Childhood Adversity
The Deepest Well: On Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity, by Nadine Burke Harris, MD A physician caring for vulnerable children, Burke studies the way childhood adversity is imprinted on the body.
Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, by Brené Brown An inspirational book that points the way toward rising up after falling, and to overcoming struggles and building resilience.
Will I Ever Be Good Enough? Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers, by Dr. Karyl McBride, PhD A therapist’s guidance for overcoming emotional abuse and recovering from the toxic effects of narcissism.
Grief
Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief, by Pauline Boss Some losses, such as a death, are certain and acknowledged by society. But what about when, for example, one doesn’t know a birth parent? With losses such as these, individuals are pinned between hope and despair, lacking information that might let them move on. Pauline Boss demonstrates that it’s possible to learn to live with loss and ambiguity and diminish the distress.
Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow, by Kenneth J. Doka An exploration of grief that is not sanctioned by society and methods for helping individuals cope with this unrecognized sorrow
Identity
Identity: Sociological Perspectives, by Steph Lawler The author “shows how identity is produced and embedded in social relationships, and worked out in the practice of people’s everyday life. She challenges the perception of identity as belonging within the person, arguing instead that it is produced and negotiated between persons.”
Narcissism
Shame Recovery: A Growth Journey Meredith Resnick, LCSW, has written a series of books on narcissism: Narcissism: Surviving the Self-Involved; Surviving the Narcissist: 30 Days of Recovery; When Your Parent is a Narcissist: Love Yourself. Safe Yourself.; and Stop Counting the Hours: Stop Enabling. Start Living.
Shame
Shame Recovery: A Growth Journey Meredith Resnick, LCSW, created ShameRecovery.com to help others deconstruct shame. The site contains a range of articles and resources about trauma and recovery; guilt, shame, and self-blame; and narcissism and scapegoating.
Therapy
EMDR: The Breakthrough Therapy for Overcoming Anxiety, Stress, and Trauma, by Francine Shapiro, PhD, and Margot Silk Forest The founder of this brain-based therapy offers an introduction and discussion of applications, including trauma and depression.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed, by Lori Gottlieb A therapist analyzes her patients’ issues and discovers they’re remarkably similar to her own. It’s a window into the psyche and the questions and struggles that are universal.
Therapists and Coaches
(Inclusion is not an endorsement.)
Donor Conceived Support: Laura McMillian, PhD, CPC, ACC, a certified professional coach, provides support for donor conceived people.
Jodi Klugman-Rabb, LMFT: a licensed marriage and family therapist and creator of Parental Identity Discovery (see NPE Counseling Training below).
Navigational Narratives, an online Narrative Therapy course to take you “from shell shock to secure new identity,” by Dana Schmalenberg, a clinical mental health counselor.
NPE Counseling Collective: group of therapists specializing in best therapeutic practices for the NPE community.
Parental Identity Discovery Training in a unique and comprehensive approach to working therapeutically with NPEs.
Eve Sturges, LMFT: a licensed marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles.
The Viva Center Advanced brain and body therapies