DBT Recommended Reading and Video List


Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Related Approaches

The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide. (2007) by Alex Chapman and Kim Gratz.

New Hope for People with Borderline Personality Disorder. (2002) by Neil Bockian, Nora Elizabeth Villagran, and Valerie Porr. *

The High Conflict Couple: A Dialectical Behavior Therapy Guide to Finding Peace, Intimacy & Validation. (2006) by Alan Fruzzetti and Marsha Linehan.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy with Suicidal Adolescents. (2006) by Alec Miller, Jill Rathus, Marsha Linehan, and Charles Swenson.

The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living. (2008) by Russ Harris and Steven Hayes.

Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life. (2005) by Steven Hayes.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Stop Walking On Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder. (2010) by Randi Kreger and Paul Mason. *

Eclipses: Behind the Borderline Personality Disorder. (1997) by Melissa Ford Thornton. *
A book about a person with BPD and her experience of getting well with DBT

Imbroglio: Rising to the Challenges of Borderline Personality Disorder. (1992) by Janice Cauwels. *

I Hate You, Don't Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality. (2010) by Jerold Kreisman and Hal Straus. *

The Adolescent Self: Strategies for self-management, self-soothing, and self-esteem in adolescents. (1991) by David Wexler.

Mindfulness and Acceptance

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha. (2004) by Tara Brach.

Radical Acceptance: Guided Meditations. (Audio CD, 2007) by Tara Brach.

Radical Self-acceptance: A Buddhist Gudie to Freeing Yourself from Shame. (Audiobook CD, 2004) by Tara Brach

Mindfulness in Plain English. (2011) by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. *

The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation. (1999) by Thich Nhat Hanh. *

The Art of Mindful Living: How to Bring Love, Compassion, and Inner Peace into Your Daily Life. (2000) by Thich Nhat Hanh. *

Mindfulness and Psychotherapy. (Audio CD, 2006) by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Living Buddha, Living Christ. (1995) by Thich Nhat Hanh. *

Awareness. (1990) by Anthony DeMello. *

The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. (1998) by the Dalai Lama. *

Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation. (1998) by Larry Rosenberg. *

Voices of Insight. (1999) by Sharon Salzberg.

The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life You Have. (2000) by Mark Nepo.

Zen Therapy: Transcending the Sorrows of the Human Mind. (1997) by David Brazier.

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times. (2005) by Pema Chodron.

Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks. (2001) by Gary Thorp.
Relevant to clients who have few, if any, friendships and have struggled with the feeling of being lonely and feeling "out of place" among others. Although the book focuses on mindfulness during housework (thus, Sweeping), his discussion of living alone highlights the dialectic between always being alone and never being alone and makes a distinction between solitude and loneliness. He also points out that being alone can be the ideal context for self-examination, and hints at self-validation by sharing the advice that even when we are alone it is effective to “wear our best clothes.”

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams. (1994) by Deepak Chopra. *

Emotion Regulation

Stop obsessing!: How to Overcome Your Obsessions and Compulsions. (2001) by Edna Foa and Reid Wilson. *

Anger: How to Live With and Without It. (1986) by Albert Ellis. *

How to Control Your Anger Before It Controls You. (200) by Raymond Tafrate and Albert Ellis. *

Letting Go Of Shame: Understanding How Shame Affects Your Life. (1989) by Ronald Potter-Efron and Patrica Potter-Efron.*

When perfect isn't good enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism. (2009) by Martin Antony and Richard Swinson.

Social Phobia and Interpersonal Effectiveness

Dying of Embarrassment: Help for Social Anxiety and Phobia. (1992) by Barbara Markway, Cheryl Carmin, Alec Pollard, and Teresa Flynn. *

The Secret of Overcoming Verbal Abuse: Getting Off the Emotional Roller Coaster and Regaining Control of Your Life. (2000) by Albert Ellis and Marcia Grad Powers. *

People Skills: How to Assert Yourself, Listen to Others, and Resolve Conflicts. (1986) by Robert Bolton. *

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Healing the Divided Self: Clinical and Ericksonian Hypnotherapy for Dissociative Conditions. (1995) by Maggie Phillips and Claire Fredericks.

Treating the Trauma of Rape: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for PTSD. (2001) by Edna Foa and Barbara Olasov Rothbaum.

Cognitive Behavioural Approaches to the Understanding and Treatment of Dissociation. (2013) by Fiona Kennedy, Helen Kennerley and David Pearson.

The Process of Forgiveness. (1997) by William Meninger.
Describes centering prayer and other spiritual and meditational paths to forgiveness

Eating Disorders

Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. (2007) by Brian Wansink.

Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food. (2003) by Susan Albers

Eat, Drink, and Be Mindful: How to End Your Struggle with Mindless Eating and Start Savoring Food with Intention and Joy. (2009) by Susan Albers.

Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food. (2009) by Jan Chozen Bays.

Eating the Moment: 141 Mindful Practices to Overcome Overeating One Meal at a Time. (2008) by Pavel Georgievich Somov.

Movies and Books that Illustrate Effective Coping

Groundhog Day (1993) Bill Murray (movie)

The Railway Man (1980) by Eric Lomax (movie)
During World War II Eric Lomax was tortured for years by the Japanese on the Burma-Siam Railway. 50 years later he met one of his tormentors. Fifty years later he discovered that the interpreter during his tortures was still alive. The two arranged a meeting and Lomax forgave him. The film Bridge Over the River Kwai was also made of this moving and truthful account.

The Shack. (2008) by William Paul Young.
Christian fiction about forgiveness

* appropriate for the lay person or client