Resources

Here are some of the books I recommend most often when working with my patients. To my knowledge, most of these are also available at local libraries in paper copy, electronic copy and as audiobooks.

Burnout by Emily and Amelia Nagoski: This book addresses the obstacles and social pressure that get in the way of our wellness as women. It explores practical ways to help yourself complete the stress cycle while also acknowledging the systemic pressure (ahem, patriarchy) that contributes to our experience. A workbook was published in January 2023 that provides a series of exercises and activities you can use to support stress reduction, and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re someone who enjoys or wants to journal, or have somewhere to capture reflections and progress.

Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski: A science based exploration of sex. Explains things like desire discrepancy, and why your body might be saying one thing while your brain says another.

Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You by Jenara Nerenberg: Jenara discusses how women have historically been underrepresented in medical research, causing us to pathologize what is actually part of the spectrum of normal human experience. If you have felt the sense that there is something different about you, this book can start the process of seeing those differences as something positive. A variety of neurodiversity is discussed including Autism, ADHD, high sensitivity, synesthesia and SPD.

Holy Hurt: Understanding Spiritual Trauma and the Process of Healing by Hillary McBride: This book supports folks looking to heal from spiritual trauma, and is also a great resource for folks who want to gain an understanding of what those experiences may have been like.

It’s not Always Depression by Hilary Hendel: This book outlines examples of emotional processing using an AEDP tool called the change triangle that I regularly use in my practice. If you have been feeling stuck with symptoms of anxiety or depression, I highly recommend this book.

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook by Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer: This workbook can help develop stronger love of self and compassion, helping provide ways to soothe when our inner critics get noisy.

The Myth of Normal by Dr. Gabor Mate with Daniel Mate: In this book, Dr Mate explores the ways that stress and trauma, as well as cultural and societal norms and pressures affect our bodies and minds, and impact our health. Norms around mental health and illness are challenged, offering a compassionate understanding and different way to approach healing.

No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems model by Richard C. Schwartz: If you’ve ever felt like there are two versions of you that at times exist in conflict this book can help explain why we feel this way. Often when we experience attachment wounds we learn that a part of ourselves needs to be hidden or shunned in order to maintain connection. As we become older, these ingrained ways of being may no longer serve the use they once did. If you are curious about how to explore these parts of yourself and move towards integration this book is a good read.

Polysecure by Jessica Fern: Written by a polyamorous therapist, this book explores non-monogamy and attachment.

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey: Tricia founded the Nap Ministry and is dedicated to liberation from the systems of capitalism, white supremacy, ableism and patriarchy, and the way they have commodified our bodies. I highly recommend this book if you are working on unravelling your own internalized beliefs pushing you towards a capitalistic view of productivity and worth.

Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A Workbook for Survivors and Therapists by Janina Fisher: This is a great resource to bring self awareness and understanding of what happens to us as survivors of trauma when our nervous system is activated. This workbook can be explored in partnership with your therapist and focuses on how the ways you learned to be helped you survive your past, creating space to explore using new ways moving forward.

The Wisdom of Your Body: Finding Healing, Wholeness and Connection through Embodied Living by Dr. Hillary Mcbride: This book addresses the way that systems of colonization, racism, sexism, and patriarchy, among others, can work to disconnect us from our bodies. It explores how we might regain health through the insight we gain directly from being embodied.

Holy/Hurt Podcast: A podcast that explores spiritual trauma and healing hosted by Dr Hillary McBride.

Other People’s Problems with Dr. Hillary McBride: Listen to snippets of therapy sessions using some of the AEDP techniques that I bring to my own work.

Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel: Listen to relationship therapy exploring a wide variety of topics including cultural difference, gender bias and non monogamy.

Sometimes we need something to help us in the moment when our nervous system is dysregulated. Finding trauma informed tools can feel overwhelming if we don’t already have resources to use that we know and love.

Here is a list of things I use when I am noticing anxiety or dysregulation in my nervous system that I have found helpful:

The Change Triangle: A core AEDP tool and something that I use all the time personally and with patients, the change triangle can help us track and build awareness around our emotional experience. This tool is explored in detail in Hilary Hendel’s book It’s Not Always Depression.

Core State Meditation: A guided meditation with Hillary Mcbride designed to connect you with your grounded steady self.

A Guide to Understanding Emotions as Sensations:Nicole created this handy downloadable tool to help you as you use the Change Triangle. Get curious about what sensations in your body might be connected to your feelings

How We Feel App: This app was designed to help you understand your emotions better, and best of all it's free. Using current science, emotions are tracked along with data like the weather, and activity levels to help make sense of how you're feeling and why. Think of an emotion journal, but on your phone that reminds you to check in!

Yoga for Balancing the Nervous System: A great short yoga meditation that is trauma informed to give your nervous system a little reset with Adriene Mishler.

Yoga for Panic and Anxiety: A short practice facilitated by Adriene Mishler that can be used when you feel anxiety coming on or as a recovery tool after a panic attack.

10 Minute Balancing Breathwork: A short breathwork session that I have found useful first thing in the morning to ground me for the start of my day hosted by Adriene Mishler.

Free resources available online to support you in your journey:

From Climate Doom to Messy Hope: For those who want support navigating how to engage in Climate Justice work, or who are looking for resources or points of connection with others, this is a great workbook.

It can feel like everywhere you turn these days we are inundated with tragedies and catastrophes in our news sources. These are often amplified through social media and can create a feeling that pulls us towards a negativity bias or feelings of existential dread.

To combat that you can deliberately seek out positive sources of news. I have found the following newsletters to be helpful:

Positive News: described as journalism about what’s going right. This site offers a newsletter and also publishes a quarterly magazine.

Reasons to be Cheeerful: described as a search engine for solutions, this site allows you to sort articles by category and includes a global perspective on topics like climate + environment, health, justice and many others. There is also an option to subscribe to a newsletter.

Here I list resources that I have found valuable in my clinical work in addressing my own systemic biases from an intersectional lens.

Books:

Decolonizing Therapy by Dr. Jennifer Mullan: Explore reimagining how mental health and therapy can work to support liberation, joy, and healing. At the same time, build awareness on how to dismantle systems that work to pathologize the necessary grief and rage that results from colonial histories and systemic oppression. If you believe the way that you practice therapy is political, this book is critical.

Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing From White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts: This book is required reading for any white therapist. It addresses mistakes that are made and how to learn to become a safer ally, while actively working to dismantle systems of oppression like white supremacy. I would also recommend Rachel’s Spiritual Activism courses available on her website.

Healing the Fragmented Selves of Trauma Survivors: Overcoming Internal Self-Alienation by Janina Fisher: This is a dense read. It provides useful direction and understanding of the different parts of self that can emerge as a result of complex attachment trauma and how to bring healing.

Justice-Doing at The Intersections of Power: Community, Therapy and Supervision by Vicki Reynolds: This book is a must read for therapists who are aware of the privilege they hold in the therapy space and see the necessity of engaging with social justice activism in their work.

The following related to AEDP therapy specifically:

Restoring Resilience by Eileen Russell: This book puts forth a belief in clients capacity to work towards their own healing. It takes a non-pathologizing stance on behaviours that we explore in therapy and the way that attachment and neurobiology can support change.

Undoing Aloneness & the Transformation of Suffering Into Flourishing: AEDP 2.0 edited by Diana Fosha: This is the current AEDP textbook and particularly useful for anyone interested in learning more about AEDP as a theoretical framework for healing.

Courses:

Justice Fundamentals Professional Skills Training: An 18 month course to develop deeper understanding of systemic oppression, teaching clinicians how to integrate an intersectional and anti-oppressive framework into their practice. This Training also offers Continuing Education Credits.