Books
They F*** You Up: How to Survive Family Life, Oliver James (Bloomsbury, £8.99)
Clinical psychologist Oliver James looks at how the first six years of our upbringing affects us in later life.
The Consolations of Philosophy, Alain de Botton (Penguin, £7.99)
Using philosophy to address problems people face in modern life, de Botton covers subjects such as financial difficulties, frustration, inadequacy and broken heartedness.
Wise Therapy: Tim LeBon(Sage, £18.99)
A practical guide to using philosophy as therapy. LeBon encourages counsellors and psychotherapy practitioners to use philosophy with their patients to help them make better decisions.
A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder: Eric Abrahamson and David H Freedman (Orion, £6.99)
Those who struggle to keep things neat and tidy are entitled to feel smug after reading this book, which argues that disorder actually makes us more productive.
Emotions Revealed: Understanding Faces and Feelings: Paul Ekman (Orion, £8.99)
Ekman has been studying emotion for more than 40 years, and his work with facial cues is revered by fellow psychologists. The book includes photographs that show the effects emotions have on our faces and bodies.
Beyond Fear: Dorothy Rowe (Harper Perennial, £12.99)
Beyond Fear explores the idea that most of our suffering is driven by fear, and offers practical advice about how to deny anxiety and panic, and how to turn fear into courage.
The Dreamer's Dictionary: Understanding the Deeper Meaning of Your Dreams: Stearn Robinson andTom Corbett (HarperCollins, £6.99)
A guide to understanding and interpreting your dreams, organised in an A-to-Z format.
Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are: Daniel Nettle (Oxford University Press, £12.99)
An in-depth exploration of the different types of personality that asks which traits are best and argues that our personalities originate from our biological make-up.
Gifts Differing: Understanding Personality Type : Isabel Briggs Myers and Peter B Myers (Davies-Black, £13.50)
A book for anyone wanting to better understand the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, based on behaviour, perception and judgment.
The Wolfman and Other Cases: Sigmund Freud (Penguin, £12.99)
Freud uses a series of case studies, the most well-known being the "Wolfman", Little Hans and the "Ratman", to illustrate how dreams can help unlock deep-seated trauma.
Introducing Lacan: Darian Leader and Judy Groves(Icon, £9.99)
The illustrations and lucid text help make this a coherent introduction to some of Lacan's key ideas.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking: Malcolm Gladwell (Penguin, £9.99)
An in-depth look at intuition and how we can use it to make better decisions and improve our lives.
Peoplewatching: A Guide to Body Language: Desmond Morris (Vintage, £9.99)
A guide that explains how the people we watch give off signals, both consciously andunconsciously, to express how they feel.
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals:
Charles Darwin(HarperCollins, £12.99)
A thorough examination of human behaviour from an evolutionary perspective.
Emotional Rollercoaster:A Journey Through the Science of Feelings: Claudia Hammond (HarperCollins, £8.99)
Drawing on the latest neurological techniques, Radio 4 presenter Claudia Hammond looks at the complexity of emotion and demonstrates how releasing emotions can be good for us.
Tricks of the Mind: Derren Brown (Transworld, £11.99)
Brown on his illusions and the psychology behind "magic".
Stumbling on Happiness: Daniel Gilbert (HarperCollins, £8.99)
An examination of the human drive for happiness that asks why so many of us don't know how to make ourselves happy.
You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought: A Guide to Positive Thinking: John-Roger and Peter McWilliams (HarperCollins, £8.99)
A must for anyone aiming to use the power of positive thought to improve their lives.
Counselling For Toads: Robert De Board (Routledge, £11.99)
A solid introduction to counselling and emotions.
The Language Instinct: Steven Pinker (Penguin, £9.99
An examination of the evolution of language.
Life Support : Derek Draper, (Hay House, £8.99)
The Psychologies magazine columnist discusses the root causes of unhappiness and how to break free from them.
You Don't Really Know Me: Terri Apter, (WW Norton & Co, £8.99)
Analysing the challenges that occur in the relationship between mothers and daughters.
Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy, Irvin D Yalom, (Penguin, £9.99)
Eight case studies illustrate how patients in therapy can begin to overcome their problems.
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat: Oliver Sacks,
(Picador, £8.99)
What happens when things go wrong with parts of the brain.
Straight Talking : Linda Blair (Piatkus, £10.99)
Advice on overcoming anxiety, depression and stress.
Organisations
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
Up-to-date news in the field of psychotherapy and a section dedicated to locating a therapist (in the UK and internationally).BACP also publishes a list of useful books, including the Training in Counselling and Psychotherapy Directory - a list of national counsellor training courses and other information for trainees.
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy
A one-stop shop for locating therapists all over the UK. The site features job opportunities for psychotherapists and volunteer positions, too.
British Psychological Society
The representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. The website includes a list of accredited courses for people interested in becoming a psychologist, information about useful conferences and events, and a research blog that addresses mental health and therapy issues (bps-research-digest.blogspot.com)
Relate
A UK-wide service offering sex therapy and relationship counselling, with online and face-to-face support.
The Institute of Psychoanalysis
The main professional organisation for psychoanalysts in the UK and a centre of excellence in the provision of psychoanalytic training, education, publication and clinical practice. The Institute is the home of the London Clinic of Psychoanalysis, which offers consultations and treatment including a reduced-fee service for people on low incomes.
Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships
A site offering couple psychotherapy, sexual therapy and relationship counselling. It also has pages dedicated to psychotherapy training courses and events.
Psychologies magazine
A women's monthly magazine available nationwide that deals with emotion, personality and behaviour, relationship therapy and inner wellbeing. Its website is also a useful resource.
British Association of Psychotherapists
A site dedicated to both psychoanalytic psychotherapy and Jungian analysis. With tips on finding therapists, training courses, public events and useful journals.
Mind
This leading mental health charity website has news of the latest campaigns, where to access Mind services in your area and information on everything from addiction to dementia.
Rethink
A site for people living with mental illness that contains tips on coping from day to day and information about different illnesses. There is also support for carers.
Mind-expanding short courses in psychology
If this guide has sparked your interest and you'd like to learn more about psychology, why not enrol on a short course?
Hot Courses has myriad psychology introduction courses. These are non-degree courses that cover the principle theories in psychology. They are available from colleges and further education facilities across the UK and last from eight to 11 weeks, costing approximately £110.
If you have a specific area of interest, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Hot Courses also offers introductory courses geared towards discussing your specific interests in more depth. Day courses start at around £60. Visit hotcourses.com for details.
The British Psychological Society website (bps.org.uk) is another great resource for courses and training information. It has a list of accredited courses and tips for anyone thinking about becoming a practising psychologist.
Meanwhile, the British Association of Psychotherapists (bap-psychotherapy.org) offers introductory courses to Jungian psychotherapy, ranging in price from £160 to £1,200.
The Institute of Psychoanalysis holds a series of introductory lectures, suitable for those new to the field, giving an overall view of the basic concepts in psychoanalysis and its main applications. For more information visit psychoanalysis.org.uk/events2.htm
• This article was amended on Sunday 15 March 2009. We said the website of the British Association of Psychotherapists (BAP) is dedicated to the Jungian approach to psychoanalytic psychotherapy. The BAP advises that there is a distinction between Jungian analysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy. About a third of their members are Jungian; the rest are psychoanalytic psychotherapists or psychoanalysts. Their introductory courses to Jungian psychotherapy range in price from £160, not £300 as we said. This has been corrected.
• This article was amended on Monday 23 March 2009. We added information about the Institute of Psychoanalysis.
