Best Brain Books

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.

Change Your Brain Change Your Body by Dr. Daniel G. Amen

The key to a better body is a healthy brain. CHANGE YOUR BRAIN, CHANGE YOUR BODY shows you how to take the very best care of your brain. With fifteen practical, easy-to-implement solutions involving nutritious foods, natural supplements and vitamins, positive-thinking habits, and, when necessary, highly targeted medications, Dr. Amen shows you how to: * Reach and maintain your ideal weight * Soothe and smooth your skin at any age.

Motivational Interviewing by William R. Miller and Stephen Rollnick

Miller and Rollnick’s book on Motivational Interviewing is a must read for physiotherapist managing challenging patients. Yes you do not have an hour to counsel them but the listening and language tools in this book are a good enough reason to buy it.

After reading the book you will be able to tell whether the way you’re engaging with your client is going to be helpful. You will also recognise very early which patients are not likely to be fully compliant with their treatment plans. Doing something about this early in the treatment process can save a lot of frustration from both parties.

One of the most useful ideas in this book is the concept of adapting your consulting style to match the stage of change of your patient.

The Patient’s Brain by Fabrizio Benedetti

The Patient’s Brain is an in depth book on research into both ‘placebo’ and ‘nocebo’. Nocebo meaning the patient has an expectation that the treatment will fail. This is a lot more common than you think.

For those managing challenging patients it is useful book on how patients can acquire an expectation that treatment will fail. The book is not an easy ready but for the more scientific clinicians, you will find it both an insightful read and numerous references to up to date research

The art of thinking clearly by Rolf Dobelli

How is it that communication between two people can get so mixed up and misinterpreted?

I’m sure you have had instances when you give an instruction or explanation to find the person you’re talking to has changed the whole meaning!

This book provides 99 different examples of how our brains are wired to hear the things we want and distort, delete and generalise just about anything that contradicts our current beliefs.

As you read I’m sure you will recognise the traits both in yourself and the people around you, especially your patients.

Awareness is the first step in understanding and this book is worth the time to read. If not just to expand your own thinking.

Rewire Your Brain: Think your way to a better life by John, Arden B. Ph. D

Not long ago, it was thought that the brain you were born with was the brain you would die with, and that the brain cells you had at birth were the most you would ever possess. Your brain was thought to be “hardwired” to function in predetermined ways. It turns out that’s not true. Your brain is not hardwired,it’s “soft-wired” by experience.

*Train Your Mind Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

A book based on the concept of Neuro Plasticity. Informative yet scientific. Begley follows the interest that the Dalai Lama has in science and in particular the ability of the mind to control the brain. To be read with an open mind for understanding the relatively new concept of how the brain can change itself.

*The Emotional Hostage. Rescuing Your Emotional Life by Cameron-Bandler, Leslie & Lebeau, Michael

An NLP based book on the structure of emotions and how we have the power to access and select emotions that are beneficial for our well being. It covers the selection of emotions, accessing your emotions, and expressing emotions. It teaches us how we can employ emotions, particularly those we don’t like such as anger, fear, guilt, anxiety and loneliness just to mention a few, to act as a signal that is trying to tell us something. A very useful read for those interested in NLP.

The Neuroscience of Psychotherapy: Healing the social brain by Louis Cozolino

How the brain’s architecture is related to the problems, passions, and aspirations of human beings. In contrast to this view, recent theoretical advances in brain imaging have revealed that the brain is an organ continually built and re-built by one’s experience. We are now beginning to learn that many forms of psychotherapy, developed in the absence of any scientific understanding of the brain, are supported by neuro scientific findings.

The Brain’s Way of Healing by Norman Doige MD

This book is about the discovery that the human brain has its own unique way of healing. For centuries we believed that the price we paid for our brain’s complexity was that, compared to other organs, it was fixed and unregenerative — unable to recover from damage or illness. In his revolutionary new book, Norman Doidge turns this belief on its head.

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D

“Mindset” is a great book for those individuals, parents, teachers and coaches who have a passion for helping people, both children and adults perform at their best. It talks in detail about the two types of mindset that are in us all and how this can affect our performance. These are ‘the fixed mindset’ and ‘the growth mindset’. This book is especially useful if you are dealing with children as it gives you the language that is best to use to develop a growth mindset.

What To Say When You Talk To Your Self by Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

Leading behavioural researchers have told us that as much as 77% of everything we think is negative, counter-productive, and it works against us. At the same time, medical researchers have said that as much as 75% of all illnesses are self induced.

Repetitive thinking creates a convincing argument. The Bryant simply believe what you tell it most.

In this easy to read short book Helmstetter provides numerous ways to counter repetitive and negative self talk. You may find this book useful for yourself and also to help any of your patients that struggle with limiting self talk

Man’s  Search  for  Meaning by Viktor Frankl

This is a classic book written on man’s ability to survive even living in the concentration camps in Germany during World War 11. Man’s Search For Meaning is written by psychiatrist Dr. Frankl who survived the Nazi death camps. It is a little book that you will not be able to put down and will give you hope in your ability to survive whatever you are going through now.

The Biology of Belief by Lipton, Bruce H. Lipton

With more than 100,000 copies sold of his self-published book, The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton teams up with Hay House to bring his message to an even wider audience. This book is a groundbreaking work in the field of new biology, and it will forever change how you think about thinking. Through the research of Dr. Lipton and other leading-edge scientists, stunning new discoveries have been made about the interaction between your mind and body and the processes by which cells receive information.

Instant Influences by Michael V. Pantalon Ph.D

There are six simple steps in INSTANT INFLUENCE, as follows: 1. Why might you change? 2. How ready are you to change? (on a scale of 1 to 10) 3. Why didn’t you pick a lower number? 4. Imagine you’ve changed – what are the positive outcomes? 5. Why are those outcomes important to you? 6. What’s the next step? This scientifically tested method succeeds in every area of work and life by helping people tap into their deeply personal reasons for wanting to change and finding a spark of a ‘yes’ within an initial ‘no’.

Your Brain at Work by David Rock

In Your Brain at Work, David Rock takes readers inside the heads—literally—of a modern two-career couple as they mentally process their workday to reveal how we can better organize, prioritize, remember, and process our daily lives. Rock, the author of Quiet Leadership and Personal Best, shows how it’s possible for this couple, and thus the reader, not only to survive in today’s overwhelming work environment but succeed in it—and still feel energized and accomplished at the end of the day.

Start with Why: How great leaders inspired everyone to take action by Simon Sinek

Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty? In studying the leaders who’ve had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way-and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does.

The Winner’s Bible. Rewire Your Brain For Permanent Change by Dr. Kerry Spackman

A great book on rewiring your brain for change. World-renowned neuroscientist Dr. Kerry Spackman shows how to use the same ground breaking tools he pioneered for world champions so you can permanently rewire your brain and transform your life. There a lots of real-life examples and there are lots of exercises that can be done to guide you along the road of personal change. An easy read and very enjoyable.

Mindfulness by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

This is a fantastic book and the effectiveness of being in a state of mindfulness. It will give you simple yet effective techniques that you can practice. It also has a great CD at the back which I have been using daily and this on it’s own makes this book a worthwhile investment. You don’t need to be depressed to get use out of this book as it will give you some skills to handle everyday situations. It is down to earth and very useful.

Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss

This is one of the most enlightening books I’ve read in a long time. It’s written with respect to negotiating in business but it has so many gems in relation to dealing with clients.

These include the use of open questions to gain previously unknown information. Another gem is the concept of empowering the client to say ‘NO’ to your initial treatment plan rather than going for a ‘YES’. This idea is a paradigm shift and a good enough reason on its own to get the book. There is so much to learn and challenge your current thinking.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book. You won’t regret it.

Change Your Mind and Keep the Change by Steve Andreas & Connirae Andreas

An easy to read text based on NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) techniques. It can be read from beginning to end or as individual chapters. This book has a number of interviews that the reader can identify with. It covers some classic NLP patterns such as responding to criticism, eliminating compulsions, reaching the “last straw” and accessing emotional states in a way that can be understood by those not trained in NLP.

**Rainbow Machine by Andrew Austin T.

NLP based text written on the many emotions and and states that we may encounter. It is a delightful collection of stories, thought pieces and teaching that cast light into what NLP has to offer the field of psychotherapy. A must read for anyone even half interested in the field of NLP and if you no interest, then read it just to enjoy the inevitable laughter.

*The Plastic Mind by Sharon, Begley

A book written on how the brain can change itself and how our mind can control the processes of the brain. Begley illuminates the important advances in neuroplasticity, demonstrating the brain’s potential for change by not only altering it’s structure but also of generating new neurons, even into old age. There is now clear evidence that the brain can adapt, heal, renew itself after trauma and compensate for disability. It gives us an understanding of how the brain and the mind interact.

Beliefs. Pathways to Health & Well-Being by Robert Dilts, Tim Hallbom & Suzi Smith

A classic text base on NLP written in such a way that anyone without a background in NLP training can read and learn from. This book focuses on change and demonstrates the “how to’s” of identifying and changing beliefs through scripts from personal work actually done with individuals in workshops. I highly recommend this book.

Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doige MD.

A must read on Neuro Plasticity. This book is both entertaining and very informative. It takes a topic that sounds very scientific and puts in terms anyone can understand. The reader will learn how people of average intelligence can, with brain exercises, improve their cognition and perception, develop muscle strength, or learn new things by using the mind to direct the brain on how it is to change. Thoroughly entertaining.

The Power Of Habit: Why we do what we do and how to change by Charles Duhigg

In The Power of Habit, Pulitzer Prize–winning business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. Distilling vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives that take us from the boardrooms of Procter & Gamble to sidelines of the NFL to the front lines of the civil rights movement, Duhigg presents a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by R. H. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein

I’ve recommended this book as it may help the clinician think of ways they can ‘Nudge’ their patients in the direction of better choices when it comes to recovering from injury or illness.

The idea is how to make the ‘right’ decision the ‘easy’ decision. We live with nudges that I was totally unaware of until I read this book. How can you take the principles that are at work every day of our lives to better help your patients?

It’s a thoughtful and easy read.

Change Your Thinking by Sarah Edelman

This book is a very easy to read book on how to deal with emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety. It is a practical guide to overcoming self-defeating thoughts and behaviours. It guides you on how to dispute that nagging voice inside your head. It also has exercises to do to keep you motivated.

The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy W. Gallwey

This is a little book on mindset, and how to achieve what you want in life. It is based around tennis but the lessons can be easily extrapolated to life in general. It is well worth the read. The Inner Game of Tennis is what takes place in our mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt and lapse in concentration. It is a game played in our mind against its own bad habits.

Brain Rules by John Medina

Most of us have no idea what’s really going on inside our heads. Yet brain scientists have uncovered details that every business leader, parent, and teacher should know – for instance, that physical activity helps to get your brain working at its best. How do we learn? What do sleep and stress do to our brains? Why is multitasking a myth? Why is it so easy to forget – and so important to repeat new information?

Brain Rules for ageing well by John Medina

Medina writes on how to give your brain the best chance of ageing well. It’s a book based on research and written in a very easy going manner. There’s lots to consider and also implement especially if you are in the 60+ age group like me.

His 10 rules for ageing well are:

1. Be a friend to others, and let them be a friend to you
2. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
3. Mindfulness not only soothes but improves
4. Remember, it’s never too late to learn- or to teach
5. Train your brain with video games
6. Look for 10 signs before asking, “Do I have Alzheimer’s?”
7. MIND your meals and get moving
8. For clear thinking, get enough (not too much) sleep
9. You can’t live forever, at least no yet
10. Never retire, and be sure to reminisce

NLP Workbook A Practical Guide to Achieving the Results You Want by Joseph O’Conner

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a systematic study of human communication and how we create our subjective world with all it’s pains and pleasures. This work book is a guide and includes the principles of NLP, some basic patterns and training exercises and a guide to what techniques to use and where. A very easy to understand and user friendly NLP text.

The Mindful Brain by Daniel J. Siegel

A new framework for maintaining mental health and well-being. From the author of the internationally-acclaimed best-selling text The Developing Mind, and esteemed leader and educator in the field of mental health, comes the first book ever to integrate neuroscience research with the ancient art of mindfulness.

Wired for Life: Retrain your brain and thrive by  Martina Sheehan and Susan Pearse

A book which explains the latest research into how the brain works, providing practical tips for training your brain to promote success in all areas of your life.

The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michels

This is a great book that is easy to read and will give you five useful tools to deal with the time when you are really struggling. It is written by 2 psychologists who have decided to give people actions to take rather than just talk to them. It is a book that can be read the whole way through or in sections that are relevant to the reader. Make the effort and get this book it is worth it.