Resources
Self-Help Resources
A Free Gift to You:
A Guide to Self-Care Ebook.
- Support your journey of self-love by self-caring
- Information on self-care, including what it looks like
- Tools, questions and exercises
Another Free Gift:
A Guide to Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
- Increase your awareness of Emotional Intelligence
- Explore empathy, communication, social skills and more
- Tools, questions, and exercises
Table of Contents of Free Resources
Below are some self-help resources to learn more about yourself. This is a curated list developed over years of practice that continues to evolve. We are excited to share some of these resources with you.
Disclaimer: Please use these resources thoughtfully and with caution and discretion. These resources are general suggestions and not all may be helpful or applicable to you. Self-help resources and support groups are not a substitute for professional assessment and treatment.
*We are not personally invested in, nor stand to profit from, any of the recommendations provided.
Mental Health Resources
Introduction to Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) for treating Trauma, PTSD, Addiction, ADHD, Anxiety, and more! This is offered by Jennifer Turner at Sana Psychological
ADHD
‘Taking Charge of ADHD’ by Russel A. Barkley
‘Scattered Minds’ by Gabor Mate
‘Loving Someone With Attention Deficit Disorder’ by Susan Tschudi
‘Is It You, Me, or Adult ADD?’ by Pera and Barkley
‘The ADHD Effect on Marriage’ by Melissa Orlov
Emotions
‘Happiness Trap’ by Russ Harris
‘Get Out of Your Mind and into Your Life Workbook’ by Steven Hayes
‘Feeling Good’ and ‘The Feeling Good Handbook’ by David Burns. These are classic resources connected to Cognitive-Behavioural therapy principles for those struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health symptoms.
‘The Unwanted Thoughts and Intense Emotions Workbook’ by Jon Hershfield and Blaise Aguirre
‘The Dance of Anger’ by Harriet Lerner
Trauma & PTSD
‘The Body Keeps the Score’ by Bessel van der Kolk
‘Feeling Seen’ by Dr. Jody Carrington
‘Waking the Tiger: Healing trauma’ by Peter Levine
‘Healing Trauma: A pioneering program for restoring the wisdom of your body’ by Peter Levine
‘It Didn’t Start With You’ by Mark Wolynn
‘The Myth of Normal’ by Gabor Mate
‘What Happened to You?’ by Bruce Perry
‘The Way I Used to Be’ by Amber Smith
Self-Esteem
Brene Brown has many amazing books on shame, resilience and vulnerability. Her latest ‘Atlas of the Heart’ is an encyclopedia of emotions. Amazing! We’d encourage you to check out her other resources too
Kristin Neff on self-compassion
Tara Brach on self-compassion
‘The Confidence Gap’ by Russ Harris
‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ by Julie Smith
‘The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem’ by Nathaniel Branden
Relationships
John Gottman’s resources are very helpful for learning more about healthy relationships.
‘The Science of Trust’ and ‘Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work’ by John Gottman are two specific books worth looking at
The Gottman Card Decks App is free and an interesting way to spark conversation
Dr. Sue Johnson has resources for building intimacy and close relationships including her seminal book ‘Hold Me Tight’
‘After the Fight’ by Daniel Wile
‘Attached’ by Levine and Heller
‘Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents’ by Lindsay Gibson
‘The Power of Attachment’ by Diane Poole Heller
The blog/website marriage.com
‘Rebuilding After a Relationship Ends’ by Fisher and Alberti
‘Set Boundaries, Find Peace’ by Nedra Glover Tawwab and the corresponding workbook
‘How to Say No’ free ebook by Alexandra Franzen
FREE personality typing to explore who you both are in relationship (this can also be helpful for individual recovery and growth)
‘Sex Talks: The Five Conversations that Will Transform Your Love Life’ by Marin and Marin
‘The Highly Sensitive Person’ by Elaine Aron
Connection
Togetherall is a virtual community in Alberta to get support from peers
Meetup.com has been a resource many of our clients have found helpful for building community
Healthy Lifestyle
‘Whole Brain Living’ by Jill Bolte Taylor
Thich Nhat Hanh for spiritual teachings, mindfulness, acceptance
‘The Power of Now’ by Eckhart Tolle
LGBTQ2S+
For Transgender Adults and their Families
‘Gender: Your Guide’ by Lee Airton
‘Life Isn’t Binary’ by Barker and Iantaffi
Apps:
For Meditation and Mindfulness: Insight Timer, Headspace, Calm, Healthy Minds
For Sleep: Loona
For Journaling: Five Minute Journal, Day One, 365 Gratitude, Gratitude, MoodTracker, Daylio
For Self-Care: I Am, Finch
For Addiction Recovery: Reframe, I Am Sober, Quitzilla, Sober Tool, Monitoring Your Gambling and Urges (MYGU), Meeting Guide by AA, Everything AA, NA Meeting Search, Relay
For Mental Health: CBT Companion, DBT Coach, Resilify, Unwinding Anxiety, MindShift CBT app
For Men and Relationships: Men&
For ADHD: ADDitude- Strategies and Support for ADHD and Beyond; ADHD White Noise
Addiction Recovery Resources
General
ASAM Long Definition (2012)
National Institute on Drug Abuse to learn more about how substances impact the brain. Their teen section and marijuana sections can be quite helpful.
‘The Untethered Soul’ by Michael Singer for those interested in a more holistic and spiritual take on Cognitive-Behavioural Principles.
‘Addictive Thinking’ by Abraham Twerski
‘In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts’ by Gabor Mate
‘Dopamine Nation’ by Anna Lembke
Article on the problems with social media use and how it can compare to nicotine as well as an article on ‘Doom Scrolling’
Codependency
Melody Beattie: ‘Codependent No More,’ ‘The New Codependency,’ and Daily meditations. She also has many other books that can be helpful in learning more about your relationship patterns.
Patterns and Characteristics of Codependency
‘The Enabler’ by Angelyn Miller
Article introducing 12-Step’s Codependents Anonymous
Substance Use
The SMART Recovery Toolbox for those struggling with substances and other problem behaviours.
‘Recovery: Freedom from our addictions’ by Russell Brand
‘Quit Like a Woman’ by Holly Whitaker
‘This Naked Mind’ by Annie Grace
‘Undoing Drugs’ by Maia Szalavitz
‘Not Drinking Tonight Workbook’ by Amanda White
Article on how to identify and support an alcoholic spouse
Eating Disorders
‘Overcoming Binge Eating’ by Dr. Christopher Fairburn.
‘Intuitive Eating’ by Tribole and Resch
This article provides a thorough overview of eating disorders
Blog on Eating Disorder Recovery from Seven Health
Sexual Addiction
‘Your Brain on Porn’ 5 part series on YouTube
Patrick Carnes’ ‘Out of the Shadows’ and ‘Facing the Shadow’ workbook for sexual issues
Paige Abbott, Registered Psychologist and Founder of Sana Psychological, has co-authored three books on Addiction: ‘Addiction is Addiction,’ ‘ the corresponding workbook and ‘Love, the Drug‘ about recovery.
We also recommend people look into the 12-Step programs (and/or other forms of peer recovery support and connection).
Here is a brief article introducing the premise of these programs. We would encourage you to do more reading and research before deciding on next steps of action. Here are some 12-Step programs that might be a fit:
Overeaters Anonymous (quiz to determine if this program is a fit for you)
Anorexic and Bulimics Anonymous-ABA
Al-Anon (for family members and loved ones)
Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families-ACoA
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous-SLAA
SMART Recovery, and/or Recovery Dharma YYC for group support if you are struggling with any problem behaviour.
We understand these groups may not be a fit for you, but some of the writings or materials may have an impact even if you do not pursue meetings.
Worth Recovery podcast (for women in recovery)
Some Bonuses: Paige Abbott’s Podcast Interviews- And More!
Tale Me About It ep. 20 speaking about eating issues
Stomp the Stigma ep. 11 speaking about Mental Health, being a Psychologist, and more!
A 3 minute read article about Paige’s business, clientele and why she does what she does
A Few More Points
Workbooks. For reflection and self-help work, there are lots of workbooks out there on various topics related to these topics and much more. Try to pick ones that you can sample online to ensure you are comfortable with the format before purchasing.
Make It Personal. There are a lot of self-help resources out there. When looking at books, YouTube, websites, and other resources, we recommend finding resources that speak to you personally. Just because it was recommended or others have found it useful does not mean it will relate to you. Search out the general topic you are interested in, sample resources as you are able to, and then pursue the ones that resonate for you. These will usually have more meaning and personal impact then those you are looking at because you “should.”
Not a Replacement, but a Complement. While self-help resources are not a replacement for professional assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, they can certainly be complementary of the journey of change and can help people start to identify specific issues and places where professional therapy may be useful.
