Patient Handbooks
*Bipolar Disorder: A Guide for Patients and Families†
Francis Mark Mondimore
An excellent guide to the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and causes of bipolar disorder written for patients and their families. This is the book I most highly recommend.
Review
*The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide†
David J. Miklowitz
Focuses on issues exclusive to the bipolar patient. It deals with how to come to terms with the diagnosis, whom to confide in, and how to recognize one's own mood swings. It discusses techniques for self-management and concludes with a discussion of the effect on the family and on work situations. I highly recommend this book.
Review
*Surviving Manic Depression: A Manual on Bipolar Disorder for Patients, Families and Providers†
Fuller Torrey and Michael B. Knable
An excellent, informative, and very readable book on bipolar disorder. It presents the facts of the disorder that are well established by scientific evidence. The discussion of modern drugs is thorough. Practical issues such as finding a good doctor and insurance issues (in the United States) are covered. The appendix features an excellent book review. I highly recommend this book.
Review
Overcoming Depression†
Demitri F. Papolos, Janice Papolos
Good coverage of treatments and practical aspects of care for both unipolar and bipolar depression. It also includes a frank discussion of psychiatric therapy in the era of managed care.
Depression: The Mood Disease†
Francis Mark Mondimore
A readable, informative, consumer's guide to depression, though less detailed than "Overcoming Depression" by Demitri and Janice Papolos.
New Hope for People With Bipolar Disorder
Jan Fawcett, Bernard Golden, Nancy Rosenfeld
This book covers a wide range of topics but not to any great depth. There is an introduction to cognitive behavior therapy, a chapter on childhood and adolescent bipolar illness, and also one on living with people with bipolar disorder. The book is a reasonable introduction to bipolar disorder but I prefer the books by Mondimore and Miklowitz.
Review
Bipolar Puzzle Solution: A Mental Health Client's Perspective
Bryan L. Court, Gerald E. Nelson
All of the questions that were asked in one particular bipolar support group were written down, with answers, and published in this book. The author's personal struggle with the disorder comes through clearly. Overall the book presents an unusual mix of personal experience and practical advice aimed at patients and those who support them.
Review
Living Without Depression and Manic Depression: A Workbook for Maintaining Mood Stability
Mary Ellen Copeland
A self-help workbook to supplement treatment programs providing encouragement for self-advocacy and including recommendations for support and self-help therapy. Focused mostly on depression and fairly light on discussion of medications.
The Depression Workbook: A Guide for Living With Depression and Manic Depression
Mary Ellen Copeland
A self-help workbook for those newly diagnosed or experiencing moderate problems with depression or bipolar disorder. Oversells psychotherapy and is fairly light on discussion of medications.
Restoring Intimacy: The Patient's Guide to Maintaining Relationships During Depression
National DMDA Staff
"Restoring Intimacy is an important contribution to our understanding of depression. Experts provide direct, helpful, and straightforward answers to frequently asked, but seldom answered questions about the impact of depressive illnesses on personal relationships."—Kay Redfield Jamison
Moodswing: Dr Fieve on Depression†
Ronald R. Fieve
One of the first books written for the lay reader. Written by a pioneer in the treatment of manic depression, this book is now somewhat out of date, even in the second revised edition.
Why Am I Up, Why Am I Down?: Understanding Bipolar Disorder
Roger Granet, Elizabeth Ferber
This sensitive, authoritative guide explains the challenging nature of bipolar disorder and how to get the right kind of treatment to minimize or prevent future episodes of this devastating illness.
Adult Bipolar Disorders: Understanding Your Diagnosis and Getting Help
Mitzi Waltz
This book describes the range of bipolar disorders, considers their impact on family life, and offers advice on treatment, support, insurance, and employment. It also explains diagnoses and provides details on therapy, medication, and other interventions.
Electroshock: Restoring the Mind
M. D. Max Fink
A useful book for anyone considering Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT). It gives a thorough discussion of the procedure and an extensive discussion of the controversies that surround it. The author argues argues that electroshock therapy is now a safe, effective, painless, and sometimes life-saving treatment for emotional and mental disorders.
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
David D. Burns
This book presents cognitive behavioral therapy, a highly successful, clinically proven, drug-free treatment for depression.
Understanding Depression: What We Know and What You Can Do About It
J. Raymond DePaulo, Leslie Alan Horvitz
From a leading medical expert at Johns Hopkins, here is a definitive guide to what's known about depression: its nature, causes, effects, and treatment. Examines the full range of proven therapies, both mainstream and alternative, that are currently available.
Undoing Depression: What Therapy Doesn't Teach You and Medication Can't Give You
Richard O'Connor
An excellent book. The author is a therapist who also suffers depression. O'Connor takes a very practical, problem-solving approach and has a rare insight into the behavioral effects of depression which may persist after the depression itself is relieved. The section on choosing a therapist is a good example of the author's pragmatic attitude and by itself would be worth the price of the book.
The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self†
Alice Miller
This book has been recommended to me by almost every therapist I have worked with. It shows how narcissistic parents form and deform the lives of their children. The author, a German psychotherapist, writes with a very compassionate and convincing voice.
Depression: Questions You Have — Answers You Need†
Sandra Salmans
Written in a clear questions-and-answer format, this is a comprehensive lay reader's handbook on depression.
Making The Antidepressant Decision†
Carol Turkington, Eliot F. Kaplan
Previously published as "Making the Prozac Decision," this edition focuses on the most recent developments in treating depression and other disorders with medications. It is an honest, invaluable examination of a controversial subject that will help you make the right decision for you or your loved one.
The Depression Book: Depression As an Opportunity for Spiritual Growth
Cheri Huber
A quasi-humorous book on depression! Written by a teacher at the Practice of Zen Buddhism Meditation in our very own Mountain View, it has whimsical diagrams and font. A bit playful, and full of Buddhist wisdom, it talks about meditation as a help for depression.
Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide†
Kay Redfield Jamison
Jamison explores the complex psychology of suicide, especially in people younger than 40: why it occurs, why it is one of our most significant health problems, and how it can be prevented. Not easy reading, either in subject or style, but you'll understand suicide better and be jolted by the intensity of depression that drives young people to it.
Choosing to Live: How to Defeat Suicide Through Cognitive Therapy
Thomas E. Ellis, Cory F. Newman
As a person who has been suicidal for fifteen years, I find this book to be a godsend. It has many useful suggestions, including how to survive the suicidal impulse, and how to create a meaningful life. If you have a problem with suicidality, please get this book. It is extremely helpful and straightforward.
The Savage God: A Study of Suicide
Alfred. Alvarez
A well-written study of suicide by a poet and literary critic with personal experience of his subject. It was originally published in 1971 before much of the medical and biological causes of suicide were understood.
Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder
Marsha M. Linehan
Dr. Linehan teaches many ways of coping with emotionally overwhelming situations. The workbook teaches a lot of coping skills. It's like having a huge toolbox filled with tools that you can use to deal with stressful situations.
Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation†
Steven Levenkron
Cutting takes the reader through the psychological experience of the person who seeks relief from mental pain and anguish in self-inflicted physical pain. Written for the self-mutilator, parents, friends, and therapists, Levenkron explains why the disorder manifests in self-harming behaviors and, most of all, describes how the self-mutilator can be helped.
When Words Are Not Enough†
Valerie Davis Raskin
Emphasizing women's family roles as well as their unique biological/hormonal sensitivities, Dr. Raskin explains contemporary integrated treatment options. Raskin pays special attention to how birth control, menstrual cycles, childbearing, and menopause impact treatment choices. Raskin empowers women to take an active approach in dealing with common side effects, including weight gain and diminished sexual responsiveness. Using revealing case studies, Raskin offers a wealth of hands-on advice.
Women's Moods: What Every Woman Must Know About Hormones, the Brain, and Emotional Health†
Deborah Sichel, Jeanne Watson Driscoll
Sichel, a psychiatrist, and Driscoll, a nurse, have created a book that specializes on mental health issues in conjunction with hormonal changes during menstrual cycles, adolescence, post-partum depression and psychosis, and menopause.
Essential Guide to Psychiatric Drugs
Jack M. Gorman
A general guide to psychiatric drugs. It contains a detailed description of each drug used to treat serious mental illnesses including their uses, side-effects, cost, dosage, and more.
Consumer's Guide to Psychiatric Drugs
John D. Preston, John H. O'Neal, Mary C. Talaga
A comprehensive overview for consumers of the current medical treatments for anxiety, mood, and psychotic disorders. It discusses diagnostic issues, biology of mental illness, drug-drug interactions, and addiction potentials.