Behavioral health professionals are especially skilled at overlooking their own needs. Here are 9 excellent books to read and re-energize this summer! Topics include spiritual principles for mindful practice, the case for clinician well being, and much more!

1. 9 Self-Care Summer Must-Reads
FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH
PROFESSIONALS

2. The Zen of Helping
Spiritual Principles for Mindful and
Open-Hearted Practice
Andrew Bein

3. “ ”
The Zen of Helping is a must-read, must-have
book for anyone who is serious about helping
those in need of care, understanding, and
comfort. It is relevant across the spectrum
from the novice student to the experienced
therapist. Detailed case examples and
personal narratives breathe life into
this nuanced and revealing, well-crafted,
multi-dimensional book.
Shauna L. Smith, MSW, MFT, co-founder,
Therapists for Social Responsibility
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1Ghp5I5

4. 2Clinician’s Guide to
Self-Renewal
Essential Advice from the Field
Edited by Robert J. Wicks,
Elizabeth A. Maynard

5. “ ”
In this groundbreaking volume, clinicians are taken
on the path to well-being for their own sake and the
benefit of their clients. The contributors address
topics such as patience, courage, loving kindness,
forgiveness, solitude, and spirituality with both
intellectual rigor and heart. This wise compilation
invites us to enter fully into our own lives, in and
outside the profession. Why wait?
Christopher Germer, PhD, Clinical Instructor, Harvard Medical School
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1dW0zFU

6. 3
Empowering
Dialogues Within
A Workbook for Helping
Professionals and Their Clients
Kate Cohen-Posey

7. “ ”
This important book reaches out to mental
health clinicians representing many schools of
psychotherapy with detailed case examples.
It is a must-read for all therapists who wish to
more fully understand the integration of the
personality through inner guidance.
John H. Parks, MD, Steering Committee Member, Association for
the Advancement of Psychosynthesis
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1L2cqAX

8. Making Hostile Words
Harmless
A Guide to the Power of
Positive Speaking For Helping
Professionals and Their Clients
Kate Cohen-Posey

9. “ ”
Making Hostile Words Harmless contains
skills that change lives. Everyone who reads
this book will wish they had read it years and
years ago. Highly recommended.
Stephen R. Lankton, MSW, DAHB, DCSW,
Editor, American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1O6pUK4

10. 5On Being a Therapist
Jeffrey A. Kottler

11. “ ”
This is one of those rare and exciting books that
reaches deep into the heart of a profession and
discloses not only its day-to-day workings but
also the very personal satisfaction, problems,
doubts, and joys its practitioners experience.
Booklist
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1L2fooP

12. 6The Inner Life
of the Counselor
Robert J. Wicks

13. “ ”
Robert Wicks takes the reader on a journey
exploring The Inner Life of the Counselor and
the vast wealth that exists in silence. Once
again, he reminds us that the strength of the
counselor is in bringing equanimity and an open
heart to our life and work, forged through our
capacity to sit with ourselves in meditation.
Cheryl A. Giles, PsyD, Francis Greenwood Peabody Professor of
the Practice in Pastoral Care and Counseling,
Harvard Divinity School
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1Ru1qQz

14. On Being a Master
Therapist
Practicing What You Preach
Jeffrey A. Kottler, Jon Carlson

15. This book is filled with personal insights
from two of the profession’s wisest sages,
discussing delicate and provocative issues
with humor, candor, and honesty. On Being a
Master Therapist takes a bold approach in which
Jeffrey and Jon share compelling and engaging
first-hand accounts that guide motivated
therapists and counselors down the road to
becoming masters.
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1L2dXqq

16. 8The Therapist’s
Workbook
Self-Assessment, Self-Care, and
Self Improvement Exercises for
Mental Health Professionals
Jeffrey A. Kottler

17. Filled with self-assessments, journaling exercises,
and activities designed to facilitate renewal,
growth, and change, this timely book helps
clinicians help themselves with coverage of
career threatening issues, such as fear of failure,
loss of confidence, and the financial stress and
loss of autonomy that many clinicians experience
as a result of managed care and its constraints.
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1fCJO4a

18. 9
Becoming a Therapist
On the Path to Mastery
Thomas M. Skovholt

19. “ ”
This resource is filled with practical and
personal advice, relevant stories, and examples
and reads more like help from a friend
than a typical textbook.
Roberta L. Nutt, PhD, ABPP, Visiting Professor and
Training Director, Counseling Psychology Program,
University of Houston
More about the book: http://bit.ly/1JsrqlC

20. To be able to help others find balance
and peace in their lives, you must
retain and renew a healthy perspective
yourself. That healthy perspective comes
from taking care of yourself. See how
the advice from these expert caregivers
can improve your state of mind and
that of your clients.
wiley.com/psychology