Listed below (in alphabetical order by the author’s last name) are some books that I find helpful for understanding addictive behaviours, psychological, social and cultural contexts in which they develop, and promising avenues for overcoming them and growing as human beings beyond them. These books (and many others) have significantly shaped and continue shaping my views on human nature and, particularly, human potential. They have been influencing, in some ways, conscious and unconscious, how I practice counselling and psychotherapy. I heartily recommend them to interested readers.
Alexander, Anna and Roberts, Mark S. (eds.). High Culture: Reflections on Addiction and Modernity. State University of New York Press, 2003.
Alexander, Bruce K. The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit. Oxford University Press, 2008.
Beck, Charlotte Joko. Everyday Zen: Love and Work. HarperOne, 2007.
Beck, Charlotte Joko. Nothing Special: Living Zen. HarperOne, 1993.
Bien, Thomas and Bien, Beverly. Mindful Recovery: A Spiritual Path to Healing from Addiction. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 2002.
Bowen, Sarah., Chawla, Neha., Marlatt, G. Alan. Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviours — A Clinician’s Guide.
The Guilford Press, 2011.
Brach, Tara. Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Heart With the Heart of a Buddha. Bantam Books, 2003.
Brodie, Janet Farrell and Redfield, Marc (eds.). High Anxieties: Cultural Studies in Addiction. University of California Press, 2002.
Brotto, Lori A. Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire. Greystone Books Ltd., 2018.
Brown, Stephanie and Lewis, Virginia. The Alcoholic Family in Recovery: A Developmental Model. The Guilford Press, 1999.
Cheever, Susan. Name Found in a Bottle: My Life as a Drinker. Simon & Schuster, 1999.
Cheever, Susan. Desire: Where Sex Meets Addiction. Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Coombs, Robert Holman (ed.). Handbook of Addictive Disorders: A Practical Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2004.
Crozier, Lorna and Lane, Patrick (eds.). Addicted: Notes From the Belly of the Beast. Greystone Books, 2001.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2008.
DiClemente, Carlo C. Addiction and Change: How Addictions Develop and Addicted People Recover. The Guilford Press, 2003.
Dodes, Lance. The Heart of Addiction: A New Approach to Understanding and Managing Alcoholism and Other Addictive Behaviours.
Quill — HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.
Dodes, Lance. Breaking Addiction: A 7-step Handbook for Ending Any Addiction. HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.
Doidge, Norman. The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science. Penguin Books, 2007.
Epstein, Mark. Open to Desire: The Truth about What the Buddha Taught.
Gotham Books, 2005.
Epstein, Mark. The Trauma of Everyday Life. The Penguin Press, 2013.
Fisher, Carl Erik. The Urge: Our History of Addiction. Allen Lane — Penguin Random House Canada, 2022.
Frankl, Victor. Man’s Search for Meaning. Washington Square Press, 1985.
Germer, Christopher K., Siegel, Ronald D., Fulton, Paul R. Mindfulness and Psychotherapy – Second Edition. Guilford Press, 2013.
Glasser, William. Counselling with Choice Theory: The New Reality Therapy.
Quill, 2000.
Grof, Christina. The Thirst for Wholeness: Attachment, Addiction, and the Spiritual Path. HarperSanFrancisco — A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, 1994.
Hägglund, Martin. This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom. Anchor Books, 2020.
Hayes, Steven C., Strosahl, Kirk D., Wilson, Kelly G. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change — Second Edition. The Guilford Press, 2016.
Hayes, Steven C. A Liberated Mind: How to Pivot Toward What Matters. Avery, 2019.
Honore, Carl. In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. Vintage Canada, 2004.
Jung, Carl Gustav. Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Fontana Press, 1995.
Jung, Carl Gustav. Selected Writings. Book-of-the-Month Club, 1997.
Kabat-Zinn, John. Coming to Our Senses: Healing Ourselves and the World Through Mindfulness. Hyperion, 2005.
Kabat-Zinn, John. Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life. Sounds True, 2012.
Kabat-Zinn, John. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. Bantam Books, 2013.
Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Anchor Canada, 2013.
Kalant, Harold and Kalant, Oriana Josseau. Drugs, Society and Personal Choice. PaperJacks, in association with Addiction Research Foundation, 1971.
Karren, Keith J., Smith, Lee N., Gordon, Kathryn J.
Mind-Body Health: The Effects of Attitudes, Emotions, and Relationships — Fifth Edition. Pearson, 2014.
Kornfield, Jack. A Path With Heart. A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life. Bantam Books, 1993.
Kortge, Carolyn Scott. Healing Walks for Hard Times: Quiet Your Mind, Strengthen Your Body & Get Your Life Back. Trumpeter Books — An Imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2010.
Levine, Stephen. Meetings at the Edge: Dialogues with the Grieving and the Dying, the Healing and the Healed. Anchor Books, Doubleday, 1984.
Lewis, Marc. Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs. Doubleday Canada, 2011.
Lewis, Marc. The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease.
Doubleday Canada, 2015.
Liese, Bruce S., Beck, Aaron T. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy of Addictive Disorders. The Guilford Press, 2022.
Lindner, Robert. The Fifty-Minute Hour: A Collection of True Psychoanalytic Tales. Bentam Matrix Edition, 1969.
Loy, David R. Money, Sex, War, Karma. Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Magid, Barry. Ordinary Mind: Exploring the Common Ground of Zen and Psychoanalysis. Wisdom Publications, 2005.
Magid, Barry. Ending the Pursuit of Happiness: a Zen Guide. Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Maisto, Stephen A., Galizio, Mark, Connors, Gerard J., Maheu, Shannon, McCarthy, Anjanie (eds). Drug Use and Abuse — First Canadian Edition.
Nelson Education Ltd., 2013.
Marinoff, Lou. Plato, Not Prozac!: Applying Eternal Wisdom to Everyday Problems. Quill, 1999.
Marlatt, Alan G. Harm Reduction: Pragmatic Strategies For Managing High-Risk Behaviours. The Guilford Press, 1998.
Mate, Gabor. When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress.
Vintage Canada, 2004.
Mate, Gabor. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Knopf Canada, 2008.
Mate, Gabor, with Mate, Daniel. The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture. Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2022.
May, Rollo. Man’s Search for Himself: How We Can Find A Center of Strength Within Ourselves to Face and Conquer the Insecurities of This Troubled Age. Signet, The New American Library, 1967.
McAdams, Dan. P. The Art and Science of Personality Development. The Guilford Press, 2015.
Meyers, Robert J. and Wolfe, Brenda L. Get Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening. Hazelden Publishing, 2014.
Miller, William R. and Rollnick, Stephen. Motivational Interviewing: Helping People Change — Third Edition. The Guilford Press, 2013.
Miller, William R. and Carroll, Kathleen M. (eds). Rethinking Substance Abuse: What the Science Shows, and What We Should Do About It.
The Guilford Press, 2006.
Nhat Hanh, Thich. Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames. Riverhead Books, 2001.
Nhat Hanh, Thich. The Miracle of Mindfulness. Beacon Press, 1987.
O’Connor, Peg. Life on the Rocks: Finding Meaning in Addiction and Recovery.
Central Recovery Press, 2016.
Pollak, Susan M., Pedulla, Thomas., Siegel, Ronald D. Sitting Together: Essential Skills for Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy. The Guilford Press, 2014.
Revel, Jean-Francois., Ricard, Matthieu. The Monk and the Philosopher. A Father and Son Discuss the Meaning of Life. Schocken Books, 1999.
Segal, Zindel V., Williams, J. Mark G., Teasdale, John D.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression — Second Edition.
The Guilford Press, 2013.
Setiya, Kieran. Life is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way. Riverhead Books, 2022.
Shannonhouse, Rebecca (ed.). Under the Influence: The Literature of Addiction. The Modern Library, 2003.
Siegel, Daniel J. The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being. W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.
Siegel, Daniel J. Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence: The Groundbreaking Meditation Practice. TarcherPerigee, 2018.
Tatarsky, Andrew. Harm Reduction Psychotherapy: A New Treatment For Drug and Alcohol Problems. Jason Aronson — Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007.
Taylor, Chonyi. Enough! A Buddhist Approach to Finding Release from Addictive Patterns. Snow Lion Publications, 2010.
Teasdale, John. What Happens in Mindfulness: Inner Awakening and Embodied Cognition. The Guilford Press, 2022.
Thombs, Dennis L. and Osborne, Cynthia J. Introduction to Addictive Behaviors — Fourth Edition. The Guilford Press, 2013.
Turkle, Sherry. Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.
Penguin Books, 2016.
Van der Kolk, Bessel. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Penguin Books, 2015.
Vanier, Jean. Becoming Human. House of Anansi Press, 2008.
Vanier, Jean. Seeing Beyond Depression. Paulist Press, 2001.
Villatte, Matthew., Villatte, Jennifer., Hayes, C. Steven. Mastering the Clinical Conversation: Language as Intervention. The Guilford Press, 2019.
Washton, Arnold M. Cocaine Addiction: Treatment, Recovery, and Relapse Prevention. W. W. Norton & Company, 1989.
Washton, Arnold M. (ed). Psychotherapy and Substance Abuse: A Practitioner’s Handbook. The Guilford Press, 1995.
Watzlawick, Paul. The Situation is Hopeless, But Not Serious: The Pursuit of Unhappiness. W. W. Norton & Company, 1983.
West, Robert. Theory of Addiction — Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 2013.
Wilber, Ken. No Boundary: Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth. Shambala, 2001.
Williams, Mark., Teasdale, John., Segal, Zindel., Kabat-Zin, Jon.
Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself From Chronic Unhappiness. The Guilford Press, 2007.
Wright, Robert. Why Buddhism Is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment. Simon and Schuster, 2017.
Yalom, Irvin D., and Ginny Elkin. Every Day Gets a Little Closer: A Twice-Told Therapy. Basic Books, 1974.
Yalom, Irvin D. Existential Psychotherapy. Basic Books, 1980/2021.
Yalom, Irvin D. Lying on the Couch. Basic Books, 1996/Harper Perennial Modern Classics Edition, 2020.
Yalom, Irvin D. Momma and the Meaning of Life: Tales of Psychotherapy.
Basic Books, 1999.
Yalom, Irvin D. Love’s Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy.
Perennial — An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2000.
Yalom, Irvin D. The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients. Perennial, 2003.
Yalom, Irvin D. When Nietzsche Wept. Basic Books, 1992/Harper Perennial Modern Classics Edition, 2020.
Yalom, Irvin D. The Schopenhauer Cure . HarperCollins Publishers, 2005/Harper Perennial Modern Classics Edition, 2020.
Yalom, Irvin D. Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death.
Jossey-Bass — A Wiley Imprint, 2008.
Yalom, Irvin D. Creatures of a Day and Other Tales of Psychotherapy.
Basic Books, 2015.
Yalom, Irvin D. and Yalom, Marilyn. A Matter of Death and Life. Redwood Press, 2021.
