This is the book that I most often recommend to people who come to see me. It will teach you the basics of cognitive therapy such as how to fill out a thought record, problem solve and do experiments. There are also excellent chapters on anxiety, depression and anger, guilt and shame that I suggest that family members read to better understand what their loved one is experiencing. It's a great book and very helpful.

616. 89142 GRE- The CPL has 12 copies.

This is the basic handbook for Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for depression. It's well researched and demonstrated to reduce relapse from depression in patients who have taken the group with the authors. I use this book when I run MBCT groups as well as recommending it to people who come to see me for individual therapy (whether they have depression or not). It also includes a mediation cd narrated by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It's a great way to introduce yourself to the basics of meditation.

616. 8527 MIN - the CPL has 18 copies.

In this excellent and simply written book written by Buddhist Monk Bhante Gunaratana, you will learn the basics of mindfulness meditation in a direct and accessible manner. It is my favorite book on mindfulness and also has the benefit of being a very quick and entertaining read (much less wordy than my other recommendation Mindful Way Through Depression and I think much better in some ways). This book is also available for free as an e-book from urbandharma.com if you want to start reading it right now.

294. 3443 GUN 2002 - The CPL has 3 copies.

This is a great book on using mindfulness and acceptance when coping with chronic pain. Most of the people who I've recommended it to say they never will never think about their pain the same way again. This title is not available at the CPL at this time.

This book covers all the basics of psychological pain management. Use this together with Living Beyond Your Pain, also mentioned in this list.

616. 0472 CAU 2002 - The CPL has 5 copies.

Great anxiety workbook that teaches you the fundamentals of mindfulness for anxiety. Also includes a meditation cd for home practice. No copies are available at the CPL.

This is the book I use with people who come to see me for help with obsessive compulsive disorder. It covers just about everything that you need to know about the exercises used to treat these symptoms and is a great resource.

616. 85227 FOA 2001 - The CPL has 1 copy.

Sue Johnson is the co-developer of Emotionally-Focused Therapy for Couples and has written this excellent self-help book for couples in distress (she is also the therapist who taught me how to do marriage therapy when I was a student at the University of Ottawa). EFT has been demonstrated in numerous studies to be the treatment of choice for couples who can't find a way out of their arguments or unhappiness.

158. 24 JOH - The CPL has 6 mp3 audiobooks, 5 cd audiobooks and 6 books.

This is a terrific book by John Gottman about how to keep your marriage strong after you have children. There's no doubt about it - raising kids is stressful and most couples experience a huge drop in marital satisfaction after they start a family. This book helps you to prepare for the inevitable changes and kid-proof your marriage (so to speak!).

646. 78 GOT - The CPL has 15 copies.

This book talks about the feelings experienced after an affair and how to recover (for both the person who was cheated on as well as the person who went outside the relationship).

306. 736 SPR - The CPL has 3 copies.

This is my favorite book for parents of an anxious child. Insightful and practical - it will give you the tools you need to help your child move past fear.

618. 928522 CHA - The CPL has 6 copies.

A great book on OCD in childhood and what you can do to help. A must read if your child struggles with these symptoms.

168. 9285227 CHA - The CPL has 2 copies.

I love this book by neuroscientist Jeffrey Schwartz. It explains why you do what you do when you have OCD and includes and simple but effective approach to treating your symptoms with cognitive therapy.

616. 85227 SCH - The CPL  has 2 audio copies and 1 hard copy.

If you hate your job, you are not crazy. Read the book or check out her blog!

This title is on order from the CPL when I checked on June 21, 2009.

Fantastic book/journal on healing from trauma through writing. The same exercises are included in this book that were used in James Pennebaker's groundbreaking research on the healing power of writing. The CPL does not have any copies (but you would need to write in it anyway!).

I'll admit it - I like this book and his earlier book The Power of Now. It's not for everyone, but if you are meditating regularly it is a very helpful resource about how to let go of your ego and be present in every moment of your day.

204. 4 TOL - The CPL has 63 hard copies, 4 large print editions, and 36 book cds (audio books).

This book is life changing. Once you realize that your beliefs about what is possible (or more exactly what you are capable of) are probably not true there is no limit to what you can do or dream. Simply believing that something is a talent (rather than a skill that you can learn with practice) determines how successful you will be in mastering a particular skill. I always ask people who attend my contmeplative art workshops why if they would never expect to sit down at a piano and be able to play like a master their first time, why they would then expect to be able to draw a masterpiece the first time they take an art class? The book provides a succinct and readable summary of the research in this area and will completely shift your perspective about what you can accomplish.

This is my new favourite book! Germer addresses the primary problem that brings most of us to therapy - that we aren't coping well enough, doing well enough or working hard enough. Self-compassion is key to making positive changes in your life because it is hard enough trying to move in a healthy direction and almost impossible when you are beating yourself up. Germer also provides one of the best introductions to mindfulness meditation that I've read in a long time.

This should be required reading in school! A wonderful book to teach you how to communicate clearly and compassionately with everyone you meet.