Resources
Suggested Readings & Programs
Looking at each link will provide you an overview that helps further define our program and the areas that interest us. Stay tuned. Our reading and research and suggestions are regularly evolving.
For Clients
ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
ACT With Love: Stop Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
The Dialectical Behavior Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation & Distress Tolerance by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley
Don’t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions by Pema Chodron
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes, PhD with Spencer Smith
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples by Harville Hendrix, PhD and Helen LaKelly Hunt, PhD
Getting Unstuck by Pema Chodron
Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth About Addiction Treatment—and How to Get Help that Works by Anne M. Fletcher
Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps by Charlotte Davis Kasl, PhD
Mind and Emotions: A Universal Treatment for Emotional Disorders by Matthew McKay PhD, Patrick Fanning, and Patrica E. Zurita Ona, PsyD
Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition by Steven C. Hayes, Victoria M. Follette, and Marsha M. Linehan
Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
The Origin of Everyday Moods: Managing Energy, Tension, and Stress by Robert E. Thayer, PhD
The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Self-Healing by Anne Weiser Cornell, PhD
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis PhD, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman, MSW and Matthew McKay, PhD
Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocalate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions by Dr. A Thomas Horvath
Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded by Anne M. Fletcher
The Solo Partner- Repairing Your Relationship On Your Own by Phil Deluca, MSW
Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner, PhD
The Pocket Pema Chodron by Pema Chodron
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. Gottman, PhD
The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize it and How to Respond by Patricia Evans
When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within by Matthew McKay, PhD, Peter D. Rogers, PhD, and Judith McKay, RN
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
For Family
ACT With Love: Stop Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
Don’t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions by Pema Chodron
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes, PhD with Spencer Smith
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples by Harville Hendrix PhD and Helen LaKelly Hunt PhD
Getting Unstuck by Pema Chodron
Getting Your Loved One Sober: Alternatives to Nagging, Pleading, and Threatening by Robert J. Meyers, PhD and Brenda L. Wolfe, PhD
Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition by Steven C. Hayes, Victoria M. Follette, and Marsha M. Linehan
The Origin of Everyday Moods: Managing Energy, Tension, and Stress by Robert E. Thayer, PhD
The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Self-Healing by Anne Weiser Cornell, PhD
Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocalate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions by Dr. A Thomas Horvath
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded by Anne M. Fletcher
The Solo Partner—Repairing Your Relationship On Your Own by Phil Deluca, MSW
Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
The Pocket Pema Chodron by Pema Chodron
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work: A Practical Guide from the Country’s Foremost Relationship Expert by John M. Gottman, PhD
Train Your Brain to Get Happy: The Simple Program That Primes Your Grey Cells for Joy, Optimism, and Serenity by Teresa Aubele PhD, Stan Wenck, EdD and Susan Reynolds
The Verbally Abusive Relationship: How to Recognize it and How to Respond by Patricia Evans
When Anger Hurts: Quieting the Storm Within by Matthew McKay, PhD, Peter D. Rogers, PhD, and Judith McKay, RN
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
For Professionals
ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
ACT With Love: Stop Struggling, Reconcile Differences, and Strengthen Your Relationship with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
Addiction and the Vulnerable Self: Modified Dynamic Group Therapy for Substance Abusers by Edward J. Khantzian, William E. McAuliffe, and Kurt S. Halliday
The Dialectical Behavior Skills Workbook: Practical DBT Exercises for Learning Mindfulness, Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation & Distress Tolerance by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey C. Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley
Don’t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions by Pema Chodron
Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy by David D. Burns
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life: The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Steven C. Hayes, PhD with Spencer Smith
Getting Unstuck by Pema Chodron
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Mate, MD
Inside Rehab: The Surprising Truth About Addiction Treatment- and How to Get Help that Works by Anne M. Fletcher
Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps by Charlotte Davis Kasl, PhD
Mind and Emotions: A Universal Treatment for Emotional Disorders by Matthew McKay PhD, Patrick Fanning, and Patrica E. Zurita Ona, PsyD
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors by Sarah Bowen, Neha Chawla, and G. Alan Marlatt
Mindfulness and Acceptance: Expanding the Cognitive-Behavioral Tradition by Steven C. Hayes, Victoria M. Follette, and Marsha M. Linehan
Mindfulness for Beginners: Reclaiming the Present Moment—and Your Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Motivating Substance Abusers to Enter Treatment: Working With Family Members by Jane Ellen Smith and Rober J. Meyers
The Origin of Everyday Moods: Managing Energy, Tension, and Stress by Robert E. Thayer, PhD
The Pocket Pema Chodron by Pema Chodron
The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing It Now by Rita Emmett
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach
Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions by Dr. A. Thomas Horvath
Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems- Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded by Anne M. Fletcher
Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from old Habits and Fears by Pema Chodron
Train Your Brain to Get Happy: The Simple Program That Primes Your Grey Cells for Joy, Optimism, and Serenity by Teresa Aubele PhD, Stan Wenck, EdD and Susan Reynolds
Treating Addiction as a Human Process by Edward J. Khantzian
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Our Favorites
Addiction and the Vulnerable Self: Modified Dynamic Group Therapy for Substance Abusers by Edward J. Khantzian, William E. McAuliffe, and Kurt S. Halliday
More than any other, this book is the single most important to us for inspiring our treatment philosophy and building the foundation for the first elements of our program. Highly recommended for professionals.
Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Addictive Behaviors by Sarah Bowen, Neha Chawla, and G. Alan Marlatt
This book provides clinicians a practical guide for teaching relapse prevention. Clients at A Positive Alternative were given the opportunity to participate in this valuable research at its early stages. Participants gained valuable skills and began to immediately incorporate mindfulness as a part of their recovery. Following this success, we included it as a vital part of our program.
ACT Made Simple: An Easy-To-Read Primer on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by Russ Harris
Harris takes the concepts of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and offers explanations, exercises and examples and truly makes ACT simple and user friendly. ACT is closely aligned with our treatment philosophy. Highly recommended for professionals and clients alike.
Sober for Good: New Solutions for Drinking Problems—Advice from Those Who Have Succeeded by Anne Fletcher
Anne Fletcher took a survey of hundreds who resolved their drinking problem. By telling their stories, she opens up the discussion about how people go about this resolution. She discovers a “vital truth: no single path to sobriety is right for every individual”.
Many of our clients have found this to be encoraging and supportive, particularly when they have had questions about approaches to sobriety that did not seem to fit their own philosophy.
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner, PhD
This book is a classic. Of all the books written about personal relationships, this book stands out offering wise and constructive tools and concepts for honoring feelings and developing healthy boundaries.
Two workbooks clients have found useful…
Sex, Drugs, Gambling & Chocolate: A Workbook for Overcoming Addictions
Recovery by Choice: A Workbook
“I enjoyed the person-specific focus that empowers the individual; flexible time frame; great group support and excellent staff.”
“I enjoyed the person-specific focus that empowers the individual; flexible time frame; great group support and excellent staff.”