8 Books for Personal & Relationship Growth
Adding reading habit into your life is such an incredible way to learn, grow, gain perspective and discover new ideas. Reading is something I recommend to almost all my clients as a piece of their personal therapy process. There are several books that are my FAVORITES and I recommend over and over again. I wanted to share some of my favorites with you so you too can benefit from the content of these books as you work towards your 2018 goals. Some of these books are for growing yourself and others are for growing your relationship, but lets be honest if you are growing in either of these areas both your life and relationships are going to improve.
1. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Can Change the Way We Live, Love Parent & Lead by Brené Brown - This is my all time FAVORITE book! One of the most common topics that comes up in therapy is "not feeling good enough" - which lets face it is something we all struggle with. This is SHAME. Brene Brown is a shame researcher and has found that VULNERABILITY (with safe people) drives out shame. Brown explains how, "Vulnerability is both the core of difficult emotions like fear, grief, and disappointment, and the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, empathy, innovation, and creativity."
2. Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson - This book is the most RECOMMENDED book I have for COUPLES as it does a beautiful job of explaining the negative cycle all couples get stuck in and how to build the connection you both desire. It is based on the type of therapy called Emotion Focused Couples Therapy which I practice with couples and it is proven to be the most effective form of couples therapy out there today.
3. The Road Back To You by Ian Morgan Cron and Suzanne Stabile - I read this book at the end of 2017 and LOVED it! It is about an ancient personality typology called the ENNEAGRAM. This Christian based book looks at 8 personality types and the strength and growth areas for each personality. It kind of kick you in the gut, but it such a great tool to learn more about yourself and the people closest to you.
4. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed To Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown - As a recovery perfectionist this book has been revolutionary in my own journey to being kind to myself. In this short book Brown provides readers with 10 guide posts to cultivate more courage, compassion and connection in your life.
5. The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Daniel Siegal and Tina Payne Bryson - Calling all parents here is your book! This book is wonderful in teaching parents in such a tangible way what is going on inside their child's brain and how to work with them instead of against them. Even though this book is about the brain it is extremely reader friendly with comic examples included.
6. The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey - If one of your goals is to get your finances under control or if you and your partner are constantly fighting about money then grab this book and dig into it's 7 baby step process for organizing your financial life. So many couples I sit with struggle with money issues and it brings an enormous amount of division in their relationship. This book provides a practical way to help.
7. Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch - If one of your goals this year is to go on a diet and loose weight - I want to encourage you to dig into this book and all the goodness it has to offer. Intuitive Eating is about ditching dieting forever and going back to a way of eating that does not involve food rules or the food police and is based on trusting your body, mind and heart regarding eating and nourishing your body.
8. Boundaries: When To Say Yes, How To Say No To Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend - This Christian based book is another one I highly recommend as boundaries can be a struggle for everyone! Setting up better boundaries in our lives is proven to cultivate more peace and freedom.
There you have it. Eight GREAT books to dive into this year. If any of these book recommendations spark any anxiety, pain, fear or anything else we would love to help you out. Give us a call for a quick consultation or even just ONE session to see how counseling could possibly help you this year.
Happy Reading,
Chelsea
Encounter Counseling offers in-person counseling in Grand Junction and online counseling state-wide in Colorado including Denver, Boulder, Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs.
