#THE number one cognitive therapy book! (2004-01-28) If there was ever a book that could change your life, this is one of them. It s so practical, insightful, intelligent, and useful. It has had a big influence on myself, and on my outlook on life. I love the way the authors (Dr s Greenberger and Padesky) use complete and incomplete thought records to ",teach", the reader how to do it for him/herself. It has truly been of great help to me in recognizing my own patterns of distorted thinking as well as the ",alternative/balanced", thinking which has helped to impr...

#It Helped Me to Change my Life (2003-06-26) This book helped give me exercises to learn how to deal with my depression and anxiety. It s important to slowly do the exercises and complete the entire book. I feel like a new person in control of my thoughts and feelings. I recommend it highly.

#excellent introduction to CBT (2003-04-16) I ve used this workbook successfully as a therapist at a community mental health clinic serving poorer clients in Tucson AZ. I ve used it in individual and group therapy. Frankly, I ve found ",Mind Over Mood", much more user-friendly than the more popular ",Feeling Good Handbook", by David Burns, which contains similar cognitive therapy methods. The ",thought record", chart, in particular--the heart of CBT--is more straightforward in Mind Over Mood. They ve set up seven intuitive columns, from left to right. Bu...

#It Cured my Anxiety (2003-01-10) If you suffer from Anxiety this is a MUST READ book! The book is simple but yet highly effective in the treatment of depression and anxiety. The worksheets along with the examples are fabulous. I have been anxiety free since reading the book. I definitely give it 5 stars.

#Excellent Workbook -- A supplement to cognitive self-help (2002-11-27) In my opinion this is a truly excellent WORKBOOK. The couple of negative reviews seem to be missing the point that workbooks are, by their nature, supplements -- either supplements to therapy or to a text-rich psychology book that is not done in workbook form. OK? I think that is the key issue. I use this workbook as a supplement to working through the chapters of my favorite book on cognitive self-help psychology, which is The Positive Power of Negative Thinking by Julie Norem. For me, it is a very helpful, ins...

#Reality is absolutely relative. (2008-09-16) At first glance, the title of Dan Ariely s book seems to be an oxymoron. (It certainly catches one s attention. ) Can irrational thought and/or behavior be predicted? Perhaps if it is repetitive? (The judgment and behavior of at least some people can be repetitive and thus predictable. ) So I began to read his book with curiosity but also, yes, with some skepticism. Here are a few of my reactions. First, he learned a number of lessons from what he calls experiments in his life, each of which struck him as being counterintuitive. For exam...

#People Are Predictably Interested In More Than Money (2008-04-22) Only a professor of behavioral economics would conclude that when people respond to motives other than money they are being predictably irrational. If you want to see some clever experiments that demonstrate that people are interested in things other than money, read this book. I would like to observe, however, that such experiments have to be taken with a grain of salt when people know that they are experiments or reflect unexpected questions rather than serious looks at on-going behavior in areas where people have a ...

#Excellent book - controversial, but well founded (2008-04-03) Predictable Irrational is probably one of the most remarkable books after Freakonomics. This is a book about the paradoxes of human judgment. All people, regardless who they are, country they live in, jobs they have, or language they speak, make standard mistakes because our brains work in certain ways. Predictable Irrational is not the first book about such phenomena. My other favorite books on this subject include The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz and Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious by Gerd Gige...

#Very important book (2004-06-14) This is a crucial book to evaluate for those suffering from depression but skeptical of the effectiveness of most psychologists and self-help books. Burns is one of the biggest popularizers of cognitive-behavioral therapy, one of extremely few therapeutic forms that have stood up to any scientific scrutiny. Over the last 20 years, CBT has become the predominant form of therapy practiced by psychologists. This book is intensive CBT, much more involving and direct than the form practiced in most psychologists offices. Burns takes a very simple approa...

#Excellent practical advice! (2004-03-03) Because I suffer from bipolar disorder (manic-depression), I have been looking for a something that can help me in some way. Most self-help type books have not helped me. This is the first book that really enabled me to see some light. It has excellent practical advice regarding how to manage your emotions by behaving and thinking in new ways. It takes you through the process step by step and can be understood by ordinary people like myself without rereading it five times. After benefiting from reading this book for a while, I became curiou...

#Effectively disentangling the distortions in one s mind (2004-01-05) Hat s off to Dr. Burns for having written a very practical guide anyone can use to combat depression and build positive self esteem. For years I have been in therapy, but I have realized that positive change all comes down to me. Burns provides the simplistic, yet highly effective tools to work through one s distortions on a daily basis. As he emphasizes, merely reading the book will not help. It is reading, understanding, but most importantly, DOING the exercises on paper that will produce results. Burns writes...

#Very Helpful Sequel to Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (2003-11-26) I found this book to be very helpful as an adjunct to Burns s previous book Feeling Good. While not absolutely essential, I think most people would benefit from reading and applying the techniques from Feeling Good prior to studying The Feeling Good Handbook. Once you have the basics down from the former book, you can more easily benefit from the specific techniques in the Handbook. I especially found the chapters on procrastination to be very helpful. I was able to go from extremely depressed to normal and happ...

#The most useful self help book I ve ever read. (2003-11-13) Trying to overcome negative emotions and habits by thinking positive thoughts and applying advice given in many self-help books is like trying to solve the quadratic equation in your head. The thing that sets this book apart is that it gives you a step by step written procedure with which you discover, analyze and dispute the thoughts that make you feel bad. After doing the written exercise - the triple column technique, I found that the new rational thoughts attached themselves to the negative emotions I was trying to ove...

#Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) (2007-10-07) Sometimes, I think that the world is full of hypocrites. The news is full of politicians who preach family values and then are caught in an affair. Everyday we see religious advocates who call for peace and in the same breath state that their God is the only true God. Then, there s the business world where lying and cheating seem to be part of the game. Sometimes, I wonder how these people live with themselves. Mistake Were Made (but not by me) addresses that exact question. It would seem that the human mind is designed to selective...

#shift will happen (2007-09-18) Occassionally you find a book that shifts you as you read it. This is oneof them. I read this book on a plane to a training session in another town. Were the very remarkable value added experiences I had during the trip due to reading this book? There is no proof, but I would say yes. Even though you may not find the examples fit you exactly, it is stillworth reading them. Somehow I found I responded in some subtle way to themanyway.

#inside the truth (2007-05-03) a book to read and read the exercises work you will see the difference it will make to your life it has mine another book that makes absolute sense is wrote with truth and authenticity someone with a rare insight is the calling of your true self elizabeth anne bell both highly recommended