The Mental Health Books I Read, and have Recommended, from 2025

Each year, I update my list of mental health book recommendations that I regularly reference and recommend to clients in my therapy practice. For the past few years, I’ve shared books that have shaped my thinking, supported clinical conversations, and, at times, helped clients feel less alone in what they’re experiencing.

As I’ve said before, “Some of my clients who have known me for a long time smile when I open my office closet doors during a session, perhaps in anticipation of what I am going to show them.” Quite often, I pull out a book that mirrors almost word for word the discussion we were just having in my office.

How These Books Are Used in My Work

The books don’t always teach, but they often offer more information. They rarely fix anything outright; instead, they provide tools, language, or perspective. At times, a book may even feel unhelpful and that response can be just as telling.

Over the years, I’ve purchased hundreds of books. Because of this, I decided to make a list of the ones I found myself pulling off the shelf in 2025 for one reason or another. In no particular order, the titles below reflect what has shown up most often in my work this year.

Eating Disorders

• Eating Disorders (Mehler & Anderson)
• Treating the Eating Disorder Self (Cohen)
• The Radically Open DBT Workbook for Eating Disorders (Hall, Fletcher, Simic)

Journaling

• The Five Minute Journal
• Start Where You Are (Patel)
• It’s On Me (Kubric)
• I Am the Hero of My Own Life (West)

Self Reflection & Understanding Yourself

• No Bad Parts (Schwartz)
• Burnout (Nagoski)
• What Is Narrative Therapy? (Morgan)
• The Happiness Trap (Harris)
• Validation (Fleck)
• The Gift of Therapy (Yalom)
• Hour of the Heart (Yalom)
• The Second Mountain (Brooks)
• Stolen Focus (Hari)
• The Examined Life (Grosz)

Marriage & Relationships

• Til Stress Do Us Part (Earnshaw)
• The Love Prescription (Gottman)
• The Journal of Best Practices (Finch)
• For Men Only / For Women Only / For Couples Only (Feldhahn)
• The Drama of the Gifted Child (Miller)
• Adult Children of Alcoholics (Woititz)
• The Somatic Workbook (Harness)

Trauma

• Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving (Walker)
• Repeat After Me (Black)
• It Didn’t Start With You (Wolynn)

Depression & DBT

• Feeling Good (Burns)
• The DBT Skills Workbook (McKay & Wood)
• Radical Acceptance (Brach)

Parenting

• What I Wish You Knew (Weingarten)
• The Power of Parting (Dolan)
• How to Talk to Your Teen About Anything (Malinsky)
• Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (McCloud)
• Girls on the Brink (Nakazawa)
• No Drama Discipline (Siegel)
• The Anxious Generation (Haidt)
• Executive Functioning in Children and Adolescents

OCD & Anxiety

• Stop Obsessing! (Foa & Wilson)
• Understanding You (Revisited)
• The Drama of the Gifted Child (Miller)
• Adult Children of Alcoholics (Woititz)

Grief & Death

• On Grief and Grieving (Kübler-Ross)
• Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest (Winemaker & Seow)

Narcissism

• Disarming the Narcissist (Behary)
• Will I Ever Be Good Enough? (McBride)
• Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers (Kriesberg)
• The Covert Passive Aggressive Narcissist (Mirza)
• Facing Codependence (Mellody)

A Real List

I learn most from you. For that reason, I always welcome hearing which books resonate with you, or which ones you would have added that I may have missed. This list continues to evolve as conversations evolve.

As we move into a new year, 2026, there is a lot on many of our minds. We are here when you need us, and I remain grateful for the trust you place in this work.

Recently, I shared a short video series on happiness and am just completing a series on narcissism (and was featured in a Newsweek article you can find here too!). I’ll also be posting about my latest interview on how I run my practice along with my new page on consultation on the website. In addition, I’ll be highlighting David Krzysko’s specialties and expertise in Somatic Therapy and EMDR, so feel free to follow along on social media or visit the Social Media Hub for updates.

Coming, Coming, Coming…! I’ll be sending one more blog soon focused on a mindset for 2026, including a segment from David on how somatic therapy is woven into his clinical support.

There is also still time to sign up for Ellen Lazar’s group for Women Over 60, available in person or virtually for participants located in Illinois, Florida, Iowa, Washington DC, Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona, Utah, Wisconsin, Colorado, Virginia, and Maryland.

Many of these mental health book recommendations above complement the broader context of behavioral health practice, where clinicians draw on research, clinical experience, and professional guidelines to support emotional well-being. I love reading and sharing insightss, and you can learn more about behavioral health and clinical practice here: National Association of Social Workers Behavioral Health Page.

The Connecting with Attunement Blog is coming soon- be on the lookout and subscribe so you get it straight to your inbox.
Looking forward to more books, more connections, more growth, and more of you in 2026!

Lynn