12 Best Psychotherapy Books
We analyzed 5+ expert sources, curated book lists, and recommendations from successful people to find the 12 best psychotherapy books according to the internet — not just one person's opinion. Each book on this list was mentioned by at least two independent sources, and the ranking is based on how frequently each title appears across all sources studied. This consensus-based approach ensures you get recommendations backed by multiple experts, not a single reviewer's bias.
Goal: Find the best Psychotherapy books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).
Method:
- Search for "best psychotherapy books" and study the top 5+ pages.
- Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
- Rank the results neatly here.
12 Best Psychotherapy Books
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Man's Search for Meaning
Also recommended by
36 people
Jordan Peterson recommended this bookJordan Peterson
Recommended on Jordan Peterson's website.
Jordan Peterson's recommendation of this book
Jocko Willink recommended this bookJocko Willink
Jocko Willink covered this book in "Jocko Podcast" Ep. 78
Jocko Willink's recommendation of this book
Esther Perel recommended this bookEsther Perel
"The book I’ve probably gifted the most is [this book], since I’m 16." - Esther Perel
Esther Perel's recommendation of this book
Emma Watson recommended this bookEmma Watson
"Loved it. Really loved it." - Emma Watson
Emma Watson's recommendation of this book
Naval Ravikant recommended this bookNaval Ravikant
"Wow it's dark." - Naval Ravikant
Naval Ravikant's recommendation of this book
David Blaine recommended this bookDavid Blaine
"One of my favorite books." - David Blaine
David Blaine's recommendation of this book +30
More recommendations
- Terry Crews
"Incredible." - Terry Crews
- Jimmy Fallon
"Talks about the meaning of life, and I believe you come out a better person from reading it." - Jimmy Fallon
- Tony Robbins
"Taught me that if you change the meaning, you change everything." - Tony Robbins
- Simon Sinek
"Single most important book you can read." - Simon Sinek
- Michael Gervais
"Outlines methods to discover deep meaning and purpose in life." - Michael Gervais
- Daniel Pink
"A hugely important book for me." - Daniel Pink
- Ev Williams
On the "books read" section of Ev Williams' GoodReads profile.
- Bryan Johnson
"His basic point is no matter the conditions we surround ourselves in, we can author our life." - Bryan Johnson
- Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Moskovitz recommended this book on Twitter.
- Sam Altman
This book was on Sam Altman's bookshelf.
- Chelsea Handler
"One of those beautiful accounts of a terrible time in our history. His calm and sagaciousness, while witnessing one horror after another played out during his time in three separate concentration camps, is awe inspiring." - Chelsea Handler
- Ryan Holiday
"Looks at how we find purpose by dedicating ourselves to a cause, learning to love and finding a meaning to our suffering." - Ryan Holiday
- Maria Popova
"A meditation on what the gruesome experience of Auschwitz taught [the author] about the primary purpose of life: the quest for meaning, which sustained those who survived." - Maria Popova
- Aniela Gregorek
"A book I have gifted to many people because it changed the way I think about human suffering and grace in life." - Aniela Gregorek
- Fedor Holz
"[From it] I interpreted that we cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to cope with it, and that having meaning in our life is essential." - Fedor Holz
- Turia Pitt
"[If people are] doing a bit of soul searching, hands down [I give them this book]." - Turia Pitt
- Chip Conley
"If I were to take the meaning of [this book], and turn it into an equation, it would be despair equals suffering minus meaning." - Chip Conley
- Dave Elitch
Dave Elitch mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
- PewDiePie
"A great tool to help people. [...] In case something really bad happens, I feel like, from reading this book, I'm better equipped to handle it." - PewDiePie
- Shane Parrish
"As hard as you think your life is, it pales in comparison to Auschwitz." - Shane Parrish
- Phil Jackson
"An important book for me." - Phil Jackson
- Tom Bilyeu
Tom Bilyeu recommended this book on his website.
- Lex Fridman
"I reread [this book] quite often." - Lex Fridman
- Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
- Alastair Humphreys
"Slim but packed with wisdom that I often come back to. I really recommend you read it." - Alastair Humphreys
- Steve Kerr
"Incredibly inspiring." - Steve Kerr
- Robin Black
"One of the great books ever written exists because of one of the worst times in human history. From suffering comes beauty." - Robin Black
- Jim Kwik
"Illustrates that it’s not our circumstances but the decisions we make that diminish or develop us." - Jim Kwik
- Michael Hyatt
Michael Hyatt recommended this book on his website.
- Patrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
- Terry Crews
Emotional Intelligence
Why It Can Matter More Than IQ
Also recommended by
4 people
Drew Houston recommended this bookDrew Houston
"It’s nonfiction, but it spelled out something that I just didn’t know you could kind of break down in a logical way. And, suddenly, I had this understanding about the world that I didn’t have before." - Drew Houston
Drew Houston's recommendation of this book
Jack Kornfield recommended this bookJack Kornfield
Jack Kornfield mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Jack Kornfield's recommendation of this book
Sharon Salzberg recommended this bookSharon Salzberg
Sharon Salzberg mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Sharon Salzberg's recommendation of this book
Patrick Bet-David recommended this bookPatrick Bet-David
Patrick Bet-David recommended this book on his website.
Patrick Bet-David's recommendation of this book
Hold Me Tight
Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
Also recommended by
1 person
Mark Manson recommended this bookMark Manson
"[The author] realized that romantic relationships were largely driven by unconscious emotions and desires." - Mark Manson
Mark Manson's recommendation of this book
The Gifts of Imperfection
Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are
Also recommended by
1 person
Melinda Gates recommended this bookMelinda Gates
Melinda Gates recommended this book on Likewise.com.
Melinda Gates's recommendation of this book
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder
DBT® Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets
Games People Play
Love's Executioner
& Other Tales of Psychotherapy
Motivational Interviewing
Helping People Change
The Examined Life
How We Lose and Find Ourselves
The Gift of Therapy
An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients
Sources
- 1
10 Books Every New Therapist Should Read | TheraNest Blog
theranest.com
- 2
100 Best Psychotherapy Books of All Time (Updated for 2021)
shortform.com
- 3
16 Best Therapy Books to Read for Therapists
positivepsychology.com
- 4
Best Books on learning psychotherapy - Simple and Practical Mental Health
simpleandpractical.com
- 5
Top 10 books about psychotherapy | Health, mind and body books | The Guardian
theguardian.com
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.
























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