Best Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Books of 2025

The Comprehensive Clinician's Guide to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is an excellent resource for mental health professionals, students, trainers, supervisors, teachers, and clinicians of all levels. The book provides practical tools and easy-to-understand worksheets to help clients build effective coping skills and become their own therapist, sustaining recovery across a wide range of issues. The authors' focused approach directs attention to what is most important in practice, ensuring high-fidelity CBT. Overall, this guide is an optimistic and confidence-building book that belongs on the shelf of any clinician wishing to understand the practice of contemporary CBT.

The Retrain Your Brain workbook is a 7-week self-directed plan that teaches practical cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to manage anxiety and depression. Dr. Seth Gillihan, a psychologist with 15 years of experience, designed the workbook with unique weekly activities that build on the previous week's work. The workbook is suitable for both sporadic and constant anxiety and includes real-life examples that make the information and activities more accessible to CBT newcomers. The readers have praised the book for its relatable approach, eye-opening material, and effectiveness. In summary, Retrain Your Brain is an excellent resource for anyone struggling with anxiety and depression.

The CBT Toolbox for Children and Adolescents is a comprehensive workbook that offers over 200 worksheets, exercises, and activities to help children cope with and overcome a range of struggles, including trauma, ADHD, autism, anxiety, depression, and conduct disorders. Written by experienced clinicians and teachers, this practical and easy-to-use resource is adapted from cognitive behavioral therapy and includes client activities that children can do themselves, either in-session or as homework. The book is authored by Lisa Weed Phifer, Amanda K Crowder, Tracy Elsenraat, and Robert Hull, and published by PESI Publishing, Inc. It's an excellent resource for parents, therapists, and educators who work with children and adolescents.

ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is a practical guide for mental health professionals looking to optimize client sessions. The book offers clear explanations of the six ACT processes and provides real-world tips and solutions for implementing them in practice. The second edition includes new information and chapters on self-compassion, trauma, and more. The book is proven-effective in treating various psychological issues and offers exciting new tools, techniques, and strategies for promoting profound behavioral change. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for both newcomers and experienced professionals in the field.

The Shadow Work Journal is a comprehensive guide to help readers face their shadows and heal the deepest parts of their subconscious. With interactive exercises, journaling prompts, and guided pages, this journal provides an easy-to-use tool to become aware of self-sabotaging behaviors and experience the healing one deserves. The benefits of shadow work include improving interactions with others, healing generational trauma, setting personal boundaries, growing compassion, becoming “un-stuck,” and gaining more awareness and clarity of the world around you. Overall, this book is a unique and valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their mental and emotional wellbeing.

This revised edition of "Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond" is a must-read for clinicians and graduate students seeking to learn the fundamentals of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). The book covers core cognitive, behavioral, and experiential techniques, and includes extended cases that illustrate how a skilled therapist delivers CBT and troubleshoots common difficulties. The third edition includes new chapters on the therapeutic relationship and integrating mindfulness into treatment, as well as recovery-oriented cognitive therapy (CT-R) and strategies from other modalities. The companion website features downloadable worksheets and videos of therapy sessions. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in CBT and its applications.

The CBT Deck: 101 Practices to Improve Thoughts, Be in the Moment & Take Action in Your Life is a practical guide to reducing stress and improving mental health. It offers 101 action-oriented and mindfulness tools to quickly build positive emotions in your life. The CBT Deck is a powerful tool for growth, providing dedicated time and space for reinforcement of habits that perpetuate wellness. The techniques offered in this card deck are based on the soundest science, shaped into easy and memorable takeaways. Overall, it is an invaluable set of practices that can help anyone looking to enhance their health and productivity.

The Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD: A Comprehensive Manual is an essential read for clinicians working with patients who have PTSD. It provides a thorough understanding of cognitive processing therapy (CPT) and session-by-session guidelines for implementation, with sample dialogues and 40 reproducible client handouts. The book also discusses how to adapt the approach for specific populations, such as combat veterans, sexual assault survivors, and culturally diverse clients. The large-size format facilitates photocopying and day-to-day use. Overall, the book is an indispensable resource for any practitioner who wishes to utilize this powerful therapeutic approach.

As seen on Good Morning America's SEPTEMBER 2020 READING LIST and FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2020!"We need to read stories about folks who have been through hell and kept going... Fascinating." ―Glennon Doyle, A Favorite Book of 2020 on Good Morning America. "Gildiner is nothing short of masterful―as both a therapist and writer. In these pages, she has gorgeously captured both the privilege of being given access to the inner chambers of people's lives, and the meaning that comes from watching them grow into the selves they were meant to be." ―Lori Gottlieb, New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone. In this fascinating narrative, therapist Catherine Gildiner’s presents five of what she calls her most heroic and memorable patients. Among them: a successful, first generation Chinese immigrant musician suffering sexual dysfunction; a young woman whose father abandoned her at age nine with her younger siblings in an isolated cottage in the depth of winter; and a glamorous workaholic whose narcissistic, negligent mother greeted her each morning of her childhood with "Good morning, Monster.". Each patient presents a mystery, one that will only be unpacked over years. They seek Gildiner's help to overcome an immediate challenge in their lives, but discover that the source of their suffering has been long buried.. As in such recent classics as The Glass Castle and Educated, each patient embodies self-reflection, stoicism, perseverance, and forgiveness as they work unflinchingly to face the truth. Gildiner's account of her journeys with them is moving, insightful, and sometimes very funny. Good Morning, Monster offers an almost novelistic, behind-the-scenes look into the therapist's office, illustrating how the process can heal even the most unimaginable wounds.

The Noom Mindset is the first official book by the leading digital health company Noom, which has helped millions of people achieve their weight and health goals. This book deconstructs habits around eating and weight management, and teaches readers how to cultivate a growth mindset, master the forging or deconstructing of behavior chains, overcome thought distortions, and generate meaningful internal motivation for staying focused on their goals. Based on over a decade of research and experimentation, this book is an instruction manual for achieving sustainable lifestyle changes, including weight loss. The Noom Mindset is a powerful tool for anyone looking to change their habits and create meaningful, lasting changes in their lives.