Customer Reviews

Thoughts & Feelings: Taking Control of Your Moods and Your Life: A Workbook of Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

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A while back, I was doing extensive research before writing up a discussion on the use of cognitive behavioral therapy. I went to the original texts by Albert Ellis and Aaron Beck, and they were great for theoretical info, but this book was THE BEST for simple, easy to understand discussion of how to use the principles and techniques of cognitive behavioral therapies to help control anxiety, depression, self esteem, moods and other aspects of your life. It provides short, simple explanations and well thought through exercises you can use to take great charge of your life.

It is an excellent book for therapists who want to have a quick referral resource for patients and it is a super self help book.

Like the authors say, it is not a replacement for treatment by a doctor, but it sure goes a long way for helping some basic issues. I've used the techniques listed here along with biofeedback interventions (see more about them and how to read articles I've written on my website listed in my profile)

Bottom line-- for self help in cognitive therapy, consider this the layman's bible, and an essential bibliotherapy resource for therapists..

Starting with the premise that our thoughts create our feelings, the authors offer lots of ways to learn to listen to what our thoughts are telling us. They explain the techniques used in cognitive therapy and give practical steps for improving your life. I've used this book myself to help me get through some bad times, and given copies to several friends. I used to buy the self help books for a big library so I've seen a lot of them; this is probably my favorite for all around usefulness.

I began using this book in conjunction with a therapist and did quite well. When my therapy ended, I bought my own copy, since one can use this book alone, as well. Simple and clearly understandable, I found the book an immense help.

While for some problems the authors do NOT recommend using the book without a trained therapist, for many with more easily treated problems it is a wonderful program of self-help.

I used the book for cognitive behavioral therapy for depression and it was most effective.

This book was recommended to me by an LCS when I sought help for depression several years ago. I was also perscribed Prozac which I took for several months. The combination worked for me and the book in particular was a great tool for me long term. CBT worked for me and this book was key.

I appreciated that this book was about DOING something about your emotions vs. thinking about and reflecting on WHY you're depressed, anxious, etc. I, like many people, know exactly why I don't naturally have the best mental outlook- thinking and reflecting on the why (ruminating on a past I was powerless to change, worrying that more horrible things might happen) was part of the reason I would get so very depressed. Especially useful for me were the techniques detailed in the book to end negative loops of thought. It took time to master, but I now use the lessons I learned in this book reflexively, without effort. It has made a huge difference in my life: I deal better with negative emotions, I note the change in my moods without being trapped by them nearly as often and I am generally happier, more forward thinking and positive.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone. If it doesn't help you, it couldn't possibly hurt. Not all of it will apply to you (for instance, almost none of the anger related stuff applied to me). Changing how you think is possible and can dramatically improve your life. Try it.

I am on my third workbook. The first fell apart I used it with clients so much. The second was cast by the wayside when the third edition came out because of the amazing new chapter on mindfulness. It is full of cognitive balancing skills and coping methods. One can use it alone or with a therapist. I have seen it heal anger, depression, anxiety and even help with self-esteem.

This book has attracted the attention of my roomate, who has taken it for herself. Thanks for such a great book to help us regain our true selfs. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels their life is out of control, they themselves need to get back in touch with his/her self.

Thoughts & Feelings is a fantastic, easy-to-read self-help workbook utilising the principles of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a type of psychotherapy that has been extensively researched and validated for a range of mental health problems and is considered to be the treatment of choice for many disorders, such as depression and anxiety.

Thoughts & Feelings contains chapters dedicated to common problems such as coping with panic, worry control, depressive thinking, overcoming phobias, controlling anger and relaxation techniques, such as mindfulness. Each chapter is dedicated to a specific topic and contains some useful background information plus loads of exercises to help the reader deal with the problem. The workbook contains activity pages that the reader can write on to undertake the activity or exercise.

I would recommend this workbook for anyone wanting to overcome the specific problems that are the central features of this book, namely depression, anxiety, phobias, worry, anger, stress and panic.

I would also recommend this book to CBT therapists to use with their clients as the authors use jargon-free and easy-to-read language that clients with no prior knowledge of CBT would easily understand. As such, the workbook will aide therapists in explaining the CBT model to cleints. Furthermore, the activities are great at tackling the core thoughts that are believed to maintain common client problems such as depressionn or anxiety.

If you're interested in how cognitive behavioral therapy can help you, you should look into this book. It will give you a taste of the methods of CBT and healing your mind from debilitating thoughts.

Making the effort to change your thoughts and emotions is not an easy road - but access to the right tools, techniques and resources can help. Matthew McKay, Martha Davis and Patrick Fanning offer a thorough handbook on using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to deal with such serious emotional problems as panic disorder, phobias, obsessive thinking, depression and more. This workbook is a comprehensive guide to CBT, covering what it is, how it works and how you can use it (including worksheets) to restructure your thinking. getAbstract salutes the authors for this valuable self-help manual, and recommends it to interested readers for their own use or as a reference to help a loved one who needs to regain control over runaway emotions.

This is essentially a mental health workbook. I find it concise, logical and easy to follow. The introduction explains that not all chapters are necessary to work through for all problems. It then directs you to how to determine which chapters and exercises will help for your own needs. Even though I don't need all the chapters and exercises, I find myself reviewing chapters about worry and other topics that I find interesting and helpful. This is for mild depression or OCD or similar problems that you feel you can deal with yourself with a good tool. It is NOT a substitute for serious emotional or mental conditions.