Best CBT Books for Anxiety (15+ List)
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This is a collection of the best CBT books for anxiety that can help you work through your worries. These books apply the principles of CBT to help you replace unhelpful thoughts with more helpful ones. Try these yourself or with your therapist to fight your anxiety disorder.
What are the Best CBT Books for Anxiety?
We looked at the top CBT books for anxiety and made a list of the best ones here:
- Retrain Your Brain by Sith J. Gillihan
- Starving the Anxiety Gremlin by Kate Collins-Donnelly
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Lawrence Wallace
- Vagus Nerve and CBT by Matthew Reyes
- The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Jane Aniston
- Change Your Thinking by Sara Edelman
- How to be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen
- Mind Over Mood by Greenberger, Padesky, & Beck
- Confidence and Success with CBT by Joseph & Chapman
- Be Calm by Jill P. Weber
- The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook by McKay & Skeen
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety by Daniel Anderson
- The Anxiety and Worry Workbook by Clark & Beck
- Parent-Led CBT for Child Anxiety by Creswell, Parkinson, Thirlwall, & Willetts
- The Big Book of Exposures by Springer & Tolin
Top CBT Books to Beat Anxiety
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy technique that targets unhelpful patterns of thought. Since anxiety is a thought disorder, to cure it, one must work on changing their thoughts and core beliefs.
CBT appears to be both efficacious and effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders. It can also help individuals with a primary diagnosis of Panic Disorder, Social Phobia, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
Research even suggests that therapist supplemented bibliotherapy could provide an efficacious treatment option for families isolated from traditional treatment services. Here, we have listed some of the best CBT books you can use to improve anxiety:
Retrain Your Brain by Sith J. Gillihan
Research has shown that Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a highly effective technique for finding relief from depression and anxiety. It helps you identify and replace thought patterns and behaviours that aren’t working with new ones that work better.
A CBT tool kit will help you get through negative feelings and help you realize your full potential. This book by Psychologist Dr Gillihan teaches you exactly how to do that with a groundbreaking 7-week plan.
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin by Kate Collins-Donnelly
Starving the Anxiety Gremlin is a unique resource to help young people understand different types of anxiety. It also teaches how to manage them. This includes panic attacks, phobias, social anxiety, generalised anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
This engaging workbook uses fun activities and real-life stories and can be used by young people aged 10+. It is also an ideal anxiety management resource for those working with young people. Like, mental health practitioners, social workers, education sector staff and youth workers.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Lawrence Wallace
This book contains the best advice from a former sufferer of anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts. Inspired by compassion, this book is a gift to fellow casualties of negative thought patterns, destructive behaviours, and self-loathers.
Do you wish for freedom from these persistent demons? Then you have to meet them face-to-face. Because only by doing so can you hope to prevail and achieve inner peace. Aimed at equipping you with the most effective techniques, this book combines CBT with Buddhist and Stoic principles.
Vagus Nerve and CBT by Matthew Reyes
Mental health is intermittently related to your physiology. For example, your heart rate, digestion and temperament are all dependent on a single nerve – the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve connects your brain to all of your organs.
Along with other things, it also controls your heart rate and takes care of your mood. This book explains how to boost your physical and mental health by stimulating your vagus nerve with natural methods.
The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne
This workbook is written by a leading expert in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and offers powerful, step-by-step treatment strategies. It mentions panic disorders, agoraphobia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), worry, and fear.
You will also find new information on relapse prevention after successful treatment. Along with that, there are updates on medication, cannabis derivatives, exposure, nutrition, spirituality, and so much more! Using it on your own, or in conjunction with therapy can improve your mental well-being.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Jane Aniston
The next on the list is a great book to understand how to overcome anxiety. If you want help to control negative thoughts or depression, this book is definitely recommended. It can also serve as an amazing read for anyone who would like to know more about behavioural therapy.
Through methods of affirmations, and eliminating toxic people, it will bring about change to create long-term, tangible improvements in life. You will learn how to set goals for yourself when it comes to such changes.
Change Your Thinking by Sara Edelman
In Change Your Thinking, psychologist Sarah Edelman clearly lays out tips and tricks to take control of your mental health. She talks about how to use CBT to develop rational thought patterns in response to upsetting emotions and situations.
By following the practical, easy-to-follow exercises and examples, you can take control of your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Read this book to find more positive ways of dealing with life’s hurdles. Discover a happier you.
How to be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen
Are you someone who does fine around their friends but just can’t speak up in a meeting or gathering? Maybe you’re usually confident but have recently moved or started a new job, only to feel isolated and unsure. Or, you might just be shy.
You might have heard things like “Just be yourself!” from others, but that is easier said than done. Especially if you are prone to social anxiety. With humour and authority, Dr Hendriksen will take you through social anxiety and how to rewire your brains through behaviour.
Mind Over Mood by Greenberger, Padesky, & Beck
Mind over Mood is a life-changing book that has already helped more than 1,200,000 readers. It teaches how to use CBT to conquer depression, anxiety, panic attacks, anger, guilt, shame and low self-esteem.
You can also pick it up if you have been suffering from eating disorders, substance abuse, or relationship problems. Discover simple yet powerful steps you can take to overcome emotional distress–and feel happier, calmer, and more confident.
Confidence and Success with CBT by Joseph & Chapman
Written by famous CBT therapist teams, Confidence and Success with CBT gives you exactly what the title promises. This book focuses on one of the greatest barriers to happiness and success at work and in life – lack of confidence.
It dictates powerful CBT techniques for becoming more confident, motivated, persuasive and for mastering anxiety and low self-esteem. Comprehensive in scope, this guide to CBT fundamentals makes an ideal handbook for people interested in implementing its techniques.
Be Calm by Jill P. Weber
Be Calm targets symptoms wherever they strike with cutting-edge techniques that help you reduce anxiety on the spot. This book is both a handy resource for stress management and a close look into the causes of anxiety.
Evidence-based strategies show you how to control a variety of symptoms in lots of different circumstances. With those, you are always prepared. Author Jill Weber holds a PhD and offers advanced techniques that reflect the latest psychology research.
The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook by McKay & Skeen
Next, we have an important workbook by best-selling authors McKay, Fanning, and Skeen. They offer a breakthrough anxiety solution based on CBT to help you understand and overcome your fears and worries. Combining CBT and exposure therapy, this workbook helps you understand how worry and rumination drive anxiety.
It offers practical exercises to help you adopt new habits of observing your thoughts, rather than accepting them. This book shows how the simple belief that worries and fears can be endured, can be an extremely powerful treatment.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety by Daniel Anderson
Daniel Anderson wrote Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety as an interactive practical guide to break free from anxiety. Using only proven steps and well-researched CBT techniques, this book is designed to help you confront your demons head-on.
And through that, gives you the edge you need to conquer your anxiety and build a better relationship with yourself. With the self-help guide, you will be able to interact with known and unknown people from all walks of life. Now, with more confidence and ease than ever before.
The Anxiety and Worry Workbook by Clark & Beck
If you are seeking lasting relief from out-of-control anxiety, this is the book for you. It is grounded in CBT, the proven treatment approach for many mental illnesses. Carefully crafted worksheets, exercises, and examples reflect the authors’ decades of experience helping people who suffer from anxiety.
Learn practical strategies to identify anxious thoughts, triggers, and challenge the thoughts and beliefs that lead to distress. With this book, you can safely face the situations you fear and free yourself from anxiety’s grip.
Parent-Led CBT for Child Anxiety by Creswell, Parkinson, Thirlwall, & Willetts
Parents can play a strong role in helping their children overcome anxiety disorders, given the right tools. This innovative, research-based book shows clinicians how to teach parents CBT techniques to use with their 5- to 12-year-old.
Here, session-by-session guidelines are provided to give them the skills to promote children’s flexible thinking and independent problem-solving. The techniques will help them face specific fears, and tackle accompanying difficulties, such as sleep problems and school refusal.
The Big Book of Exposures by Springer & Tolin
This breakthrough book offers 400 creative, innovative, and easy-to-implement exposure exercises to help both the clinician and their clients. You will learn how to move past fears, energise treatment sessions, and improve client outcomes.
The Big Book of Exposures offers unconventional new exposures to help you provide the most effective treatment possible. In addition, it has a comprehensive overview of exposure therapy along with rationales for its use in treating anxiety-related disorders. It will help you confidently help your client through their disorder.
Conclusion
This was a collection of the best CBT books for anxiety that can help you work through your worries. These books apply the principles of CBT to help you replace unhelpful thoughts with more helpful ones. Try these yourself or with your therapist to fight your anxiety disorder.
Our list included Retrain Your Brain by Sith J. Gillihan, Starving the Anxiety Gremlin by Kate Collins-Donnelly, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Lawrence Wallace, Vagus Nerve and CBT by Matthew Reyes, The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook by Edmund J. Bourne, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy by Jane Aniston, Change Your Thinking by Sara Edelman, How to be Yourself by Ellen Hendriksen, Mind Over Mood by Greenberger, Padesky, & Beck, and Confidence and Success with CBT by Joseph & Chapman.
We also described Be Calm by Jill P. Weber, The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook by McKay & Skeen, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety by Daniel Anderson, The Anxiety and Worry Workbook by Clark & Beck, Parent-Led CBT for Child Anxiety by Creswell, Parkinson, Thirlwall, & Willetts, and The Big Book of Exposures by Springer & Tolin.
FAQs (Best CBT Books for Anxiety)
Is CBT the best treatment for anxiety?
Anxiety is primarily a thought disorder so the way out of it is through thought management. CBT offers simple and doable techniques to replace unhelpful thinking patterns with helpful ones. Clinicians almost always use CBT techniques to treat anxiety.
How do I practice CBT for anxiety?
In order to practice CBT for anxiety, you must first understand the interconnection between thoughts, feelings, and actions. CBT Triangles is an exercise that helps you identify these links. Once you have recognised patterns in the thoughts you have and the feelings they induce, you can work on reappraisal techniques.
These are ways to look at the same situation in a new way so that the thought that comes is a more helpful one. You can use a workbook or consult a psychologist to learn how to practice CBT.
Can I teach myself cognitive behavioral therapy?
It is possible to teach yourself CBT through guides and workbooks. However, it is best to consult a therapist as they will help you understand the causes and past experiences that shape your perceptions. They can also help you replace maladaptive thoughts with helpful ones.
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