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
ABOUT
Dr. Paolo Terni is a Professionally Certified Coach with the ICF (International Coach Federation) and the author of the book “Coaching Leader: how to transform individual talent into business results” (Guerini Editore, 2007, Milano, Italy). He has also written many papers on the impact of current psychological research on consulting and coaching practices – his writings have been published in the book Doing Something Different: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Practices (Edited by Thorana Nelson, 2010, Routledge, NY), in Inter-Action: the Journal of Solution-Focus in Organizations, and other Journals. Dr. Terni has trained extensively in the US (Coach U, NLP Master Practitioner @ 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
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WHAT'S IN A 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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