To ask if ‘therapy workbooks’ exist?

[PruneYourRoses]

I had some therapy at the beginning of lockdown 1. It was quite useful, but just so, so expensive and I can’t afford to continue it any more.

I found the most useful aspect was how the therapist would ask questions which then led me to reflect, and connect the dots with my past and my behavior and feelings now.

They were quite simple questions though - just ones I hadn’t really reflected on before. Surely there must be some kind of therapy workbook/ interactive self-help book which asks question prompts and you then write in your answers?

I’ve looked on Google but it’s more standard self help books based on empowerment or different psychological theories, which isn’t really what I’m looking for.

Does anyone know if anything like this exists? Thank you!

I've got a mindfulness CBT workbook recommended by my GP, that's got exercises and questions. I think other workbooks exist but for specific types of "work" so it depends what you want. A friend got a lot from one called the artist's way (or similar) which she described as a series of reflective exercises/prompts for deeper thinking.

Thanks @MutteringDarkly, that sounds good. Do you have the title of the CBT one? I’ll have a look.

I suppose it’s therapy to break negative thought cycles, that have roots in my past - so maybe CBT style? Or ones linking to events or patterns, and how they effect things like behavior in relationships/ my sense of self now.

I have one that I found really helpful at the time. It was to address what they call 'uneven parenting.'

It's called Growing up again. If that's what you're looking for, it might help.

The Feeling Good Handbook by David Burns, M.D. Hefty but excellent.

I have gone through Dialectical Behaviour Therapy twice, but you need to meet certain criteria to access it on the NHS. So, a lot of people that think it will benefit them use a workbook and go through it at home.

It is called 'The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance'

@XenoBitch

I have gone through Dialectical Behaviour Therapy twice, but you need to meet certain criteria to access it on the NHS. So, a lot of people that think it will benefit them use a workbook and go through it at home.

It is called 'The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation, and Distress Tolerance'

Snappy title

It's a few years since I worked in this kind of role but we used to recommend a book called Mind over Mood to our patients. It's got CBT type skills in it from what I can remember. Hopefully if you Google that name some more in date books may come up (it's over 10 years since I used that book)

VictimFocus does reflective journals. victimfocus-resources.com/collections/reflective-journals

Also a free course in the main website www.victimfocus.org.uk

There's one called The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. I found it quite useful.

I quite like the self compassion one, which underlies so many areas.

Google the ‘Overcoming Books’ range by Robinson Publishers. My psychologist recommended them to me and I can vouch for how good they are. They have specific ones for disordered eating, low self-esteem, compulsion etc etc www.amazon.co.uk/s?ref=nb_sb_noss&k=robinson+overcoming+books&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

Try the Live Life to the Full website

Oh God, not Mind over Mood. I can still remember every annoying, whining, inept fake patient and their imaginary heart attacks.

I'm waiting for the release of "How To Do The Work: Recognise Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self" by Dr Nicole LePera. It's due out next month so don't know if it will have specific exercises in but I follow her on social media and she is a big advocate of journaling and understanding how your upbringing affects your thought process and behaviour. Great Instagram page, YouTube lectures and a step by step guide on what to focus on in your journal.
I hope you find what you're looking for!

These all sound really helpful, thank you - I will start investigating. It’s strange because I feel something like this would be so simple to make - just reflective questions. But there doesn’t seem to be anything as simple as that out there! Will check these out though - thanks so much.

@PruneYourRoses
These are really great; every therapist I know uses and recommends these on the regular. www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself

Might be worth looking at what your health board offers by way of online self help stuff. Mine is signed up to silver cloud & you can access online cbt for free on it.

@suspiria777 great - these look really useful. Thank you!

www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/Resources/Looking-After-Yourself

There are some great free resources on here

I did a CBT one in therapy for ADHD, the therapist was keen to warn me that there are a lot out there which are bullshit (he really used that word, it was funny - I'm in Germany and sometimes when people learn English, which words are professional vs not don't quite translate through).

Unfortunately I'm really struggling to find the title or publisher of the one he recommended.

Maybe have a look at the ‘mind’ website or similar there is quite often online course or literature for you to read on those sort of site. Or maybe mental health matters website, or even the NHS website or local IAPT website

I'd also recommend the 'overcoming' book series. I was recommended them by the NHS while waiting for IAPT (in my area, that's CBT therapy) I have the perfectionism one and the self esteem one, they're very easy to use/follow and provide simple written exercises to do at home that encourages reflection.

I was sceptical as I don't do the usual self help literature but these were really good.

www.theschooloflife.com/shop/know-yourself-prompt-cards/

I cant personally vouch for these but this may be the sort of thing you are looking for? There are lots of different books and card packs on their website, might be worth a look.

I found John Bradshaw’s ‘Home coming’ very helpful.

I had CBT and we used the Mind Over Mood book. Perhaps it was a newer more updated version than the previous poster didn’t like because I found it very useful.