Here is a list of helpful resources that I regularly refer patients to. I have no financial affiliation with these recommendations.
Managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
For help with negative thought patterns and how they impact feelings and behaviors, the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) model is gold standard. Take a look at the Mind Over Mood website for more information on CBT and to access free worksheets that you can work through on your own or with the help of a therapist or psychiatrist.
Nutrition and brain health
Your cognitive and psychiatric health are directly related to the type of foods you eat, their quantity and quality. There are several books and social media pages on nutritional psychiatry which provide good information. Here is one that provides the information in an easily applicable way.
Bibliotherapy recommendations
Bibliotherapy is a therapeutic approach that uses literature, such as books and stories, to help individuals understand and address their emotional and psychological issues. By reading and reflecting on characters’ experiences and insights, people can gain perspective and find solutions to their own problems. Below is a list that I have curated over the years of different books and how they could be helpful.
For finding meaning in chronic illness and suffering
- Man’s Search for Meaning – Victor Frankl
- Being Mortal – Atul Gawande
- When Breath Becomes Air – Paul Kalinithi
For personal account of living with psychotic illness
- The Center Cannot Hold – Elyn Saks
- A Beautiful Mind – Sylvia Nasar (biography of John Nash)
For families living with psychotic illness
- Surviving Schizophrenia: A Manual for Families, Patients, and Providers by Fuller Torrey
For mental health and the cancer patient
- The Human Side of Cancer – Jimmie Holland
For binge eating and bulimia
- Getting Better Bite by Bite: A Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating – Ulrike Schmidt (Author), Janet Treasure June Alexander
For mood disorders and creativity
- A First Rate Madness – Nassir Ghaemi
For neuroplasticity and the brain’s power to change and heal
- The Brain That Changes Itself – Norman Doidge
For bullying and public shaming
- So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed – Jon Ronson
For families coping with dementia
- Still Alice – Lisa Genova
For building meaningful relationships
- The Art of Loving – Eric Fromm
For autism spectrum disorders
- Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s – John Elder Robison
- The Reason I Jump – Naoki Higashida
For trauma
- The Body Keeps The Score – Bessel Van Der Kolk
Trauma ( English vesion )
Sleep ( English vesion )
Anxiety ( English vesion )
Trauma ( Arabic vesion )
Sleep ( Arabic vesion )
Anxiety ( Arabic vesion )
DR. NOHA ABDEL GAWAD MD