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Books in The%20Instant%20Help%20Solutions%20Series series

  • The Teen Girl's Survival Guide: Ten Tips for Making Friends, Avoiding Drama, and Coping with Social Stress

    Lucie Hemmen PhD

    Paperback (Instant Help, Nov. 1, 2015)
    As a teen girl, you are likely feeling pressure and stress from every direction. Having good, healthy relationships with friends you can count on makes all the difference. In this guide, psychologist and teen expert Lucie Hemmen offers ten tips to guide you toward creating and maintaining the social life you want. Even better, the real experts that make this guide special are older teen girls who have recently been where you are now—and have plenty to say about it. As you move through this fun and engaging guide, you will get a sense of who you are as a friend, appreciate authentic qualities you can share with others, and get moving toward expanding the quality and quantity of your social connections. Before you know it, small steps will lead to big changes and you will find yourself more confident, connected, and happy. Grounded in evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the ten tips guide you in developing yourself in both simple and significant ways. You will engage in thought-provoking exercises and take fun quizzes spaced between tips to get you thinking more deeply about yourself and others. If you’re ready to get going on your social life, this book will show you the way.
  • Just As You Are: A Teen’s Guide to Self-Acceptance and Lasting Self-Esteem

    Michelle Skeen PsyD, Kelly Skeen

    Paperback (Instant Help, July 1, 2018)
    Stop comparing yourself to others—you’re special just as you are! In this fun, practical guide, you’ll learn how to silence your nit-picky inner critic, cultivate self-compassion, and discover what really matters to you.If you’re like many teens, you probably feel pressured to live up to the impossible standards set by our culture, the media, and even by your peers. After all, everyone wants perfect hair, a perfect body, cool friends, and good grades. But while it’s okay to strive to be your best, it’s also easy to get caught up in a never-ending comparison game that can feed your inner critic and rob you of your happiness. So, how can you break free from negative self-criticism and learn to appreciate your strengths?In Just As You Are, psychologist Michelle Skeen and her daughter, Kelly Skeen, offer simple tips to help you overcome feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness, stop comparing yourself to others, and be more open and accepting of all aspects of who you are. You’ll also learn how to be more aware of your thoughts and feelings in the moment using powerful mindfulness tools, and build a plan of action for the future based on your values.Sometimes it’s hard to see yourself with clarity and kindness. With this important guide, you’ll learn to move past your faults, celebrate your true strengths, and discover what really matters in your life. What are you waiting for?
  • Stuff That Sucks: A Teen's Guide to Accepting What You Can't Change and Committing to What You Can

    Ben Sedley PhD

    Paperback (Instant Help, March 1, 2017)
    Sometimes everything sucks. This unique, illustrated guide will help you move past negative thoughts and feelings and discover what truly matters to you.If you struggle with negative thoughts and emotions, you should know that your pain is real. No one should try to diminish it. Sometimes stuff really does suck and we have to acknowledge it. Worry, sadness, loneliness, anger, and shame are big and important, but they can also get in the way of what really matters. What if, instead of fighting your pain, you realized what really matters to you—and put those things first in life? If you did that, maybe your pain wouldn’t feel so big anymore. Isn’t it worth a try?Stuff That Sucks offers a compassionate and validating guide to accepting emotions, rather than struggling against them. With this book as your guide, you’ll learn to prioritize your thoughts, feelings, and values. You’ll figure out what you care about the most, and then start caring some more! The skills you’ll learn are based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Yes, there are a few written exercises, but this isn’t a workbook. It’s a journey into the stuff that sucks, what makes that sucky stuff suck even more, and how just a few moments each day with the stuff that matters will ultimately transform the stuff that sucks into stuff that is just stuff. Make sense?Maybe you want to be more creative? Or maybe you simply want to do better in school or be a better friend? This book will show you how to focus on what you really care about, so that all that other sucky stuff doesn’t seem so, well, sucky anymore.
  • Stuff That's Loud: A Teen's Guide to Unspiraling When OCD Gets Noisy

    Ben Sedley PhD, Lisa W. Coyne PhD

    Paperback (Instant Help, May 1, 2020)
    An OCD book just for you—full of powerful tools and engaging illustrations to help you live the life you want to live, instead of being controlled by OCD. Do you have thoughts that seem loud? Do your worries spiral out of control and then suck you in? Do intrusive thoughts show up and make you scared of doing certain things—or not doing things—a certain way? Do you ever get a feeling like something bad might happen? Does this loud stuff make you feel alone, or worse—crazy? First, you aren’t alone—even if it sometimes feels that way. And second, you are not crazy. But you might be struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). And while OCD can be difficult, you don’t have to let it have power over you. Instead, you can live a life full of meaning, great relationships and joy with the help of this book.In Stuff That’s Loud, you’ll learn exposure and response prevention (ERP), and ideas from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you break free from loud, spiralling OCD thoughts and behaviors:You’ll learn to be curious about the world around youYou’ll use willingness to step forward boldly Flexibility skills to practice everywhere, everywhenSo that you can live a life you give a $#@! aboutLife doesn’t have to stay stuck any longer!
  • The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens: CBT Skills to Overcome Fear, Worry, and Panic

    Jennifer Shannon LMFT, Doug Shannon

    Paperback (Instant Help, Sept. 1, 2015)
    Do you have problems with anxiety? The Anxiety Survival Guide for Teens is a much-needed, go-to guide to help you finally break free from the worry and ruminations that can get in the way of reaching your goals.If you have anxiety, your fears and worries can keep you from feeling confident and independent. Teen milestones such as making friends, dating, getting good grades, or taking on more mature responsibilities, may seem much more difficult. And if you're like countless other anxious teens, you may even avoid situations that cause you anxiety altogether—leaving you stuck in a cycle of worry and avoidance. So, how can you take control of your anxiety before it takes control of you?Based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), this book helps you identify your "monkey mind"—the primitive part of the brain where anxious thoughts arise. You’ll also be able to determine if you suffer from generalized anxiety, phobias, social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or separation anxiety. Full of powerful yet simple cartoon illustrations, this book will teach you practical strategies for handling even the toughest situations that previously caused you to feel anxious or worried.If you’re ready to feel more independent, more confident, and be your best, this unique book will show you how.
  • The Mindful Teen: Powerful Skills to Help You Handle Stress One Moment at a Time

    Dzung X. Vo MD FAAP

    Paperback (Instant Help, April 1, 2015)
    In this powerful book, a pediatrician specializing in teen and adolescent medicine offers a breakthrough mindfulness program to help you deal with stress in healthy ways, improve communication, and reduce conflicts with family and friends. Being a teen is stressful! Whether it’s school, friends, or dating, the teen years are full of difficult changes―both mentally and physically. If you're like many teens, you may have difficulty dealing with stress in effective ways. You aren’t alone, and there are things you can do to stay calm, no matter how stressful life becomes. All you need to do is stop, breathe, and be mindful and aware in the present moment. The Mindful Teen offers a unique program based in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to help you deal with stress. The simple, practical, and easy-to-remember tips in this book can be used every day to help you handle any difficult situation more effectively―whether it’s taking a test at school, having a disagreement with your parents, or a problem you are having with friends. If you’re ready to uncover your own inner strength and resilience through mindful awareness and take charge of your life, this book will show you how.
  • The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens: Strategies to Overcome Trauma, Build Resilience, and Take Back Your Life

    Sheela Raja PhD, Jaya Raja Ashrafi

    Paperback (Instant Help, Feb. 2, 2018)
    Your trauma doesn’t need to define you. In The PTSD Survival Guide for Teens, trauma specialist Sheela Raja—along with her teen daughter Jaya Ashrafi—offers evidence-based skills to help you find strength, confidence, and resilience in the aftermath of trauma.If you’ve experienced trauma or suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the world can seem like a very frightening place. You may even question your own deeply held beliefs, as well as the motives of others. It’s important for you to know that you aren’t alone, and there isn’t anything wrong with you. Many teens have suffered traumatic events, and there are solid skills you can learn that will help you recover. So, how can you begin healing and start building the life you were always meant to lead?In this compassionate guide, you’ll find skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you tackle anxiety and harmful avoidance behaviors; manage negative emotions; cope with flashbacks and nightmares; and develop trusting, healthy relationships—even if your trust in others has been shaken to the core. You’ll also learn more about the diagnosis and symptoms of PTSD and understand what kind of help is available to you.Whether you’ve been diagnosed with PTSD or are simply living with the aftereffects of a traumatic event, you shouldn’t have to suffer alone. This book will help you to find strength within so you can move forward.This book has been selected as an Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Book Recommendation—an honor bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.
  • Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster: DBT Skills to Help Teens Manage Emotions

    Sheri Van Dijk MSW

    Paperback (Instant Help, Jan. 2, 2016)
    The teen years are an emotional roller coaster. So, how can you make it through? In this important guide, leading dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and teen expert Sheri Van Dijk offers four core skills to help you manage your emotional ups and downs, build great relationships, and thrive!As a teen, you're experiencing intense changes in your life―both physically and mentally. To top it off, you're probably unsure of how to handle your emotions in a positive, constructive way. Surviving the Emotional Roller Coaster offers evidence-based techniques to help you regulate your emotions and find balance in all areas of life― whether it's at home, at school, or with friends and peers. By learning to be more aware of your emotions, you'll be able to let difficult feelings pass without reacting to them in destructive ways.You will also learn the four basic DBT skills to help you manage your emotions: core mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness. You'll discover how to apply these skills to help deal with a number of negative emotions, such as low self-esteem, anger, anxiety, depression, and more. By changing the way you react to your emotions and to others, you'll be able to build better relationships and feel more confident as a result.If you’re ready to understand and better manage your feelings, stop acting on impulses, and calm yourself in moments of emotional stress, this book will show you how.
  • How to Like Yourself: A Teen's Guide to Quieting Your Inner Critic and Building Lasting Self-Esteem

    Cheryl M. Bradshaw MA

    Paperback (Instant Help, April 1, 2016)
    Don’t let your inner critic get in the way of being confident! How to Like Yourself offers a quirky, inspiring, and practical guide to help you overcome feelings of self-criticism, improve self-esteem, and be the true star in your life.With all the pressures of school, friends, and dating, you’re especially vulnerable to low self-esteem in your teen years. But often, the biggest threat to your confidence is your own inner critic—whose unrelenting negativity can result in feelings of inadequacy, depression, and anxiety. This must-have guide offers real ways to help you fight back, be kind to yourself, and move forward with confidence.Inside, you’ll learn the importance of self-forgiveness, accepting your faults, and how to focus on the things that make you awesome! You’ll also learn strategies for defeating the dreaded ICK—the inner critic know-it-all who keeps knocking you down—and how to escape the common thought traps that hold you back from feeling good about yourself.This book unlocks the mystery of the most important relationship you will ever have—the one with yourself! So, get ready to find your true inner voice. A kinder, gentler one that will support you as you reach for your goals and create the fabulous life you were meant to live!
  • The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color

    Virgie Tovar MA

    Paperback (Instant Help, May 1, 2020)
    "A terrific resource that shows readers how to start feeling good about their body and rewire their sense of self-worth." —School Library Journal starred reviewIt’s time to ditch harmful, outdated beauty standards and build real, lasting body positivity. It's time for a self-love revolution!Every day we see movies, magazines, and social media that make us feel like we need to change how we look. This takes a toll on how we think about ourselves—and how we allow others to treat us. And while many teens feel shame about their body, being a teen girl of color can be hard in unique ways. Maybe you feel alienated by the mainstream image of beauty, which is still thin, white and able-bodied. In addition to that, you may also feel pressure from within your community to measure up to a different—but equally unfair—beauty standard. So, how can you start feeling good about yourself when you’re surrounded by these unrealistic—and problematic—ideas about your body?In The Self-Love Revolution, leading body image expert and creator of #LoseHateNotWeight Virgie Tovar offers an unapologetic guide to help you question popular culture and cultivate radical body positivity. With this groundbreaking book, you’ll identify and challenge mainstream beliefs about beauty; understand the unique tools girls of color have to counter negative body image; and build real, lasting body empowerment. You’ll also learn how to call out diet culture, and discover ways to move beyond your own inner critic and start building the unconditional love for yourself that you deserve.It’s time to explode society’s beauty standards, stop messing with diets, wear what you want, and recognize that your body is your business. This book will help you find your way to radical body positivity, one step at a time.
  • Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens: A Cognitive Therapy Guide to Overcoming Self-Doubt and Creating Unshakable Self-Esteem

    Marci G Fox PhD, Leslie Sokol PhD, Aaron T. Beck MD, Judith S. Beck PhD

    Paperback (Instant Help, Nov. 3, 2011)
    Confidence is like a magnet that attracts people to you and helps you get closer to reaching your goals. When you believe in yourself, you send the message that you have the brains, ability, and talent to handle whatever life sends your way. And the truth is, you do! Using powerful skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Think Confident, Be Confident for Teens shows you how to tap into your self-esteem so you can be yourself in every situation, no matter how awkward you feel or scary that may sound. The fun exercises and tips in this confidence-coaching workbook will guide you past feelings of self-doubt and encourage you to believe in yourself, strengthen your friendships, and meet every challenge head-on. • Recognize and overcome the self-doubting thoughts that bring you down • Grow your confident thoughts into confident actions • Enjoy a full social life and attract new friends • Feel smarter at school and build on your extracurricular talents This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit ― an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.
  • Express Yourself: A Teen Girl’s Guide to Speaking Up and Being Who You Are

    Emily Roberts MA LPC, Jennifer L Hartstein PsyD

    Paperback (Instant Help, June 1, 2015)
    Winner of a Foreword Reviews' 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award for Young Adult NonfictionBeing a teen girl isn’t easy—so learning skills to feel confident is key! In Express Yourself, psychotherapist Emily Roberts will teach you how to communicate effectively and feel assertive in any situation. Whether it’s online or at school, with friends, parents, bullies, cliques or crushes—any tricky situation life throws yours way. Many teen girls feel pressured to be nice, rather than assert their opinions. They may fear being called bossy or pushy when speaking their mind or offering a different point of view. If you have ever stopped yourself from expressing your opinion, you know how bad it can feel afterward. Don’t let yourself fall into that same trap over and over. Your thoughts and feelings matter just as much as everyone else’s—you just need to find your voice.Express Yourself offers skills based in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help you create positive interactions with others and deal with difficult emotions that can arise from bullying or dealing with mean girls. The book also provides easy-to-use strategies that will boost your self-esteem and confidence, and you’ll discover tons of assertive communication skills you can use every day, including how to speak up when you are upset, asking for what you want in a clear assertive manner, and coping when intense emotions threaten to take over and sabotage your relationships. In our modern world of social media and texting, strong communication skills are needed more than ever. This book will not only give you the tools needed to speak up in everyday or difficult situations, but it will also provide powerful advice for effectively communicating in the digital world.