Helpful Resources

To Find A Therapist

Word of mouth is the best way to find a therapist.

Ask people you know and respect: your primary care physician, church or synagogue, and attorney will often be able to recommend mental health clinicians they know.

If that doesn't work for you, though, you can try the following organizations:

To Find Support Groups

Your local newspapers often have a listing of support groups in the area with both towns and times listed.

Your local hospitals may sponsor some support groups and have lists of other support groups.

In addtion, try the following organizations to help you find support groups for specific issues:

Books

Understanding the Psyche

Listening with the Third Ear, Reissue Edition by Theodore Reik (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1983).
Points out that what we think or say is often not the way we are really feeling. It exposes us to the workings of the unconsious and how to tune into it.

The Interpretation of Dreams, Reprint Edition by Sigmund Freud, translated by A. A. Brill (Random House, 1978).
Outlines the breakthrough concept that our unconscious mind communicates with out conscious mind through the symbols in our dreams.

Addiction and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

When Food Is Love by Geneen Roth (Plume, 1992).
Very good at describing the "trigger" or complusive eating. The title could read when Alcohol is Love or when Obessive-Compulsion is Love. The point is not so much about food as it is working through triggers and getting back to the adult.

Grief and Bereavement

On Death and Dying, Reprint Edition by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (Touchstone, 1997).
In this classic work, Kübler-Ross first defined the five stages of grief.

Depression and Bipolar Disorder

Darkness Visible by William Styron (Random House, 1990).
Really describes in detail what the depressed person experiences - the pain and the dread.

The Noonday Demon by Andrew Solomon (Scribner, 2001).
A comprehensive discussion of depression through the lens of scence, philosophy, law, psychology, art, literature, and history.

Attention Deficit Disorder and Narcissism

Driven to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, and John J. Ratey, MD (Pantheon, 1994).

Delivered from Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell, MD, and John J. Ratey, MD (Ballantine, 2005).
Simply the best introductory book about Attention Deficit Disorder, with a full discussion of symptoms, behaviors, biology, etc. The only thing it lacks is a discussion of the sub-types of ADD, which vary considerably.

The Drama of the Gifted Child, Revised Edition by Alice Miller (Basic Books, 1997).
About narcissistic parents and their effects on the child.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, 2005 Edition by David Kinchin (Gardners Books, 2004).
A good book for people with PTSD and for their family and friends to better understand them.

Intimacy and Relationships

I and Thou, Reissue Edition by Martin Buber (Scribners, 1970).
The translation by Walter Kauffman does real justic to the work. Talks about the importance of how we relate to one another and trat each other. It is also about recognizing the divine in the other.

Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them, Reprint Edition by Susan Forward and Joan Torres (Bantam Books, 1986).
Talks about why some people are drawn to abusive relationships and how to break the cycle. It really focuses on heeding danger signals.

Resources

While there are numerous mental health resources, these are a few that I recommend.