cognitive psychology and he & Dr. Harper share their wisdom here

"The Power of Now"----an interesting angle on psychology---emphasizes mindfulness and awareness of the present moment

"Cultures of Healing"---I felt better after reading this because I could see why talk therapy hasn't helped me very much

Of course, all these books are really good. I recommend all of them.