Want to help your son grow-up to be a well-adjusted, successful husband and father? This book is a good source for parents in balancing the typical emphasis with boys on achievement, assertiveness, and competition.
The Heart Of A Father
Without fail, every father who reads this book learns something about his own childhood, and ultimately how he can become a better father to his children.
Little People
Dr. Christophersen has a solution for just about every problem behavior starting with toddlers through school-aged children. His recommendations are concise and are presented step-by-step instructions.
Raising An Emotionally Intelligent Child
Current research suggest that a person’s emotional intelligence is more important than their academic intelligence in predicting success in life. Too often parents focus on their children’s academic skill set with very little attention given to help them understand and manage their emotions. This is one of the best books I have found that addresses the importance of coaching children to develop healthy ways to manage emotions.
Raising Self-Reliant Children
Many times parents make the mistake of doing too much for their children. This book helps parents understand the importance of allowing children to become competent, and give instructions on how to do it!
The Disease To Please
Harriet Braiker’s book an easy read. It isn’t weighted with theory or too many examples. The reader can quickly learn what kind of “pleaser” they are, and the book ends with a twenty-one day plan to turn around a pattern of pleasing that would otherwise render one hopelessly depressed, angry and/or exhausted…which is how many people are when they first come for counseling. This is another standard homework assignment for clients who want to shorten their time in the therapy office.
Too Good For Her Own Good
This book is an “oldie but a goodie.” This book highlights the plight that many women find themselves in, trying to be responsible and “good” to the point of feeling bad all of the time. There are many societal and familial patterns that subtly lead women to lose sight of their own self as they are encouraged to be nice, smooth things over and help out.
The Dance Of Anger
So often clients are depressed or inwardly angry because of a lack assertiveness, which stems from a fear that someone might become angry with them. Treatment includes assertiveness skills training, and helping the client overturn their fear of anger. Harriet Lerner’s book is a wonderful resource.
Confidence Beyond Measure
Dr. Sullivan’s book provides a fascinating body of evidence for the origins of self-confidence in each of us. This is followed by important information about blocks to self-confidence and practical suggestions to have more self-confidence. I have used visualization as a treatment strategy for years, and Dr. Sullivan’s book has effective visualization exercises.
Keeping The Love You Find
Dr. Hendrix explains how our childhood (whether typical or tragic) forms unconscious strengths and weaknesses within us that drive how we respond to the opposite sex and ultimately “partner” with someone. The book provides a brief but powerful overview of developmental tasks through childhood and adolescence, launching the reader on a path of self-discovery. I can confidently state that every client who has undertaken this “assignment” has benefited by learning more about the unconscious patterns that have influenced their lives.
Love Busters
Some times counselors do a postmortem of a marriage with a newly divorced client, trying to discover where the trouble began. It is uncanny how many of the fault lines (pun intended) were drawn early in the relationship, and many of these interaction patterns are identified in Harley’s book. This book is aptly titled! It is on my recommended reading list for couples; married or contemplating marriage.
Sacred Marriage
Many times when couples come for counseling, they have secretly or openly identified their spouse as the problem, and they are almost “out the door,” to get a divorce. If either or both partners have taken their marriage vows as a sacramental covenant with God, I recommend this book. Chapter by chapter, Thomas builds a strong case for building Godly character as one looks for meaning in hardships within marriage. With a new perspective many couples have a helpful attitude and earnest desire to try again.
Discovering The Mind Of A Woman
This book was recommended to me by a man who said it helped him save his marriage. I hope that after you read it, you will join me in thanking him. Mr. Nair uses a Christian perspective to help men understand the gift of a “help mate.”
How Can I Forgive You?
This is another good book by Dr. Spring; with a broader application of the steps to forgiving someone and to being forgiven.
After the Affair
Dr. Spring has one of the best books I’ve read on beginning to rebuild trust in a relationship broken by infidelity. She includes a thoughtful rationale for each step in the sequence of rebuilding trust.
The ABCs Of Marriage
Tim Gustafson’s book is a great resource! He offers pearls of wisdom in a topical format, allowing the reader to pick and choose what is personally relevant. Each topic is only a few pages of reading, but filled with “sound advice.” I particularly like this book for newly married couples, because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
Getting The Love You Want – Workbook
This Workbook and the companion book by the same name are my “top shelf” recommendations for couples in tough times. Drs. Hendrix and Hunt reveal the underlying issues that fuel most difficulties for couples. This book and workbook help an individual discover how their upbringing may influence their interpretations about conflict, intimacy and expectations. Most who read these books describe a highly beneficial endeavor, transformative….changing how they respond to their partner, their children and their extended family.
