Inspiring Psychology Books
Psychology books I have read and found to be insightful and useful are reviewed briefly below. Psychology reading can be hard to fit in. As a psychologist, reading is part of my life, but I still find it hard to fit in. So I have tried to provide categories and a brief outline of what I found to be useful in the book. None of us want to waste our time reading books that aren’t going to leave us with a take away message that can hopefully provide important insights to improve our life
PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS - PARENTING
Good Enough Parenting
John Philip Louis and Karen McDonald Louis
This book is based on schema therapy and how to parent in a way to avoid your child developing strongly maladaptive schemas.
The core needs of children are outlined and there is information on how to meet these core needs and avoid exasperation interactions.
The Whole-Brain Child
Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson.
One of the pioneering psychology books on parenting, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children.
The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids throw tantrums, fight, or sulk in silence.
By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth.
Complete with age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.
The Tech Diet for your Child and Teen
Brad Marshall
We all face the issue of how to manage technology in our children’s lives. I found this book had some good tips.
The author suggests that WiFi use shouldn’t be a given, but more a reward to be measured. The book made me investigate and become familiar with parental controls for WiFi and think about how to limit WiFi use in the house.
I love the idea of being able to set a timer for how long WiFi can be used by each user in a day.
PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS - RELATIONSHIPS
Attached
Dr Amir Levine & Rachel S.F. Heller
One of the key psychology books if you are struggling in your relationships. There are some great quizzes in this book to help you identify your relationship style, as well as that of your partner or someone you are dating.
This helps in identifying partners who might be more suited to you.
The book also offers suggestions on improving your relationships skills including effective communication and how to handle conflict in a relationship.
PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS - ADHD
I highly recommend this book as a good place to start reading about ADHD. Written by two Psychiatrists who both have ADHD. The book describes some of the lesser-known traits of people with ADHD and provides some useful strategies for living with ADHD.
Rumination, negative patterns of thinking and rejection sensitivity are all common with ADHD, distraction can be a great tool when you notice yourself going into rumination, although meditation while harder can also be useful. We all know that exercise is great for increasing dopamine and thus can be a great benefit for people with ADHD, but less well known is some research indicating weaknesses in the cerebellum and that balance exercise may be particularly beneficial to people with ADHD.
PSYCHOLOGY BOOKS - MINDFULNESS
This book has some great tips for how to bring more mindfulness into your everyday life.
I love the idea of observing another person’s breathing when you’re talking to them.
Not only does this help keep your attention on the conversation but it also increases your ability to be with the person rather than being caught up in your head and planning your next activity.