Psychiatry and Psychology books and resources

A Guide to Psychological Debriefing

Managing Emotional Decompression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

David Kinchin

'David Kinchin pays special attention to setting up optimal conditions to facilitate emotional decompression. He takes into account that trauma reactions, primarily concerned with survival, are whole-system reactions, affecting both the body and mind. He also reminds us that the initial impact of the trauma is on physical structures in the brain, disrupting memory-processing capacity, which is designed to create space and time to heal … We should all pay a great deal of attention to what he says.'
Professor Gordon Turnbull, Consultant Psychiatrist, University of Chester, Capio Nightingale Hospital, London and Ridgeway Hospital, Swindon, UK

Anger Management Games for Children

Deborah M. Plummer
Illustrated by Jane Serrurier

Praise for the author:
'Deborah Plummer uses imagination and empowerment to move children and adults from discouragement to success.'
- The Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review

Art Therapy and Anger

Edited by Marian Liebmann

Professionals working in a range of clinical settings are regularly called upon to work with angry clients, and they may find their skills and resources for working with this powerful emotion limited. Art Therapy and Anger demonstrates how the non-verbal medium of art therapy provides an ideal outlet for the expression of thoughts and feelings that are too complex and painful to put into words, presenting a new and practical approach to dealing with this area of need.

Big Steps for Little People

Parenting Your Adopted Child

Celia Foster

'…all those involved in the adoption of children, old hands and new, will be stimulated and encouraged by this infectious read.'
- from the Foreword by David Howe, Dean of the School of Social Work and Psychosocial Sciences, University of East Anglia

Breaking Free from OCD

A CBT Guide for Young People and Their Families

Jo Derisley, Isobel Heyman, Sarah Robinson and Cynthia Turner
Illustrated by Lisa Jo Robinson

'In this marvelous book the authors provide the key information that teens and families need about OCD and its treatment. Highly recommended not only for patients but also for practitioners looking for material to use in their practices.'
- John S. March, MD, MPH, Professor and Chief, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Program for Child Affective & Anxiety Disorders, Duke University, Durham, NC

The Bullies

Understanding Bullies and Bullying

Dennis Lines

Is there a particular type of person who becomes a bully? Why do bullies behave like they do? How can we interpret and understand bullying within relationships?
The Bullies attempts to get inside the minds of the bully and victim - the child, the adolescent and the adult - across a wide range of 'closed' situations including the home, school and workplace, prisons and the armed services. By listening to the voices of bullies and victims from all kinds of backgrounds without making judgements, counsellor Dennis Lines provides unique insights into bullying and what makes such domineering and aggressive behaviour so complex. He discusses controversial issues such as genetic predisposition towards abusive behaviour and draws on his counselling knowledge to provide insights on how to understand and treat bullies to change their behaviour.

Children and Spirituality

Searching for Meaning and Connectedness

Brendan Hyde

Brendan Hyde identifies four characteristics of children's spirituality: the felt sense, integrating awareness, weaving the threads of meaning, and spiritual questing . These characteristics can be observed in children if those who work with them know what to look for and are alert to the time, place and space in which children find themselves.

Children with Mental Disorder and the Law

A Guide to Law and Practice

Anthony Harbour

Children and young people with complex mental health needs are increasingly being cared for within specialist mental health care settings, either in the community or in in-patient facilities. With rapid social developments, it can be difficult for carers and practitioners to keep track of the law in this area.

The Colors of Grief

Understanding a Child's Journey through Loss from Birth to Adulthood

Janis A. Di Ciacco PhD

Following a life shattering experience, a child enters upon a confusing emotional journey that can be likened to a prism of many colors of dark feelings like sadness and fear, but also warm feelings of love and courage. The way they deal with these feelings has a lasting impact on their life as they grow.

Cool Connections with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Encouraging Self-esteem, Resilience and Well-being in Children and Young People Using CBT Approaches

Laurie Seiler

Cool Connections is a fun, engaging workbook that provides a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approach to positively modifying the everyday thoughts and behaviours of children and young people aged 9 to 14.

Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse

Christiane Sanderson

Counselling Survivors of Domestic Abuse explains how counsellors can facilitate recovery from domestic abuse within a secure, supportive therapeutic relationship.
There has been growing awareness in recent years of the impact and consequences of domestic abuse, especially the relationship between domestic abuse and mental health. To appreciate the nature of trauma caused by domestic abuse, professionals need to understand its complex nature and the psychobiological impact of repeated exposure to control and terror. This book examines the therapeutic techniques and specific challenges, such as secondary traumatic stress, faced by professionals when working with survivors of domestic abuse. The author stresses the importance of identifying domestic abuse so that it can be addressed in the therapeutic process to aid recovery, and explores issues such as safety and protection, the long-term effects of abuse and the importance of grieving to the restoration of hope.

Dasha's Journal

A Cat Reflects on Life, Catness and Autism

T.O. Daria

'A heartwarming book providing insights into how autistic persons perceive and interact with the world as only a cat can. As Dasha "meows" about her human members of the family we learn how autism is a different, rather than a disordered way of being. This book is a delightful and informative read.'
- Stephen M. Shore, EdD, Executive Director of Autism Spectrum Disorder Consulting, Board of Directors for the Autism Society of America and the Asperger's Association of New England

Dyslogic Syndrome

Why Millions of Kids are ‘Hyper', Attention-Disordered, Learning Disabled, Depressed, Aggressive, Defiant, or Violent – and What We Can Do About It

Bernard Rimland

"From the brilliantly inquisitive mind of one of the world's foremost research psychologists, Dr. Bernard Rimland, comes this straightforward, meticulously researched explanation of and lucid plan of action for dyslogic disorders. A must read for parents, educators, physicians, politicians and legal practitioners."

Feeling Like Crap

Young People and the Meaning of Self-Esteem

Nick Luxmoore

We use the word all the time, but what exactly is self-esteem, and how do young people develop it? Feeling Like Crap explores how a young person's self is constructed, and what might really help that self to feel more valued and confident. Through accounts of his individual and group work with young people, Nick Luxmoore demonstrates how listening to, engaging with and being respectful of young people can provide the support they need to help them repair their sense of self and offer them new possibilities and directions in life.

Great Answers to Difficult Questions about Adoption

What Children Need to Know

Fanny Cohen Herlem

Why was I abandoned?
Why did my parents adopt me?
What if I want to meet my biological parents?
Children who find out they are adopted have many questions that are difficult for a parent to answer. This book explores children's thoughts and feelings and provides parents with guidance on how to respond to difficult questions.

Great Answers to Difficult Questions about Divorce

What Children Need to Know

Fanny Cohen Herlem

Is it my fault that my parents are getting divorced?
Do I have to choose between my mum and my dad?
Is it normal to feel angry with my parents?
When faced with their parents' divorce, children have many concerns and questions that are difficult for a parent to answer. This book explores children's thoughts and feelings and provides parents with guidance on how to respond to difficult questions.

Grief in Children

A Handbook for Adults
2nd edition

Atle Dyregrov

Praise for the first edition:
'This is a very user-friendly book. It is presented in a way which enables the reader to browse or go direct to a certain section, but at the same time is engaging enough to sustain one's interest to read the whole book.'

Grief in Young Children

A Handbook for Adults

Atle Dyregrov

'This insightful text will be of great help to all who care for pre-school children - parents, kindergarten teachers, ministers of religion, police, welfare workers - the list is endless. If they learn the values reflected in this small book, then bereaved children everywhere will grow up with far fewer hang-ups about the only certainty in life.'
- from the foreword by Professor William Yule

Help your Child or Teen Get Back On Track

What Parents and Professionals Can Do for Childhood Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Kenneth H. Talan, M.D.

Ken Book Award Winner 2008
Gold Medal Winner in the 2008 IPPY awards
Help Your Child or Teen get Back on Track offers specific self-help interventions and a wide-ranging, practical discussion of the types of professional help available for a child or adolescent with emotional and behavioral problems.

Inside Anorexia

The Experiences of Girls and their Families

Christine Halse, Anne Honey and Desiree Boughtwood

Inside Anorexia describes the different experiences and challenges faced by teenage girls with anorexia and their families. It demonstrates that the starting point for understanding anorexia must be the unique stories of individuals and their families.

Kids Need...

Parenting Cards for Families and the People who Work With Them

Mark Hamer

What is the difference between children's 'needs' and 'wants'? How should parents respond to the demands of their children? Do all children need the same things?
Kids Need… cards present a creative approach to exploring children's needs and parents' knowledge. Each card features a child's 'need', for example 'a room of their own', 'pocket money', 'to make mistakes' or 'to be criticized', and participants are invited to place cards under one of the three header cards: 'Kids Need', 'Kids Sometimes Need' and 'Kids Don't Need'. The cards are designed to be flexible and adaptable, and can be used to encourage general discussions, as therapeutic tool, or as an aid to the assessment of parenting skills.

Listening to Children

A Practitioner's Guide

Alison McLeod

'Listening to children' is one of those feel-good phrases that always features in childcare literature as if it were self-evidently a good thing. Often, however, there is a lack of critical attention to what it really means: How does one listen? How can one evidence that listening has taken place?

Living Sensationally

Understanding Your Senses

Winnie Dunn

How do you feel when you bite into a pear… wear a feather boa… stand in a noisy auditorium… or look for a friend in a crowd?
It's likely that one of these situations would be pleasant for you, and perhaps one would be unpleasant. Some people will adore the grainy texture of a pear, while others will shudder at the idea of this texture in their mouths. Touching a feather boa will be fun and luxurious to some, and others will bristle at the idea of all those feathers brushing on the skin. Noisy, busy environments will energize some people, and will overwhelm others.

Love, Sex and Long-Term Relationships

What People with Asperger Syndrome Really Really Want

Sarah Hendrickx

What are the motivations and desires behind relationship choices and sexual behaviour? Are they very different for those with Asperger Syndrome (AS) than for anyone else? Does having extreme sensitivity to physical touch or an above average need for solitude change one's expectation of relationships or sexual experience?

Mental Health Interventions and Services for Vulnerable Children and Young People

Edited by Panos Vostanis

This book provides a model which offers guidance on effective and appropriate therapeutic interventions and services for vulnerable children and young people (commonly children who have experienced trauma, abuse, domestic violence or neglect).

Music Therapy with Children and their Families

Edited by Amelia Oldfield and Claire Flower

In the past, music therapy work with children typically took place in special schools without the family being present. More recently, music therapy has become a widespread practice, and this book reflects the variety of settings within which music therapists are now working with children together with their families.

Narrative Approaches in Play with Children

Ann Cattanach

Narrative play is a way of communicating with children using imaginative stories and narratives to share and make sense of life events. This book describes using narrative play therapeutically with children who have lived in multiple families, children who have problems with social understanding and children who have learning difficulties.

Nurturing Attachments

Supporting Children who are Fostered or Adopted

Kim S. Golding

Nurturing Attachments combines the experience and wisdom of parents and carers with that of professionals to provide support and practical guidance for foster and adoptive parents looking after children with insecure attachment relationships.

Play Therapy with Abused Children

2nd edition

Ann Cattanach

Praise for the first edition:
'Ann Cattanach writes with enormous empathy and warmth, and with a refreshing lack of sentimentality … [This] is an unpretentious and optimistic book, and a very positive addition to recent publications.'

Promoting Social Interaction for Individuals with Communicative Impairments

Making Contact

Edited by M. Suzanne Zeedyk

All humans have an innate need and ability to communicate with others, and this book presents successful approaches to nurturing communicative abilities in people who have some type of communication impairment.

Psychological Processes in Deaf Children with Complex Needs

An Evidence-Based Practical Guide

Lindsey Edwards and Susan Crocker

'This volume offers a broad perspective on psychological processes in children with complex needs. Armed with this valuable tool, professionals, parents, and educators will be much better prepared to offer deaf and hard of hearing children the support and opportunities they deserve.'
- from the Foreword by Marc Marschark

R U Listenin'?

Helping Defiant Men to Recognize their True Potential

Terry Bianchini

R U Listenin'? challenges men to reflect on their personal and emotional behaviour and uses prison life as an analogy to help them rethink their perspectives.
Aimed at professionals working with men who are challenging the boundaries of society or any man who feels frustrated by his life, the book offers detailed illustrative case studies, structured exercises and topics for discussion, which can be used by the individual or in a group context. These features are identified in the text by pictorial icons, making the book easy to navigate. The exercises are imaginative and challenging, encouraging men to develop social and communication skills and an understanding of how the structures of society work. The author also suggests exercises and techniques for dealing with challenging groups, which are ideal for use by group facilitators.

Relating to Clients

The Therapeutic Relationship for Complementary Therapists

Su Fox

The relationship between practitioner and client in professional therapeutic contexts is a crucial factor in the healing process. This practical guide draws on the vast body of information on that relationship from psychotherapy and presents it in a distilled and relevant format for the complementary therapist.

Sexual Offending and Mental Health

Multidisciplinary Management in the Community

Edited by Julia Houston and Sarah Galloway

Sexual Offending and Mental Health draws together theoretical, clinical and mental health issues for the range of professionals working in the community and in-patient settings with sex offenders and those who have behaved in sexually inappropriate ways.

Speaking about the Unspeakable

Non-Verbal Methods and Experiences in Therapy with Children

Edited by Dennis McCarthy

'The imaginative therapies described in this book offer a welcome counter-balance to medical trends dominating the current practice of children's therapy. Inspired practitioners experienced in listening to buried, altered or muted voices of traumatized children invite us into their consulting rooms to witness the unique ways the soul speaks in images, movement and sound.'
- Nor Hall, Ph.D. psychotherapist, theater artist and author of The Moon & the Virgin and Those Women

'This book is an offering to all our senses enabling us to delve into the powerful sphere of the implicit, making tangible aspects of self that have been difficult to reach in more traditional psychotherapeutic practices. I highly recommend this book for all readers, as a therapeutic tool, a guide to understanding your child's play, or to stimulate your own self-expression. Accept the offering and receive a gift that will inspire your thinking as well as your creative sense.'
- Suzi Tortora, Ed.D. registered dance therapist and the author of The Dancing Dialogue: Using the Communicative Power of Movement with Young Children .

The Spiritual Dimension of Childhood

Kate Adams, Brendan Hyde and Richard Woolley

This book takes an in-depth look at spirituality and its continual expression in children, to support those working with children in developing their own perceptions and interaction with them.
The authors outline exactly what is understood by contemporary spirituality, and discuss the importance of context in a consideration of spirituality. They explore key issues in understanding children's spirituality under three broad headings: children's voices - how they are often lost in the context of spirituality and what the implications of that loss are; children's worlds - how children draw on the spiritual as a means of addressing notions of meaning and value in life; and children's lives - how context shapes the spiritual dimension.

Trauma, Drug Misuse and Transforming Identities

A Life Story Approach

Kim Etherington

Looking at the life stories of ex-drug misusers in their own words, this book offers insights into the nature of addiction and how it can be tackled. It examines the links between early childhood experiences and drug misuse and also shows pathways to recovery and transformation.

Understanding Applied Behavior Analysis

An Introduction to ABA for Parents, Teachers, and other Professionals

Albert J. Kearney

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is based on the premise that behavior can be influenced by changes in environment and by the reinforcing consequences of that behavior. This introductory guide to ABA demystifies the basic terminology, the underlying principles, and commonly-used procedures of ABA using accessible, everyday language.

Understanding Looked After Children

An Introduction to Psychology for Foster Care

Jeune Guishard-Pine, Suzanne McCall and Lloyd Hamilton

Understanding Looked After Children is an accessible guide to understanding the mental health needs of children in foster care and the role of foster carers and support networks in helping these children.

Understanding School Refusal

A Handbook for Professionals in Education, Health and Social Care

M. S. Thambirajah, Karen J. Grandison and Louise De-Hayes

School absenteeism is a huge problem in education and this book focuses in particular on children who experience 'school phobia' or 'school refusal' as opposed to those who choose to truant.
School refusal is a crippling condition in which children experience extreme anxiety or panic attacks when faced with everyday school life and this handbook aims to explore and raise awareness of the problem of school refusal in children and young people, and provide plans and strategies for education, health and social care professionals for identifying and addressing this problem.

Who's Who of the Brain

A Guide to Its Inhabitants, Where They Live and What They do

Kenneth Nunn, Tanya Hanstock and Bryan Lask
Illustrated by Linn Iril Hjelseth

Meet the inhabitants of the brain in this reader-friendly introduction to what it is and how it works.
Residents include Frederick Foresight (the frontal cortex), Mayor of Cephalton-upon-Ridge, who is the 'big picture' person responsible for planning and decision-making; Sage Seahorse (the hippocampus), who has an astonishing memory for times, names and places; Annie Almond (the amygdala), the community's alarm system who is always on the alert; and many other fellow citizens. Each character is introduced and their appearance, role and key functions in the brain explained. The authors also show what happens when things go wrong in the brain, and illustrate the work using examples of classic clinical cases.

Young Children's Rights

Exploring Beliefs, Principles and Practice
2nd edition

Priscilla Alderson

Praise for the first edition:
'There is much to be commended in Alderson's book, … It is written with clarity and passion and adopts a child-centred perspective, and most of Alderson's points are well backed up with appropriate, illustrative, research and practice examples. …'

Alphabet Kids - From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome

A Guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals

Robbie Woliver

From ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to ZS (Zellweger Syndrome)-there seems to be an alphabet disorder for almost every behavior, from those caused by serious, rare genetic diseases to more common learning disabilities that hinder children's academic and social progress.

Children, Families and Violence

Challenges for Children's Rights

Katherine Covell and R. Brian Howe

This book examines the risk factors surrounding children at risk of experiencing and perpetrating violence, and looks at the positive role that children's rights can play in their protection.
The authors propose that violence in childhood is not spontaneous: that children are raised to...

Frameworks for Practice in Educational Psychology

A Textbook for Trainees and Practitioners

Edited by Barbara Kelly, Lisa Woolfson and James Boyle

This textbook assesses existing and emerging practice frameworks in educational psychology and their relation to theory.
Covering current frameworks, such as the Monsen et al . Problem-Solving Framework, the Integrated Problem Solving Framework for Practitioners and the...

A Multidisciplinary Handbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health for Front-line Professionals

2nd edition

Nisha Dogra, Andrew Parkin, Fiona Gale and Clay Frake

Praise for the first edition:
`Presenting the fundamentals of child psychiatry in an enjoyable and easily read format, this book is an introduction to child mental health. It begins by looking at child development and attachment theory, moves on to the nature and prevalence of child mental...

Personality Disorder

The Definitive Reader

Edited by Gwen Adshead and Caroline Jacob

A Personality Disorder Reader offers a comprehensive and accessible collection of papers that will be practically useful to practitioners working in secure and non-secure settings with patients who have personality disorders.

Recovery from Depression Using the Narrative Approach

A Guide for Doctors, Complementary Therapists and Mental Health Professionals

Damien Ridge

Recovery from Depression Using the Narrative Approach explores patients' stories of depression, recovery and useful treatments. Drawing on new and original research, Damien Ridge examines the therapeutic value of engaging with a patient's personal story, or 'narrative' to capture the...

Social Skills Games for Children

Deborah M. Plummer
Illustrated by Jane Serrurier

Praise for the author:
'Deborah Plummer uses imagination and empowerment to move children and adults from discouragement to success.'
- The Canadian Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Review

Understanding 10-11-Year-Olds

Rebecca Bergese

Understanding 10-11-Year-Olds introduces the challenges that face children as they start to make their transition from childhood into adolescence.
Children at this age begin to express independence and confidence in their capability that may extend beyond their direct experience. Adults...

Understanding 8-9-Year-Olds

Biddy Youell

Understanding 8-9-Year-Olds describes how children grow and change as they move further away from reliance on home and family, out into the world of school and community.
Children of this age develop preferences as well as opinions based on their experience of new relationships and...

What You Need to Know About Cannabis

Understanding the Facts

David Emmett and Graeme Nice

Does cannabis really trigger schizophrenia? Is it true that cannabis is a non-addictive drug? What's the difference between hash and skunk?
According to the UN's estimate, 160 million people around the world use cannabis; that's roughly 2.5 per cent of the world population. Despite these...

Working with Ethnicity, Race and Culture in Mental Health

A Handbook for Practitioners

Hári Sewell

This book enables front line practitioners to understand why it is important to consider the specific needs of people from black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds in mental health settings.
It offers practical guidance on how practitioners can take positive steps to improve the quality...