The Body Keeps The Score

by Bessel van der Kolk M.D.

Trauma is a fact of life. Veterans and their families deal with the painful aftermath of combat; one in five Americans has been molested; one in four grew up with alcoholics; one in three couples have engaged in physical violence. Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, one of the world’s foremost experts on trauma, has spent over three decades working with survivors. In The Body Keeps the Score, he uses recent scientific advances to show how trauma literally reshapes both body and brain, compromising sufferers’ capacities for pleasure, engagement, self-control, and trust.

Us: Getting Past You and Me to Build a More Loving Relationship 

by Terrence Real

Not much is harder than figuring out how to love your partner in all their messy humanness—and there’s also not much that’s more important.

At a time when toxic individualism is rending our society at every level, bestselling author and renowned marriage counselor Terrence Real sees how it poisons intimate relationships in his therapy practice, where he works with couples on the brink of disaster. The good news: Warmer, closer, more passionate relationships are possible if you have the right tools.

Facing Love Addiction: Giving Yourself the Power to Change the Way You Love

by Pia Mellody, Andrea Wells Miller, J. Keith Miller

This is a brilliant and raw book on real problems that face both men and women in relationships.

After the Affair: Healing the Pain and Rebuilding Trust When a Partner Has Been Unfaithful, 2nd edition.

by Janis A. Spring

this newly revised and updated edition of After the Affair is essential reading.

Children Learn What They Live

by Dorothy Law Nolte Ph.D., Rachel Harris L.C.S.W. Ph.D.

An excellent book when looking for a parenting philosophy.

Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives

by Pia Mellody, Andrea Wells Miller, J. Keith Miller

A forceful description of how people who are raised in a dysfunctional or abusive environment often sabotage and cripple their lives.

Gifts From A Challenging Childhood: Creating A Practice for Becoming Your Healthiest Self

by Jan Bergstrom LMHC

“Whether you experienced traumatic neglect or excessive control and enmeshment at the hands of your parents, this book will not only help you identify what went wrong for you, it will also provide you with validating, supportive and compassionate ways to reparent yourself.”

How To Raise An Adult 

by Julie Lythcott-Haims 

In How to Raise an Adult, Julie Lythcott-Haims draws on research, on conversations with admissions officers, educators, and employers, and on her own insights as a mother and as a student dean to highlight the ways in which overparenting harms children, their stressed-out parents, and society at large. While empathizing with the parental hopes and, especially, fears that lead to overhelping, Lythcott-Haims offers practical alternative strategies that underline the importance of allowing children to make their own mistakes and develop the resilience, resourcefulness, and inner determination necessary for success.

I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression

by Terrence Real

A well written book about male depression, filled with case studies that Terry has overseen throughout his years as a psychotherapist.