BOOKS
How Emotions Are Made
Lisa Feldman Barrett
How Emotions Are Made did what all great books do. It took a subject I thought I understood and turned my understanding upside down. — Malcolm Gladwell.
Seven And A Half Lessons About The Brain
Lisa Feldman Barrett
In seven short chapters (plus a brief history of how brains evolved), this slim, entertaining, and accessible book reveals mind-expanding lessons from the front lines of neuroscience research. You’ll learn where brains came from, how they’re structured (and why it matters), and how yours works in tandem with other brains to create everything you experience. Along the way, you’ll also learn to dismiss popular myths such as the idea of a ‘lizard brain’ and the alleged battle between thoughts and emotions, or even between nature and nurture, to determine your behaviour.
Lisa Feldman Barrett, PhD, is among the top one percent most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University. She also holds appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where she is Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior.
How To Turn Stress On Its Head
Dr Rani Bora
‘Dr Rani Bora has written a fascinating, eminently practical book that pulls back the curtains on how the human mind really works and in doing so, makes it possible for every human being to realize their innate health and wellbeing…. This will be an extremely helpful resource for those who are seeking to transform their experience of life and work, all from the inside out!’ Ian M Crooks, MD, Psychiatrist Austin, Texas and presenter of ‘The Doctor is Within: Health, Happiness and Wellbeing’.
Dr Rani Bora is a holistic psychiatrist and coach helping her clients to lead their best life by addressing their mind, body and soul. Through her work, she aims to empower individuals to be the best version of themselves.
Poems Of Awakening: Through Hardships to the Stars.
Edwin Charles
‘A literary cure for those who have suffered any sort of mental distress. In other words, this is a beautiful read for all humanity. The title is profoundly accurate. Reading these words will awaken the heart’.
Edwin Charles lives in Oxford UK. His interests are languages, reading, writing, riding, nature, conservation, heritage, history, poetry, classics, philosophy, psychology, and educational, social and political reform! He is also passionate about mental health and illness, particularly bipolar disorder, and spends much of his time helping people gratuitously to navigate their way through the difficulties of severe mental suffering. He is a former G.B gold medallist in equestrianism, a qualified journalist, NLP practitioner, editor, and author.
Healing. Our path from mental illness to mental health.
Thomas Insel. MD
‘Healing is truly one of the best books ever written about mental illness, and I think I’ve read them all. Dr Insel speaks as a parent, scientist, doctor, and our government’s former ‘nation’s psychiatrist’, defining what’s wrong and offering clear headed solutions – all while guiding us forward with compassion, goodness and hope in this juggernaut wake-up call’. Pete Earley, author of ‘Crazy’.
Thomas Insel is an American neuroscientist, psychiatrist, entrepreneur, and author who led the National Institute of Mental Health from 2002 until November 2015. Prior to becoming Director of NIMH, he was the founding Director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Emperor’s New Drugs. Exploding the Antidepressant Myth
Irving Kirsch
‘This is not a book about alternative medicine and its outlandish claims. This is a book about fantasy and wishful thinking in the heart of clinical medicine, about the seductions of myth, and the final stubbornness of facts’.
Irving Kirsch is Associate Director of the Program in Placebo Studies and lecturer in medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Plymouth (UK), and University of Hull (UK), and University of Connecticut (US). He has published 10 books and more than 250 scientific journal articles and book chapters on placebo effects, antidepressant medication, hypnosis, and suggestion.
A Straight Talking Introduction To Psychiatric Drugs. The truth about how they work and how to come off them.
Joanna Moncrieff
‘This book brings evidence and rationality to a contentious topic and offers people sound, research-based information and genuine choice’. Dr Lucy Johnstone, consultant clinical psychologist.
Joanna Moncrieff is Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London, a practising consultant psychiatrist, co-chair of the Critical Psychiatry Network and author of numerous research papers and several books, including The Myth of the Chemical Cure.
Brain Energy
Christopher M Palmer MD
‘Not since the foundational theories of psychodynamics (Sigmund Freud) and behaviourism (John Watson) has a bold and potentially transformative new proposition emerged to explain the mounting epidemic of mental illness throughout the world and across the age-span. Dr Chris Palmer’s ground-breaking theory is that abnormalities in brain energy metabolism are likely root causes of psychiatric conditions, and that dietary and metabolic approaches can be exploited to benefit patients, and even the general population at large. Brain energy is a must read for everyone interested in brain and mental health.’ Jong M. Rho, MD, Professor of Neurosciences and Paediatrics at the University of California San Diego.
Dr Christopher Palmer is the Director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He has held administrative, educational, research and clinical roles in psychiatry for over 27 years.
The Myth of Low Self Esteem
Chana Studley
‘This story takes you from the depths of despair to the highs of transformation! I did not want to put this book down, though I have no time to read these days, and I kept it with me day and night for two days. My only disappointment was that the story ended; I wanted, needed to hear more! The deep affirmations and wisdom come in new waves on every page. The shining honesty washed me to the core. The quotes by Victor Frankel and “The Road Less Travelled” by M. Scott Peck right from the beginning drove me in. This is an important book.’
Painless – A novel about Chronic Pain and the Mind Body Connection
Chana Studley
‘This is a very entertaining, logical and easy book to read that takes you without you realising to view life from a different perspective. It portraits the life of each one of us through all the characters in it and give us hope for all our “problems” using a very simple understanding of how we experience reality . It is definitely a book to read more than once.’
Very Well – A novel about hormones, women and why Freud was wrong.
Chana Studley
‘In this book, (Chana) gives women the carefully researched and clear information that doctors rarely do. She takes away the shame and stigma of hormonal changes throughout a woman’s life and explains the role of our own thoughts and understanding of states of mind to guide us through ups and downs. It is a good story that keeps the readers’ interest while providing much-needed, truly helpful information.’
Chana Studley is a certified Life Coach, a Three Principles Practitioner, a World Health Organization Psychological First Responder and has a diploma in Psychology. She regularly speaks at conferences, universities and community events and has published four books.
Antidepressed
Beverley Thomson
‘Essential reading for anyone prescribing or taking antidepressants’ Marion Brown, BSc, MBA, HG.Dip.P
Beverley Thomson is a writer, researcher, and speaker with a focus on psychiatric medication including antidepressants, benzodiazepines and ADHD drugs. Her aim is to help inform and empower the patient to make informed choices about medication.
Insane Medicine
Sami Timimi
‘A revolution in mental health care is inevitable. The current systems have failed and are un-reformable. They will be overthrown. This book will tell you why’.
Sami Timimi is a UK based child and adolescent psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has authored over 130 articles and tens of chapters. He has authored 5 books including ‘Naughty Boys’ and ‘ADHD and the Role of Culture’.
A Straight Talking Introduction To Diagnosis
Lucy Johnstone
‘Rigorously researched, powerfully argued and engagingly written’. Eleanor Longdon, Psychosis Research Group, University of Liverpool
Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical psychologist and independent trainer and former director of the Bristol Clinical Psychology Doctorate.
Well
Sandro Galea
‘ For 45 years I have fought for equity, compassion and inclusion in mental health, so I am thrilled to see Sandro Galea’s Well take the revolutionary and compelling stance that these principles can have a more beneficial effect upon public health than any scientific discovery’. Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady.
Sandro Galea is Dean and Robert A Knox Professor at the Boston University School of Public Health. He has been named an ‘epidemiology innovator’ by Time and one of the ‘World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds’ by Thomson Reuters. A native of Malta, he has served as a field physician for Doctors Without Borders and held academic positions at Columbia University of Michigan, and the New York Academy of Medicine.
Ultra-Processed People
Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food….. And Why Can’t We Stop?
Chris van Tulleken
‘If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one. Bee Wilson
‘Everyone needs to know this stuff’. Tim Spector
Chris Van Tulleken is an infectious diseases doctor at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in London. He trained at Oxford and has a PhD in molecular virology from University College London, where he is an Associate Professor. His research focuses on how corporatioons affect human health, especially in the context of child nutrition, and he works with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation. As one of the BBC’s leading broadcasters for children and adults, his work has won two BAFTAs.
A Straight Talking Introduction To The Power Threat Meaning Framework.
An alternative to psychiatric diagnosis
Mary Boyle and Lucy Johnstone
‘This book sets out a new framework that achieves the rare combination of being both revolutionary and eminently sensible….essential reading for anyone who takes a serious interest in the field’. Richard Wilkinson, Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology, University of Nottingham.
Lucy Johnstone is a consultant clinical psychologist and independent trainer and former director of the Bristol Clinical Psychology Doctorate.
Mary Boyle has worked in clinical psychology education and training and in clinical posts in adult mental health and women’s health. She is the author of ‘Schizophrenia: A scientific delusion’ (2002) and many articles and chapters on feminist approaches to women’s health. She is Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of East London
Cracked: Why psychiatry is doing more harm than good.
James Davies
‘I have written this book to seduce a new generation away from the escalating craze for psychiatric drugs and diagnoses. I reveal through governmental, academic, and interview sources that the unhappy truth about psychiatry can be explained by one startling fact: in recent decades, many areas of psychiatry have become so lured by power and money that they are in danger of putting the pursuit of pharmaceutical riches and medical status above their patients’ wellbeing’ JD
Sedated: How modern capitalism created our mental health crisis.
James Davies
‘A wonderful, moving and truly life-changing book. Sedated is an urgent intervention for post-pandemic society, written with expertise and clarity. Warning: it will cause irritation to powerful interests who fear us all becoming better informed about the root causes of so much human suffering’. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, former Director of Liberty.
James Davies is a Reader in medical anthropology and psychology, teaching in the schools of Life & Health Sciences and Psychology. He obtained his doctorate in social and medical anthropology from the University of Oxford and is also a qualified psychotherapist. He has practiced as a psychotherapist in various settings including the NHS. He is co-founder of the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry, which is now secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Prescribed Drug Dependence (https://prescribeddrug.org/ ).
Lost Connections: Why You’re Depressed and How to Find Hope
Johann Hari
‘An exquisitely lucid treatise on why no person is, has been or ever should be an island…..From slightly seedy to suicidal – however you are feeling – read this book and it will honestly help you to understand which roads we must walk if we want to see true, lasting change’. Emma Thompson
Stolen Focus. Why You Can’t Pay Attention
Johann Hari
‘A beautifully researched and argued exploration of the breakdown of humankind’s ability to pay attention…. I can’t remember reading a book which made me shout out ‘Yes! That’s it!’ quite so many times’. Stephen Fry
Johann Hari studied Social and Political Science at King’s College, Cambridge, and graduated with a Double First. His TED talks ‘Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong’ and ‘This could be why you are depressed, or anxious’ have been viewed more than 93 million times. He has written three New York Times bestselling books, with his first book – ‘Chasing The Scream: The First and Last Days of the War on Drugs’ being adapted into the Oscar nominated film ‘The United States vs Billie Holiday’, which has also been adapted into a documentary.
The Myth Of Normal. Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture
Gabor Maté
‘Gabor Maté takes us on an epic journey of discovery about how our emotional wellbeing and social connectivity are intimately intertwined with health, disease and addictions.This revieting and beautifully written tale has profound implications for all of our lives, including the practice of medicine and mental health’. Bessel van der Kolk, author of ‘The Body Keeps The Score’.
Gabor Maté spent 20 years in family practice and palliative care. He worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. Gabor is an internationally renowned speaker, highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics, including addiction, stress, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. For his ground breaking medical work and writing he has been awarded the Order of Canada, his country’s highest civilian distinction and the Civic Merit Award from his hometown, Vancouver.
The Inside Out Revolution
Michael Neill
In this ground-breaking book, bestselling author Michael Neill shares an extraordinary new understanding of how life works that turns traditional psychology on its head. This revolutionary approach is built around three simple principles that explain where our feelings come from and how our experience of life can transform for the better in a matter of moments. Understanding these principles allows you to tap into the deeper intelligence behind life, access your natural wisdom and guidance, and unleash your limitless creative power. You’ll be able to live with less stress, greater ease, and a sense of connection to the larger unfolding of life.
The Space Within: Finding your way back home.
Michael Neill
‘The Space Within is an invitation to live an impossibly wonderful life. It will help you to move beyond your theories and beliefs about how much happiness is possible and how much is “too good to be true.” It will help you to return to love, and to come home to your own innate wisdom.’ Robert Holden PhD, bestselling author of ‘Shift Happens!’ and ‘Life Loves You’ (with Louise Hay).
Michael Neill is an internationally renowned transformative coach and the bestselling author of four books. He has spent the past 25 years as a coach, mentor and creative spark plug to celebrities, CEOs, royalty and people who want to get more out of themselves and their lives. He is the also the founder of Supercoach Academy, an international coach training program with students and graduates from 22 countries. Michael’s books have been translated into 16 languages, and his public talks, retreats and seminars have touched and transformed lives at the United Nations and on six continents around the world.
Clarity: Clear Mind, Better Performance, Bigger Results.
Jamie Smart
‘Take your time reading this profound book. Jamie Smart is about to blow apart every circumstantial excuse you ever came up with. He’s about to put the steering wheel back in your hands.’ Garret Kramer, Founder of Inner Sports and Author of ‘Stillpower’.
Jamie Smart is an internationally renowned writer, speaker, coach and consultant. He shows individuals and organizations the unexpected keys to clarity; the ultimate leverage point for creating more time, better decisions and meaningful results.
Sexy But Psycho
Dr Jessica Taylor
‘Women have long been pathologized, medicalised, locked up and medicated for not conforming to social stereotypes. In Sexy but Psycho, Dr Jessica Taylor draws on case studies, interviews with women and mental health professionals, new data and research to analyse the way society labels women as sexy but psycho’.
Indicative Trauma Impact Manual
A non-diagnostic, trauma- informed guide to emotion, thought and behaviour.
Dr Jessica Taylor
‘This must-have manual presents the first trauma-informed, non-diagnostic alternative to other manuals of mental health issues and psychiatric disorders. Rather than lists of disorders and medicalised symptoms, this extensive manual provides information about hundreds of trauma responses, emotions, thoughts, behaviours and experiences that have previously been categorised as illnesses and disorders. The manual describes, explains, and explores everything from nightmares to self-harming in an A-Z of emotions, thoughts and behaviours that are common in traumatised and distressed people. This edition also includes diagrams, theories and peer reviewed evidence throughout’.
Dr Jessica Taylor is a working-class feminist author, charted psychologist, speaker and researcher with a PhD from University of Birmingham in Forensic Psychology. In 2019 she was awarded a Fellowship of Royal Society of Arts for her contribution to feminism and psychology. She is the founder and director of VictimFocus, VictimFocus Resources, VictimFocus Academy and The VictimFocus Blog. She is the author of the bestselling ‘Why Women Are Blamed for Everything’.
Anatomy Of An Epidemic
Robert Whitaker
‘This is the most alarming book I’ve read in years. The approach is neither polemic nor ideologically slanted. Relying on medical evidence and historical documentation, Whitaker builds his case like a prosecuting attorney’. Carl Elliott, MD; Professor, Center of Bioethics, University of Minnesota and author of ‘Better Than Well’.
Mad In America
Robert Whitaker
‘…Whitaker has written a fascinating and provocative book – a history of the way American’s understand schizophrenia and attempt to treat it, each twist and turn of which is marked by the hubris that at last we have the answer. And as he makes clear, we still do not, nor are we anywhere near as humane in caring for the schizophrenics in our midst as we think we are’. Marcia Angell, MD. Harvard Medical School, former Editor in Chief New England Journal of Medicine.
Robert Whitaker is an American journalist and author who has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. In 1998, he co-wrote a series on psychiatric research for the Boston Globe that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His first book, Mad in America, was named by Discover magazine as one of the best science books of 2002. Anatomy of an Epidemic won the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors book award for best investigative journalism. He is the publisher of madinamerica.com.
Outlive
Peter Attia & Bill Gifford
‘One of the most important books you’ll ever read.’ – Steven D. Levitt, New York Times bestselling author of Freakonomics. This isn’t ‘biohacking,’ it’s science: a well-founded strategic approach to extending lifespan while improving our physical, cognitive and emotional health, making each decade better than the one before. With Outlive‘s practical advice and roadmap, you can plot a different path for your life, one that lets you outlive your genes to make each decade better than the one before
Dr Peter Attia, the world’s top longevity expert who is featured on Chris Hemsworth’s National Geographic documentary LIMITLESS, believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalised, proactive strategy for longevity.