Science / Psychology Books: my top 5 for 2009
31 December 2009 in Books/Articles review Write by Paolo TerniInspired by a tweet from Coert Visser, which mentioned “great books published in 2009″, here is my top 5 list of books that I read in 2009 and that I most enjoyed.
- Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine and the Search for a Cure by Paul A. Offit MD
Very well researched, a treat for lovers of science, engrossing like a thriller – essential resource for debunking the anti-vaccine movement - Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity and Thrive by Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D.
Good introduction to the concept of the Positivity Ratio and some useful guidelines for a well-balanced life from one of the pioneers of the field of positive psychology. - Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, Ph.D.
Classic. A simple yet powerful idea. My thoughts on it in a previous post. - 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology: Shattering Widesprad Misconceptions about Human Behavior by Scott A. Lillienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, John Ruscio, Barry L. Beyerstein
Yes, I am for evidence-based practices. This book was sheer pleasure and a breath of fresh air: in 50 easy-to-read short chapters, the authors use science to debunk popular myths about how we behave – myths like “most people use only 10% of their brain power” or “playing Mozart music to infants boosts their intelligence”. All in one volume. - What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought by Keith E. Stanovich, Ph.D.
I am still reading this one, and so far it is great: finally a framework to make sense of recent research regarding IQ & genetics, the Adaptive Unconscious and biases in human rationality.
- Coaching Plain & Simple: Solution-focused Brief Coaching Essentials by Kirsten Dierolf, Daniel Meier, Peter Szabo
In the spirit of “less is more”, this book embodies the idea that “perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away” -truly the essence of SF coaching
- In Pursuit of Elegance: Why the Best Ideas Have Something Missing by Matthew E. May
4 Comments to: Science / Psychology Books: my top 5 for 2009
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ABOUT
Dr. Paolo Terni is a Professionally Certified Coach, ICF member and author of the book "Coaching Leader: how to transform individual talent into business results". He has also written many papers on the impact of current psychological research on consulting and coaching practices. Dr. Terni has trained extensively in the US (Coach U, NLP Master Practicioner @ University of California at Santa Cruz with Robert Dilts), and is bi-lingual (English and Italian). Dr Terni is an expert in Solution-Focused Coaching (certified by Solutionsurfers, Basel, Switzerland), in Evidence-Based practices related to coaching & well-being, and in Stress Management techniques.
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WHAT'S IN THE NAME?
A friend of mine asked me why I chose the name briefcoachingsolutions for my website.
Easy: it is the shortest description for what I do.
Solutions: that is what my clients arrive at: solutions. For their goals, their needs, their problems. They arrive at better solutions. Faster. With less effort. Solutions sustainable in the long run because they are based on what is already working in the clients' situations
it is also the description of my approach: solution-focused.
Coaching: that is the tool I use to help clients...
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Do you know of any good books that show you how to use Solution Focused thinking in one’s daily life? I recently bought “The Miracle Method” which shows how to use Solution Focused Therapy on oneself to handle problem drinking even though I don’t drink because it was the only self-help book I could find on the topic. So if you know of any others please make a post about it or send me a email. I’m subscribed to your blog on feed burner so I’ll now the next time you post.
Hi Rodney,
thanks for following my blog and for your interest in SF thinking.
I am not aware of any other self-help book that declares itself to be based on SF.
I’ll look into it, and if anything pops up, I will write something about it.
Thanks for the interesting question,
best,
Paolo
By the way, can you add a plugin to your blog that will allow people to choose whether or not they want to be notified of replies to their comments. I just happened by your website today while looking for something else and found that you replied to my comment. I would never have known otherwise.
Rodney
Good idea!!!
Thanks!!
I’ll pass it on to my webmaster…
Best,
Paolo