By The ExCSOn

Many thanks to those who helped compile these lists and resources.

Leaving Christian Science: The Mental Health Episodes

Licensed social worker and former guest Cara returns to answer some questions about mental health posted in the ex-CS Facebook group.

Great Big Book List

Mental health book list for ex-CS by topic compiled by Cara
Understanding shame and moving toward self-compassion

  • Brené Brown, PhD, MSW I Thought it Was Just Me (But it Isn’t): Making the Journey from
  • “What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough”
  • Brené Brown PhD, MSW The Gifts of Imperfection: Your Guide to a Wholehearted Life
  • Kristin Neff, PhD Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
  • Kristin Neff, PhD & Christopher Germer, PhD The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook: A
  • Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive

Addressing CPTSD

  • Arielle Schwartz, PhD The Complex PTSD Workbook: A Mind-Body Approach to Regaining
  • Emotional Control & Becoming Whole
  • Pete Walker, MA, LMFT Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
  • Emotional Intelligence/Maturity
  • Brené Brown, PhD, MSW Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the
  • Language of Human Experience
  • Lindsay Gibson, PsyD Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents: How to Heal from
  • Distant, Rejecting, or Self-involved Parents


Workbooks/Self-Help

  • Arielle Schwartz (see above)
  • Patricia Resick, PhD et al Getting Unstuck from PTSD: Using Cognitive Processing Therapy to Guide Your Recovery
  • Nedra Tawwab Set Boundaries, Find Peace and The Set Boundaries Workbook
  • Sonya Renée Taylor The Body is Not an Apology and Your Body is Not an Apology Workbook
  • Francine Shapiro, PhD Getting Past Your Past: Take Control of Your Life with Self-Help Techniques from EMDR Therapy
  • Karyl McBride, PhD Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic

Mothers

  • KC Davis, LPC How to Keep House While Drowning
  • Amir Levine, MD and Rachel Heller, MA Attached. The New Science of Adult Attachment and How it Can Help You Find—And Keep—Love
  • Gary Bishop Unf*ck Yourself
  • Megan Boardman, LCSW The EMDR Workbook for Trauma and PTSD
  • Matthew McKay, PhD et al The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook

Leaving Religion

  • Marlene Winnell, PhD Leaving the Fold
  • Daniel Dennett, PhD Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

Memoirs

  • Stephanie Foo What my Bones Know
  • Jennette McCurdy I’m Glad my Mom Died

About Therapy and Therapists

  • Jeffrey Kottler, PhD On Being a Therapist
  • Lori Gottlieb, LMFT Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Communication Skills

  • Marshall Rosenberg Nonviolent Communication
  • Sharon and Gordon Bower Asserting Yourself: A Practical Guide for Positive Change

More book recommendations

  • Alice Miller, The Drama of the Gifted Child, and The Body Never Lies
  • MaryCatherine McDonald, Unbroken: The Trauma Response is Never Wrong
  • Richard Schwartz, Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts, No Bad Parts
  • Gabor Mate, When the Body Says No
  • Lindsay C. Gibson, Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, and Recovering From Emotionally Immature Parents
  • Debbie Mirza, The Covert Passive-Aggressive Narcissist and Unbroken: The Trauma Response is Never Wrong

CAUTION – MAY BE TRIGGERING OR RE-TRAUMATIZING – Recommend reading under therapist care

  • Daniella Mestyanek Young, Uncultured. Being raised in the Children Of God cult, and examining cult behavior (Contains descriptions of childhood SA, abandonment, and medical neglect as well as other traumatic events)
  • Bessel Van Der Kolk, The Body Keeps The Score. The history of PTSD as we understand it now; clinically written, largely for psychology students (Contains descriptions of literal war crimes, violent acts committed on children and innocents, as well as the understanding of generational trauma being passed down). As an alternative, I suggest Alice Miller’s “The body never lies” listed above
  • Jeannette McCurdy, I’m Glad My Mom Died. A narrative story about the author’s life as a child star with an abusive mother in a highly controlled environment. (Contains vivid descriptions of covert child SA and eating disorders)

YouTube Videos

https://www.youtube.com/@TherapyinaNutshell – Descriptions of therapeutic modalities, and their applications, as well as general mental wellness

https://www.youtube.com/@DrToriOlds – Exercises in IFS therapy that can help you get started processing 

https://www.youtube.com/@ForrestHanson – General Mental Wellness – Co-host of Being Well Podcast (also highly recommended, see bio for link)

https://www.youtube.com/@GenericArtDad – ADHD/ASD skits- funny, but also insightful and helpful at explaining the Autistic/ADHD experience.

https://www.youtube.com/@insight-exposingnarcissism – UK podcast about Narcissism in general- done from the perspective of two trauma therapists reading submitted letters and breaking them down with compassion.

https://www.youtube.com/@LewisPsychology – akin to Therapy in a Nutshell, but also focuses on EMDR