Books that have shaped
the way I think about healing.
RECOMMENDED READING
A curated list of books I regularly recommend to clients, parents, and fellow clinicians .
⚠️ These books are provided as educational resources and recommended reading. They are not a substitute for therapy, clinical treatment, crisis support, or individualized mental health care.
TRAUMA & HEALING
The Body Keeps the Score
One of the most well-known books on trauma and the nervous system. Explores how trauma impacts the brain and body — and how healing is possible through connection, awareness, and evidence-based approaches.
What Happened to You?
Shifts the question from "What's wrong with you?" to "What happened to you?" — helping readers understand how early experiences shape emotional and behavioural responses. Compassionate and deeply accessible.
PARENTING
Parenting from the Inside Out
Helps parents understand how their own attachment patterns and emotional responses shape parenting. Insightful, reflective, and practical — one of the most useful books I recommend to parents.
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors
A compassionate guide for parents of children whose behaviours feel intense, confusing, or difficult to manage. Rather than focusing on discipline, Gobbel explores how stress, trauma, and nervous system responses shape behaviour.
TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS
Permission to Feel
Offers practical tools for understanding emotions, building emotional intelligence, and developing healthier ways to cope with stress and difficult feelings. Especially useful for teens and young adults.
FIRST RESPONDERS
Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement
Explores the emotional and psychological impact of law enforcement careers — chronic stress, hypervigilance, emotional exhaustion, relationship strain, and identity shifts that develop over time. Drawing from clinical experience and deep knowledge of police culture.
I Love a Cop
Written specifically for law enforcement officers and their families — exploring how police work impacts relationships, communication, emotional connection, and family life.
PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES FOR CLINICIANS
EMDR Toolbox
Bridges theory, case conceptualisation, and practical interventions for complex trauma and dissociation. A book many EMDR therapists return to throughout their clinical careers.
EMDR-Sandtray Based Therapy
A valuable resource for integrating EMDR with sandtray therapy. Offers practical strategies, case examples, and developmentally attuned interventions for clients who struggle to verbalise traumatic experiences.
EMDR Therapy and Adjunct Approaches with Children
A practical and creative resource integrating EMDR with play, expressive interventions, and attachment-focused work. Developmentally attuned and clinically effective for children impacted by trauma.
Advanced Sandtray Therapy
Deepens clinical understanding of sandtray therapy beyond introductory concepts. Explores advanced case conceptualisation, symbolism, processing, and intervention strategies across a variety of clinical presentations.