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Therapist-recommended books for mental health

Enhancing mental health through the power of literature

Personal Growth
Anxiety & Depression
Trauma & Recovery
Couples
Parenting
ADHD Parenting
ADHD Adults
Work Life | Career
Fiction | Memoir
Philosophers
For Therapists

Reading fiction & non-fiction

Unlocking Insights and healing

Did you know?

Reading for your mental health can improve self-esteem, self-awareness, and feelings of self-efficacy.

Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach using books and other forms of literature (typically alongside more traditional therapy modalities), to support our mental health.

Though the books recommended by therapists can encompass any genre or theme—from philosophy to memoir to self-help—bibliotherapists typically make use of fiction. 

These books here have been personally vetted and recommended by our team. 

Check out our lists of covering the best books for anxiety, ADHD, personal growth and development, understanding the effects of childhood trauma or depression on our adult lives. 

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Book cover of Setting Boundaries That Stick by Juliane Taylor Shore showcases blue and green watercolor textures. The subtitle reads: How Neurobiology Can Help You Rewire Your Brain to Feel Safe, Connected, and Empowered—a must-read for those exploring relationship books.

Setting Boundaries That Stick: How Neurobiology Can Help You Rewire Your Brain to Feel Safe, Connected, and Empowered

By Juliane Taylor Shore LMFT LPC SEP

For anyone

Book cover titled Our New World of Adult Bullies by Bill Eddy. Features a large, aggressive yellow fish pursuing smaller, colorful fish. Text includes How to Spot Them • How to Stop Them. A must-read in best mental health books for understanding and dealing with adult bullies.

Our New World of Adult Bullies: How to Spot Them ― How to Stop Them

by Bill Eddy, LCSW, Esq.

Anxiety | Depression | Stress Management

The book cover for Feeling Better showcases a large orange circle atop a green and yellow gradient backdrop. The subtitle, Beat Depression and Improve Your Relationships with Interpersonal Psychotherapy, complements this essential addition to the best mental health books collection. Authors names appear below.

​Feeling Better: Beat Depression and Improve your Relationships with Interpersonal Psychotherapy

by Cindy Goodman Stulberg, CPsych & Ronald Frey, Ph, D. CPsych

Book cover for Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, celebrated as one of the best mental health books. The design features Burnout in red repeatedly, with the main title in white handwriting on a sleek black background.

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle

by Emily Nagoski PhD, Amelia Nagoski DMA

Book cover of Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers by Suze Yalof Schwartz. This parenting book features a stylized meditating figure and green circles with text: 35+ Games and For Parents and Teachers.

Unplug: A Simple Guide to Meditation for Busy Skeptics and Modern Soul Seekers


by Suze Yalof Schwartz

  1. We Are All Perfectly Fine: A Memoir of Love, Medicine and Healing by Dr. Jillian Horton 
  2. The Noonday Demon: an Atlas of Depression by Andrew Solomon​
  3. ​​First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A new Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson
  4. ​Mind over mood: Change how you feel by changing the way you think by Dennis Greenberger, PhD., Christine A. Padesky, PhD.​
 

Beautiful stories about complicated families

Cover of the book Because I Come from a Crazy Family: The Making of a Psychiatrist by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., features a young child smiling. A standout in recommended self-help books Canada, its both insightful and engaging for those interested in mental health journeys.

Because I Come From a Crazy Family

by Dr. Ed Hallowell

Blurred image of a person standing in front of ocean waves. The book cover features the title Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family by Amanda Jetté Knox, a recommended self-help book in Canada, with its white text overlaying the image.

Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family

by Amanda Jette Knox

Cover of the book The Great Santini by Pat Conroy. It features an image of a jet flying over a landscape with trees beneath a partly cloudy sky, a nod to some of the best mental health books. The authors name is prominently displayed at the top in bold letters.

The Great Santini

by Pat Conro

A book cover titled The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker, renowned among the best relationship books. The design features ornate floral patterns in gold on a cream background, with small colorful flowers and a blue butterfly at the bottom.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

by Jan-Philipp Sendker

  1. To Shake the Sleeping Self: A Journey from Oregon to Patagonia, and a Quest for a Life with No Regret  by Jedidiah Jenkins ​
  2. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
  3. South of Broad by Pat Conroy
  4. Beach Music by Pat Conroy
  5. The Great Alone By Kristin Hannah​​
  6. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
  7. The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
  8. Educated by Tara Westover
  9. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
  10. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen​

For the philosophers

Cover of the book Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are by John Kaag. The title and authors name are handwritten on an abstract leaf-patterned background, making it one of the recommended self-help books Canada readers cherish for personal growth.

Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who You Are

by John Kaag

The cover of The Schopenhauer Cure by Irvin D. Yalom, one of the best mental health books, features a minimalist design with black rectangular shapes on a green background. The author and book title are prominently displayed.

The Schopenhauer Cure: A Novel

by Irvin Yalom​

A book cover titled The Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot. The background features a dark, abstract design with diagonal lines crossing the image, reminiscent of themes often found in thought-provoking ADHD books.

The Four Quartets

by T.S. Eliot

  1.  When Nietzsche Wept: A Novel of Obsession by Irvin Yalom
  2. The Fall by Albert Camus
  3. Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell
  4. The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir 
  5. Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, 2nd Edition, by bell hooks.
  6. Man’s search for meaning by Viktor Frankl
  7. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Essential reading for therapists

Cover of The Gift of Therapy by Irvin D. Yalom. Features a small plant growing through concrete, symbolizing resilience. Subtitle reads: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients. Includes author accolades and a review quote. Ideal for fans of relationship books.

The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients

by Irvin Yalom, MD

Cover of The Emotional Brain by Joseph LeDoux, one of the best mental health books recommended for self-discovery. It features a gradient background and a quote from Daniel Goleman at the top. The subtitle, The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life, stands prominently in the center.

The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious Underpinnings of Emotional Life

by Joseph Ledoux

Book cover of It Didnt Start With You by Mark Wolynn, a standout among the best mental health books. Features two overlapping human profiles outlined in red and blue, joined at the base. Includes a silver award sticker and praise from Sharon Salzberg at the top.

It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle

by Mark Wolynn

Cover of Loves Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irvin D. Yalom. A red heart partially submerged in rippling water, with a quote from San Francisco Chronicle at the bottom. Renowned among the best mental health books, its a highly recommended self-help book in Canada.

Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy

by Irvin Yalom, MD

  1. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma, by Peter A. Levine
  2. Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself (Revised and Updated) by Melody Beattie
  3. Feeling Better: Beat Depression and Improve Your Relationships with Interpersonal Psychotherapy by Cindy Goodman Stulberg DCS CPsych , Ronald J. Frey PhD CPsych
  4. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, by Andrew Solomon
  5. Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha M. Linehan 
  6. Reflections on the Art of Living by Joseph Campbell
  7. The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self by Alice Miller
  8. Man’s search for meaning by Viktor Frankl
  9. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Note: As an Amazon affiliate partner, Dig A Little Deeper does receive a small referral fee should you complete purchase from our links. You can always purchase these same titles from any other sources! Doing so will never affect your Client-Clinician relationships with any member of our team.  

For FREE resources on many mental health topics, check out our Resources Page, the Dig Deeper Blog , The Christina Crowe Podcast: making the invisible VISIBLE and our Free Downloads page. 

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