1 comments about Empowering Underachievers: New Strategies to Guide Kids (8-18) to Personal Excellence.

1. If your child is smart, but consistently fails to perform in school...
   If your child is capable but consistently fails to complete tasks without you getting involved...
   If your child is good at heart but consistently tries to shirk responsibility...
   This book can help!
   Dr Spevak details what is really going on (bad attitude due to emotional immaturity) and how to get your kid unstuck. The usual methods (rewards, punishment, getting involved etc) all dissapoint because they are external to the child and do not motivate him to change. So what will? Empowering him! When the child realizes he has choices, the capability to choose well, and the opportunity to succeed, he begins to make better choices instead of "disengaging" and relying on defense mechanisms.
   I have found the techniques to be very helpful on a practical level - especially "processing comments" (making comments to get your child thinking about his true underlying emotions) and "with-holds" (instead of punishments, deliberately deny the child something he asks for, and link it to a specific act of misbehavior). But just as important is understanding the underacheiver's behavior on the emotional level, the theory behind the techniques - and Dr Spevak explains this very well.

5 comments about The Body Image Workbook: An 8-Step Program for Learning to Like Your Looks (New Harbinger Workbooks).

1. I never thought workbooks really work. I am on Step 6 in this book, and I am really beginning to notice a difference. I still have a negative body image, but I'm beginning to realize how much of my problem is related to my thoughts as opposed to my actual body. This book speaks to me on a very personal level, and has helped me realize that several people struggle with the same problem I do. I don't think I'll be totally cured by the time I finish the book, but I do think I'll improve my body image each day by practicing the steps in the book. It's a long process, but I truly believe this book will help me learn to love my looks!



2. I found this book to be one of the most helpful books I've read on overcoming body image issues. Everyone has body image issues to some extent. Others, like me, could have received many advanced degrees and done great things in the world had they successfully channeled bad body thoughts into something productive; like accepting oneself and learning to honor the body (and genetics) given to you. This book walks readers through a number of exercises designed to help first return to the core reasons (and identify humiliating public experiences) leading to a negative body image. The book then goes on to help the reader come to grips with their own expectations and realities surrounding their body image. My nutritionist is now "prescribing" this book to all of her patients. I highly recommend this book to anyone who struggles with never feeling fully comfortable in the skin you're in.



3. I have found this workbook to be very thorough in professionally addressing the issues of body image for a variety of people. It provides a positive reference tool to those who seek greater self-confidence, self-awareness, and self-esteem.



4. I never thought that I would try using something like this workbook, but I'm glad that I purchased it. It's an easy book to read and understand and the exercises have been very helpful so far. It isn't for JUST people with weight issues, but people who are dissatisfied with their facial features, thinning hair, height, etc. Highly recommended for anyone with problems with any physical features.



5. This is really a great book. If you don't like the way you look,have self-esteem issues, fears, or depression (all these may be caused by a poor body image), read this book.
   
   Thomas Cash teaches you step by step how to overcome this crippling illusion and discover the beautiful person you are meant to be.
   
   I would highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Celebrate Your Self : Enhancing Your Self-Esteem.

1. This incredible book has been a profound influence in my process of healing. I read it at the recommendation of a friend and have been grateful eversince. I have often found myself referring back to it's rich pages to refresh my mind with it's simple and sensible, yet profound insights. Dorothy uses a cluster of some of the psychological schools of thought. This allows for a more comprehensive view of the what and how of both self-esteem and the healing process. I found the intermittent summations of the "basic ideas" very helpful. I'm confident that each person who reads it with the intent to put to practice the exercises she provides would benefit immensely. I think that they can help accelerate the learning and healing process. Do put your heart into it! May you to reap in great abundance the healing and the wisdom that you seek.



2. Excellent book. I frequently recommend this book to others. Very well written, very thorough. Great information.



3. This book, CELEBRATE YOURSELF by Dorothy Briggs, is the best book I have found to help adults empower themselves and develop healthy self-esteem. As a Marriage and Family Therapist since 1994, I have used this book with hundreds of clients and had wonderful results.
   
   I encourage you to read this book as a gift to yourself and those who love you.
   
   [...]



4. I'm not overstating how much this book helped me. I was in pretty bad shape when I read this book, but within a month of doing the exercises she gives, the spell I was under was broken; that was about twenty years ago. I noticed some of her other books are now in print and I hope this one will be to. This is the most important book I've ever read.



5. This book is written so well. A psychologist that I know told me that it is like being able to take your therapist wherever you go! I have read it and it's really good. I reccommend this book to anyone interested in psychology or wanting some self-help with esteem, figuring out why you are the way you are!, getting over the past and being able to move foward. Such a positive book! Don't delay in purchasing it.

5 comments about Practical Guide to Creative Visualization: Manifest Your Desires.

1. This is the best book on Creative Visualization I've read, I only review books I think are 5-starworthy and this is one of them. I genuinely urge you to buy this. Shakti Gawain's is good, very good in fact, but what makes this great is that it takes a more practical instead of a cosmic foo-foo approach, and Ms. Gawain borrows from Scientology with it's being, doing, having triangle -- Denning and Phillps (or should I say, the Barcynskis', Denning and Phillips are their pen-names) take a wholly original approach to the material. And although the part about singing and chanting/mantraining about your goal may seem silly at first to the normal reader. It's very effective. And "The Star Technique" is an amazing thing... It gets you what you want or something better. But all that isn't the end-all be all of the story with this book's incredible methods. Agghhh.. Just read and apply it. Or to put it quite colloquially: Hoooowheee -- that is a spicey' meatballah!

   Captain Josh.




2. Creative Visualization has changed my life. I used to be so negative & miserable.
   Now when I have a problem - I do my visualizations & meditations.
   This book & Shakti Gawain's are wonderful - my life has changed for the better!!



3. Frankly, this book was purchased as a gift to a friends and was promptly forwarded on. I have yet to hear anything positive or negative from her regarding this publication.
   
   I gave it a 5 since I have other books by the same authors and have found them informative.
   
   Spirit One



4. I have read a lot of books in the past year on creative visualization and manifesting your desires and books on witchcraft and magick. This is MY PERSONAL FAVORITE among all these becasue it goes beyond visualization- talks about how to put energy into the picture and how to realease it and also gives a few special techniques. AND more. There is no fluff - the book doesn't go on for chapters saying nothing as a filler, every chapter is informative and every page-just like the Sanaya Roman books !
   I am going to buy more Denning Phiillips books, but they do not have that good reviews, so we'll see how those compare !
   
   DC



5. (This is a review of the book "Practical Guide to Creative Visualization" by Denning & Phillips, paperback, 1983.)
   
   There is quite a bit of fluff in this 211-page book. The "meat" of the book could have been told in about 50 pages, or even less. I would rate this book for beginners only, since you are not going to find much detailed instructions here. There is also some reference to other areas of psychic practices here and there, but again, not very substantial.
   
   Some of the ideas and exercises given in this book about visualization seem strange and cumbersome, and I wonder if the authors ever had any success with them (if they even tried them).
   
   The book has an annoying characteristic where there is a long build-up in each chapter before you get to the "real" stuff, and then the real stuff itself is only about a paragraph or two long. And it wasn't even worth waiting for it. Very disappointing.
   
   You can find much better books on the topic of Creative Visualization that will explain and teach you this practice more efficiently and completely.

5 comments about Think Thin, Be Thin: 101 Psychological Ways to Lose Weight.

1. The book is a quick read, has short chapters, a single principle covered in each. It's not a mental taxation, but an expanded list of items to try as psychological reminders.
   
   This book addresses all of those aspects surrounding food outside of calories alone, beyond controlling your food. The book addresses how food (and all aspects of food) intervenes - psychologically - into the rest of your life. Therefore it addresses how your lifestyle is affected, or changing your lifestyle will change your weight. If you are not ready for change, you will not be ready for what the book presents.
   
   The book offers a large range of "technique" for becoming less food-centric in your life. It does not, however, elaborate on moving those techniques into permanent behavior change. (It felt more like I was reading a laundry list of options rather than recipes for change.) The techniques are provided in the short chapters (and it does cover an exceptionally wide range of techniques - from the simplest pause between bites to aroma therapy) but I did feel it missed the point on elaboration. Breaking out of the short chapter mold and providing a couple of at length discussion chapters might have proven a useful idea.
   
   The book is decidedly geared toward women (i.e. only women's body fat charts are provided, etc...).
   
   I didn't find it life shattering, but rather a "survey" of technique - and you get to choose which of those techniques might work for you.
   
   One EXCEPTIONAL idea that was presented was "Know Your Weights" these are your Dream, Happy, Acceptable, Disappointed, and Never-Again weights. This consciousness can help you watch yourself - stay aware of creeping instead of waiting until you get to an OH NO point again.
   
   Although the idea was not presented I do feel that eventually you probably want to move away from scale-centered measurement, and instead rely on a mirror to tell you how you feel about the shape or your body. This is true particularly if you are increasing muscle mass. The mirror approach allows you to feel comfortable with your body type, areas you want to accentuate - something that weight charts cannot do. Scales can still serve to supplement your self-review, but eventually lose their primacy as a clear means of feedback (again particularly if your muscle mass is changing).
   
   Overall the book has good ideas, may include some very helpful techniques for you, but is probably not a seminal source for those moving toward mental health in this area. Your arsenal would probably include other material, more discussion oriented, and likely higher on motivational inspiration.



2. The authors come across as friends more than instructors. Some information is a no-brainer, (eat less, move more) but there are some psychological "tricks" that have been very useful. There is one particular passage titled "No More Negatives" that I found very useful in the beginning. I checked this book out of the library a couple of times and decided that it would be a positive book to go back to during my weight-loss journey.



3. I read this book from cover to cover in a short period of time and it is excellent. It has so many different ideas, some things that you probably already know, on how to mentally prepare yourself to lose weight, eat healthfully and start exercise. It is recommended by Dr. Oz according to the back cover. I think it is a good book to keep and refer to, especially when you are at a difficult point or need some inspiration.



4. I am a strong believer that you can do anything if you put your mind to it so when I saw this book I thought maybe this is the one for me. I can't follow food plan diets b/cs I don't have the patience to get every ingredient. But this book offers a new gimick every chapter to mentally achieve the goal you want- whether its limit portion size or exercise. I have lost 3 pounds in 7 days where usually it would take me 30 days to lose 3 pounds. Using the ol'noggin has proved to be my favorite tool.



5. I am really impressed with this book so far. It has a lot of great strategies. Not all of them work for everyone but there are enough that at least some of them will work for you. I started it a few weeks ago and have made some minor adjustments it suggests and I'm now on track to being at my goal weight of 119 lbs. Everyone knows you need to eat less and exercise to reach your weight loss goals in a healthy way. Getting yourself to do that is another story. This book has been a useful tool in keeping the little fat girl inside me bitch slapped into submission.

5 comments about Leave Your Mind Behind.

1. This is a fun, little book that will help you free yourself from critical thoughts and judgments. Of course, we can't stop our thoughts, no matter how hard we try, but we can learn to unhook from our thoughts, observe them, and then choose which ones we're going to follow -- if any! "Leave Your Mind Behind" offers fun, practical exercises with titles such as, "What world are your thoughts making?", "The chocolate thought", and "Rainy day acceptance". It was both entertaining and enlightening.



2. This book is divided into 3 sections:
   
   Part I: What do you think?
   Part II: What do your thoughts do to your life?
   Part III: Stop Believing Everything you think.
   
   The first section explains the 7 different types of thoughts that cross our minds. Then author goes on to explain how to identify and watch these thoughts, understand how each thought can help or hurt you and then choose the "right" thought as you move forward. The more you know about your thoughts and your "chattering" mind, the less your mind will control your moods and your life. "Thin" book - quick read - lot's of practical advice. Worth your time...



3. Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm & Focused All Day Long
   The fun (and humorous and playful and practical) exercises in this book make me think of the bumper sticker that reads, "Don't believe everything you think!" This book was especially helpful in reminding me that there's no need to get caught up in my thoughts or to think that they define who I am. "I'm fat, lazy and a bad friend," are just thoughts, not who I am. The authors offer great ways for facing these types of thoughts, such as singing the thought to the tune of "Happy birthday," or "Home on the Range" (Songs and Silly Voices). I liked how so many of the exercises helped me gain a little distance from certain thoughts by helping me recognize what types of thoughts they are (Bossy Thoughts, Pop Up Thoughts, Stale Bread, The Seducer). In a world where we take what we think so seriously, it's great to have this handy little book to help us laugh and even play with the thoughts that normally run us ragged. This is a book with a sense of humor and practical skills to help us accept and just watch thoughts without judging them or ourselves. Bravo!



4. I have been reading Eckhart Tolle and recently become very aware that I am not my thoughts but that they are just like popups and are what the mind does. This book really brings clarity to the type of thoughts that one has and at the same time gives humorous and very profound ways to work with the thoughts that come up.
   
   I totally love this book!!!



5. "Leave Your Mind Behind" is a great resource for anyone who needs encouragement and help with accepting life as it is and moving on to have a more peaceful thought process. The chapters are short and written like a daily devotional book. The images and concepts are clear and written in a lay person's language yet full of enough complexities that re-reading the chapters can give additional insights as one progresses though acceptance and focusing on thoughts that lead to a goal. Examples of ways to change one's thoughts about a situation to relieve personal suffering are given in different ways to appeal to different needs

1 comments about Learning to Love Yourself Workbook.

1. this is a great tool for someone wanting to or needing to learn to love themselves. it's easy to read but thought provoking.

5 comments about Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice: A Revolutionary Program to Counter Negative Thoughts and Live Free from Imagined Limitations.

1. The goal of CONQUER YOUR CRITICAL INNER VOICE is to provide the reader with the insights gained by Dr. Firestone, in 25 years of investigating the critical inner voice of living, & the ways he discovered of overcoming its harmful effects.
   
   Guidelines & exercises in the book help readers identify their critical inner voices, to understand their source, & take action against these insidious defamers, so they can live a more fulfilling life, develop their own ideals & values, & embark on their own search for meaning in life.

   CONQUER YOUR CRITICAL INNER VOICE is recommended for everyone who has ever been haunted by "inner voices" from the past. Since this includes just about all of us, it is a useful book which fills a needed slot in psychiatric literature. In particular, it is a good beginning step for people who have never been in therapy.




2. Yes, the blurb is correct. Choose your section in the book and run through the inventories with a pencil and you will be amazed how your inner voice is sucking away at your joy and vitality. Put the little sucker in its place.



3. Collaboratively written by clinical psychologists Robert W. Firestone and Lisa Firestone, with the assistance of author/lecturer Joyce Catlett, Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice is an impressively "user friendly" self-help guide to learning how to overcome negative thoughts and self-imposed limitations. Individual chapters address how excessive self-criticism can interfere with intimacy, career, and general quality of life, and how it can co-opt oneself into addictive and unhealthily dependent behaviors. Strategies for learning how to restore balance and contentment to one's way of life, and also for choosing an effective therapist, offer a way out of the endless downward spiral of self-depreciating negativity. Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice is a highly recommended addition to personal reading lists and community library self-improvement, self-help reference collections.



4. "Conquer Your Critical Inner Voice: A Revolutionary Program to Counter Negative Thoughts and Live Free from Imagined Limitations" is a powerful therapeutic work for dealing with the inner voice that holds us back. It is both an explanatory text that describes how we acquire a critical inner voice and its purpose in our lives and a workbook that walks the reader through exercises, questionaires and other activities to get it under control.

   If you find that no matter what you do you don't seem to get what you want in life or you are often engaged in self-talk that is not positive in nature then this workbook could be the path to changing your life. A highly recommended read.




5. This book is simple, but it doesn't talk down to the reader. In the chapter, "How the critical inner voice interferes with your career", the section about playing the victim begins:
   
   Playing the victim is often a sign that a person is refusing to be an adult at work.
   
   How could you not embrace a book that is so direct and honest? I've been through tons and tons of crap lately, and have skimmed tons and tons of pop psychology and self help books. They all seem to fall into 4 categories: touchy-feely, new age, overly academic, and the worst, condescending superficially academic.
   
   This one is a practical workbook for people who don't necessarily want or need to delve into their pasts, or rewrite their lives in a symbolic (new age) narrative, but just want to get through another day!
   
   This book helps me look at my reality (which is created by my thoughts, feelings and attitudes) a little more rationally and objectively. There is no magic bullet for feeling better about oneself, so it's good to have the toolkit provided here to deal with that oh so critical inner voice.
   
   I recommend this book, of the dozens of self-help books that I've reviewed, it's the only one I would recommend to anyone.

4 comments about Whispers of Spirit & Happiness: Affirmational Soundtracks for Positive Learning.

1. I have known Deepak Chopra for a number of years and came across Don Miguel Ruiz through a friend. Their wisdom teaching is complementary and supplementary. The combination of both teachers in one package, spoken and sung by inspiring voices is a synergetic treasure!



2. I feel both inspired and soothed while using this product. I listen often, sometimes as background music while working on my computer and sometimes at bedtime before falling sleep. I highly recommend this product.



3. The CD does what it promised. Soft and varied musical themes as undertones to spoken affirmations. Unfortunately, it was not what I had expected, so I was disappointed. Not the fault of the CD, just a gap between my reading of the blurb and the intention of the producers



4. These are great. The music and the inspirational statements. Easy to listen to as you drive. Uplifting.

5 comments about The Broken Mirror: Understanding and Treating Body Dysmorphic Disorder.

1. BROKEN MIRROR is simply Bible for "Body Dysmorphic Disorder"(previously called" Dysmorphobia").
   Here in my country none is well-known about this debilitating disorder.
   I showed to my Health-professional this book. He studied it and only then prescribed me some effective medication. I recommend all health-professional to read this book before they start treating a BDD-patient. Thanks.



2. A through, informative, accessible introduction to Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), grounded in Phillips's clinical practice and interviews with patients. Body Dysmorphic Disorder is a psychological disease characterized with an obsession with perceived flaws in the sufferer's appearance. In reality these flaws are minimal or nonexistent, yet to the sufferer they are very real and can create extreme anxiety, obsessive thoughts, and compulsive behaviors. Phillips's book was the only one of its kind when originally published and is still one of the few books about BDD. She provides a well-written and researched introduction to all aspects of BDD, including diagnostic criteria, signs of the disease, and the impact of the disease on suffers as well as friends and family. At the end of the book she discusses treatment of BDD, but this section is limited by the lack of research done on treatment and remission. Despite this hole, the book is a well-rounded and educational introduction to the disorder, conveying both statistics and emotional impact and proving a lot of information about the how, why, and what of BDD. I highly recommend it to those interested in the subject.
   
   My interest in BDD is primarily academic and casual, therefore I cannot give feedback on this book based on either personal experience of psychological knowledge. The Broken Mirror, however, is an approachable introduction to those with no knowledge about the subject. Phillips starts from square one, giving a number of descriptions of what BDD looks like, how it effects patients, and how crippling it can be. These patient histories are so prevalent they can get tedious, bu they do a fair job of introducing the subject and impressing its severity and reality on to even the causal reader. The body of the book is a through description of BDD: what it is, how it is diagnosed, the thoughts and behaviors it contains, the impact of those thoughts and behaviors, who suffers from BDD, where the disorder originates, and finally how it can be treated. The writing style is clear and simple, important points are highlighted and chapters and subheading are logically divided, sections end with a complete summary, and the appendixes and index are useful and complete.
   
   For all of the strengths of the book, the section on treating BDD is unfortunately its weakness. The book was written ten years ago, before much study had been done on treating BDD, and so most of the information and recommendations comes from Phillips's own practice and observations. Even now then years later, research on the treatment of BDD and long-term nature of the disorder is severely lacking. All in all, Phillips's advice is good: she encourages sufferers to seek help, a good idea no matter what form of treatment they seek, and provides information and suggestions for the friends and family of BDD sufferers about how to provide support, encourage the sufferer to seek help, and maintain a healthy relationship with the sufferer. Hopefully as more research is done we will know more about BDD treatment options and effectiveness, but for now Phillips's book provides a number of suggestions to point patients in the right direction, and it is far better than nothing.
   
   I highly recommend this book to those interested in BDD and also (although I speak without any personal experience) to sufferers and especially to their friends and family. Not only is Broken Mirror a wealth of information about the disorder, it also provides comfort to suffers and information to friends and family, validating the disease, describing others's experiences with BDD and what we know about the causes of it, and creating compassion for the disorder. Because the perceived physical defect in BDD isn't apparent to others, BDD can be a difficult disease to understand, accept, or help with; Phillips does a lot to right that wrong by providing information and compassionate insight. Although the book is a bit repetitive and the therapy section limited, this is a well-rounded and useful introduction to the subject and should be useful to curious, sufferers, and those who are impacted by it alike.



3. The book was just what I was after. It provided a good theoretical and psychological basis as well as what evidence based treatments that were effective in this population. It also provided great chapters on effective forms of medication to use, how to conduct an assessment and case studies. Definite recommendation if working with BDD patients.



4. Katharine has provided a most comprehensive resource of body dysmorphic disorder. As a health care practitioner, I found the numerous case studies and anecdotes exceptionally detailed and provided insightful background into the suffering that is BDD. As humans, we all have concerns about body image from time to time, however this book clearly delineates acceptable levels of personal attention with dysfunctional and often debilatating behaviour. I was dissapointed to find the treatment section quite heavily focused on pharmaceutical medications, though there is also strong recommendation for supportive psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavioural therapy. I feel this book is intended for health practitioners and non-sufferers to gain a thorough insight into BDD.



5. I purchased this book 12 yrs. ago when it was first published, and was moved to tears many times while reading it. That copy was read and reread so many times, that I had to purchase another. I am a parent of a BDD sufferer (gender withheld), and have suffered with that family member as the BDD took hold in mid-teens (always thought it was a passing phase then), and for the many years that followed. Dr. Phillips has written a compassionate and understanding book on a subject that had never been brought into the light of today's society. Reading it makes me realize how many others out there suffer as our now middle-aged child has suffered through all these years. Dr. Phillips gives sound advice to those who are spouses, parents, children or friends who are related or connected to a BDD victim. This book offers hope and guidance...a must read for any BDD sufferer and for those who--like me--suffer along with them.