The Best Books About Emotional Regulation
My reading recommendations: the best books about emotions, regulation, and parenting
When I go camping, I pack more books than clothes!
I look forward to spending a lot of time reading over the next few days, so I thought I’d share some more of my reading recommendations with you.
Books About Emotion Regulation and Behaviour
Emotional Regulation & Behaviour
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviours, by Robyn Gobbel: This book should be on every parent’s bedside table, alongside Mona Delahooke’s Brain-Body Parenting. Gobbel helps parents understand why children struggle to manage big feelings and their associated challenging behaviours. The advice within is based firmly on neuroscience, but explained in a way that anyone can understand.
Brain-Body Parenting, by Dr. Mona Delahooke: I pre-ordered this book at the first opportunity. Having read Dr. Delahooke’s articles, as well as her previous book, Beyond Behaviours, I knew this one would be excellent. While Dr. Delahooke’s previous works have more often been written for fellow professionals and teachers, this one is written for parents. It is evidence-based, well-researched, compassionate, and written in a way that is enjoyable and accessible to anyone. I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers, and anyone who cares for children.
Interoception and Regulation, by Emma Goodall and Charlotte Brownlow: This is a book I’ve been waiting for! Last year I wrote an article explaining how interoception (our awareness and processing of the internal signals our bodies are sending us) impacts and relates to emotional regulation. This practical and informative book demystifies interoception and provides tools to help boost interoceptive abilities.
Interoception: The Eighth Sensory System, by Kelly Mahler: Interoception is our ability to notice and understand the signals coming from within our body. Yes, this pertains to feeling hungry, thirsty, and tired… but did you know, Interoception is a prerequisite for building or emotional regulation skills? The Eighth Sensory System provides a detailed connection between interoception and common experiences of individuals with ADHD, Autism, anxiety, trauma, and other related conditions.
Living with Intensity, Daniels & Piechowski : This book is geared towards parents and loved ones of gifted individuals (those whose IQ is in the 98th or 99th+ percentile). If you have a gifted or 2e child (or anyone in your life), this book is fantastic, it discusses a modern take on Dabrowski’s overexcitabilities. You can also click here learn more about the upsides to overexcitability.
Beyond Behaviours, by Mona Delahooke, PhD : Another amazing book for looking beyond the surface behaviours in children and understanding the developmental physiology and biology that drives behaviour.
This book inspired a number of my articles, and is cited in a number of my writings, including one entitled O.D.D. Does Not Exist.
Self-Reg by Dr. Stuart Shanker : A great book about first learning to regulate your own emotions in order to role model and teach your children to regulate their own.
The Polyvagal Theory, by Stephen Porges, PhD : The neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. Yes, it is as dense as it sounds. Full of incredible information, it is a fascinating and complex read. Dr. Porges explains the physiological processes behind our psychological states, demystifying emotional responses, and helping us to better understand why we behave the way we do.
Declarative Language Handbook, by Linda K. Murphy: Using a thoughtful language style to help kids with social learning challenges feel competent, connected, and understood. This book belongs under all of the categories: it would be beneficial for parents, educators, and anyone who supports or works with children. Actually, declarative language can be adapted to work with people of any age. It helps to reduce conflict and promotes social and interpersonal skills.
Co-Regulation Handbook, by Linda K. Murphy: This book was written for parents, caregivers, teachers, and other professionals — to guide you on how to move away from prompting and prodding kids toward authentic connections and competent roles.
- *Both of Linda Murphy’s books are currently *FREE* as eBooks with a Kindle Unlimited membership (I have no affiliation).
Connections over Compliance, by Lori L Desautels : This book is aimed at school administrators and school staff, but is also an important read for parents, especially parents whose children have challenges in the school environment. This book can provide parents tools for advocating for their differently wired children in the school system, and has invaluable advice for any adult working with children. A key take-away is that focusing on relationship-building and a sense of safety first and foremost is a necessity when helping children and teens work through big feelings and difficult situations.
Articles About Emotions
Further reading
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