Self-Awareness and Self-Help
Beattie, Melody. Beyond Codependency and Getting Better All the Time. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1989.
This sequel to her classic Codependent No More focuses on the recovery process for those who have identified their codependency and begun to work on it. Think you're not codependent? That would put you among the twenty percent who aren't in one way or another. A hopeful, practical and readable guide to the recovery process, no matter what you are recovering from. Highly recommended.
Burns, David D. Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. New York: Signet Books, 1980.
A practical guide to behavioral and cognitive treatments for depression that can be safely employed by do-it-yourselfers. Overcoming the ten cognitive distortions (e.g., "all or nothing thinking") described in chapter three is the sine qua non of depression recovery.
Davison, Todd. Life After Psychotherapy. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson Inc., 1997.
Recognizing that personal growth from psychotherapy can be easily lost if the lessons are not understood, the author clarifies what the patient should have learned, identifies signs of backsliding, and gives practical advice about how to integrate these lessons into daily life.
Galant, Mitch, and Susan K. Galant. What to Do When Someone You Love is Depressed. New York: Random House, Villard Books, 1996.
A very readable account of what depression is and the role of the caretaker, including how that person can take care of themselves and meet their own needs while dealing with this trying illness. Chapters explain what depression is and feels like, its impact on the caretaker, how to work with the depressed person (and how not to), the range of therapies and treatments, working with the medical community, and dealing with potential suicides. Includes a good, recent bibliography.
Keating, Kathleen. The Love Therapy Book. Minneapolis: CompCare Publishers, 1992.
A delightful, short, easy-to-read book that describes what love is and provides lessons in finding and sharing love. The illustrations make this book fun and informative.
Miller, Alice. The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self. New York: BasicBooks, 1994.
An insightful exploration of the effects and treatment of early childhood abuse, the repression of painful memories, and the necessity to retrieve and work through these memories to be free of their effects in adult life and avoid passing them on to children. Written without jargon and with numerous examples. An essential book for anyone suffering depression arising out of childhood experiences.Peck, M. Scott. Further Along the Road Less Traveled. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
This well-known author explores spirituality and personal growth issues that are helpful to the recovering depressive.
Schlossberg, Nancy K., and Susan Porter Robinson. Going to Plan B: How You Can Cope, Regroup, and Start Your Life in a New Path. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.
Practical advice, based on studies of real people whose lives did not work out the way they always thought they would, about how to ease your distress, turn your focus toward hope, and rebuild your life around new dreams.
Singer, Margaret Thaler, and Janja Lalich. "Crazy" Therapies: What Are They? Do They Work? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996.
The authors draw on personal experience to debunk a number of alternative philosophies and practices found in the modern therapeutic marketplace. Although not specifically addressed to therapies for depression, many are practices depressives might find attractive and which cause more harm than good, or no good at all.
Smith, Hyrum W. The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management: Proven Strategies for Increased Productivity and Inner Peace. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 1994.
This book is not just about time management; it is about finding the core values in your life, and organizing yourself so that you live what you believe. Readable, practical, insightful.
Whitfield, Charles L. Healing the Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families. Deerfield Beach, Florida: Health Communications, Inc., 1987.
A practical guide to understanding your own child within, its hurts, and the healing process. Using the idiom of the wounded child, Whitfield untangles a complex set of issues and makes them understandable.