IFS (Internal Family Systems)​

​The book I suggest clients who are new to IFS read before we begin working together (or early in our work) is:

No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma & Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model – Richard Schwartz

​And other IFS books I recommend are:

The Internal Family Systems Workbook – Richard Schwartz

Listening When Parts Speak: A Practical Guide to Healing with Internal Family Systems and Ancestor Wisdom – Tamala Floyd

Self-Led: Living a Connected Life with Yourself and With Others, An Application of Internal Family Systems –Seth Kopald

You Are the One You've Been Waiting For: Applying Internal Family Systems to Intimate Relationships – Richard Schwartz

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Relationships & Attachment ​​

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself – Melody Beattie

Perfect Love, Imperfect Relationships: Healing the Wound of the Heart – John Welwood

Wired for Love: How Understanding Your Partner's Brain and Attachment Style Can Help You Defuse Conflict and and Build a Secure Relationship – Stan Tatkin

Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love – Sue Johnson

When the Past is Present: Healing the Emotional Wounds that Sabotage Our Relationships – David Richo

The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples – John Gottman

Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents:  How to Heal from Distant, Rejecting, or Self-Involved Parents – Lindsay Gibson 

Conscious Uncoupling: 5 Steps to Living Happily Even After – Katherine Woodward Thomas

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Trauma Recovery​

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies – Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW​

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind & Body in the Healing of Trauma – Bessel van der Kolk

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture – Gabor Mate MD

It Didn't Start With You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle – Mark Wolynn

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Anxiety, Depression, & Stress

The Depression Book: Depression as an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth – Cheri Huber

The Mindful Way Through Depression: Freeing Yourself from Chronic Unhappiness – Williams, Teasdale, Segal & Kabat-Zinn

Lost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope – Johann Hari

The Anxiety & Worry Workbook: The Cognitive Behavioral Solution – Clark & Beck

The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook – Davis & Eshelman

​Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Workbook – Stahl & Goldstein

​Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) (online course) – free online version of the widely used 8-week MBSR course 

 

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Shame & Self-Esteem​

The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love – Sonya Renee Taylor

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life with the Heart of a Buddha – Tara Brach

Healing the Core Wound of Unworthiness: The Gift of Redemptive Love (audiobook) – Adyashanti 

The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are – Brene Brown

Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself – Kristin Neff

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Sexuality 

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life – Emily Nagoski

Urban Tantra: Sacred Sex for the 21st Century – Barbara Carrellas

​Desire: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating Libido Differences in Relationships – Lauren Fogel Mersy and Jennifer A. Vencill

​ACE: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex – Angela Chen

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LGBTQ+

​Gender Magic: Live Shamelessly, Reclaim Your Joy, & Step Into Your Most Authentic Self – Rae McDaniel

​Gender Euphoria: Stories of Joy from Trans, Non-Binary and Intersex Writers – Laura Kate Dale

​​All Parts Welcome: The Queer and Trans Internal Family Systems Workbook – Sand Chang

​Coming Out Stories: Personal Experiences of Coming Out From Across the LGBTQ+ Spectrum – Emma Goswell, Sam Walker, et al.

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Non-Monogamy

​Polysecure: Attachment, Trauma, and Consentual Nonmonogamy – Jessica Fern

The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love – Janet Hardy & Dossie Easton

Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships – Tristan Taormino

​Polyamory: A Clinical Toolkit for Therapists (and Their Clients) – Martha Kauppi

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Mindfulness, Buddhist Psychology, & Neuroscience

​Tara Brach (website) – one of my favorite meditation teachers, with a website full of free meditations, video talks, and more

​Spiritrock (organization) – Insight Meditation (also known as vipassana or mindfulness) center in Marin County with many online programs.

East Bay Meditation Center (organization) – Insight meditation center in Oakland, "offering meditation training and spiritual teachings from Buddhist and other wisdom traditions, with attention to social action, multiculturalism, and the diverse populations of the East Bay and beyond."

​Rick Hanson (website) – neuroscience research on happiness, confidence, resilience with videos, audiobooks, podcast, and more. 

​Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life – John Kabat-Zinn

The Wise Heart – A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology – Jack Kornfield

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm & Confidence – Rick Hanson 

Meditations to Change Your Brain: Rewire Your Neural Pathways to Change Your Life (audiobook) – Rick Hanson 

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Ecopsychology

​For the Wild (podcast) – inspiring podcast "focused on land-based protection, co-liberation, and intersectional storytelling rooted in a paradigm shift away from human supremacy, endless growth and consumerism."

​Animas Valley Institute (organization) – offering "journeys into the mysteries of nature and psyche.” Signup available on their website for free newsletter with lots of inspiring information. They have a generous scholarship program available, especially for people from historically marginalized communities, folks under 35 years old, and those involved in creating cultural change. ​

School of Lost Borders (organization) – offering "vision fasts and rites of passage training which cultivate self-trust, responsibility, and understanding about ones' unique place within society and the natural world."

​Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We're In Without Going Crazy – Joanna Macy

Soulcraft: Crossing in the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche – Bill Plotkin

Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche – Bill Plotkin

Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World – Bill Plotkin

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Depth Psychology & ​Psycho-Spiritual Inquiry

The Emerald (podcast) - explores the human experience through a vibrant lens of myth, story, music, and imagination. 

​Living Myth (podcast) – mythologist Michael Meade sharing timeless wisdom from myths from around the world

Awakening the Soul: A Deep Response to a Troubled World – Michael Meade

The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology & Sacred Psychology – Jean Houston

The Soul's Code: In Search of Character & Calling – James Hillman

Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths & Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype – Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth & Sacredness in Everyday Life – Thomas Moore

The Most Important Thing: Discovering Truth at the Heart of Life – Adyashanti​

​A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life – Jack Kornfield

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Psychedelic Integration

Consciousness Medicine: Indigenous Wisdom, Entheogens, and Expanded States of Consciousness for Healing and Growth – Francoise Bourzat

The Psychedelic Explorer's Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys – James Fadiman

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Other Recommendations

Embodiment Matters (podcast) - conversations about what it really means to be embodied, and why and how embodiment matters so much in our daily lives and in our world. Guests from the realms of somatics, Buddhism, meditation, social justice, indigenous teachers, psychotherapy, soulful living, mythology, movement arts, bodywork, martial arts, neuroscience, environmentalists, and more. 

​Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life: How to Finally, Really Grow Up - James Hollis

The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief – Francis Weller

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life – Marshall Rosenberg

​Heal the Witch Wound: Reclaim Your Magic and Step Into Your Power – Celeste Larsen

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear – Elizabeth Gilbert

A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life: Self-Expression and Spiritual Practice for Those Who Have Time for Neither – Nina Wise