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The Essential Mars and Venus. John Gray.

When dealing with the opposite sex any of us can run foul of “Mars and Venus” issues.

The other books in the series can be heavy going but this contains lots of tips, cartoons and bullet point lists.

People Skills. Robert Bolton.

Bolton runs courses in Assertiveness in America. This book tells you how to listen, assert yourself and resolve conflicts.

I really like and use the “three part assertion message” technique.

What Type Am I? Renee Baron.

This book describes the Myers-Briggs theory of personality types. It’s interesting for anyone struggling to understand, for example, “why can I never be on time?”, “why don’t I enjoy parties?”. For couples it can help explain why opposites attract— and perhaps more importantly, why they later repel!

When couples come to understand this in counselling there is often a collective sigh of relief!

More importantly, Myers-Briggs gives tips on how to improve relationships in spite of these personality differences.

Try the free personality test.

The GI Diet. Rick Gallop.

What does dieting have to do with counselling?

Well, firstly, GI isn’t so much a diet as a set of recommendations for improving your eating habits. Secondly, for people suffering from stress or depression, healthy nutrition and improved self-image through weight loss are highly beneficial.

See Healthy Eating.

"Good Housekeeping" Good Food for Diabetics. Theodora Fitzgibbon.

OK, you’re thinking about GI but are the recipes boring or too complicated? Absolutely not! Basically, any diabetic cook book is a source of low GI recipes. I’ve listed this one because I’ve used it for a couple of years and it contains some recipes I particularly like.

See Healthy Eating.

Body For Life. Bill Phillips.

What does exercise have to do with counselling? If you’re suffering from stress or depression, exercise helps remove harmful chemicals from your body and release endorphins.

If you want to improve your fitness, are OK with the gym and don’t want to shell out for a personal trainer, this is the book for you.

It’s American so there’s lots of schmaltz—ignore it—the actual exercise programmes are excellent. There’s also guidance on diet. It’s meant to be a 90 day programme—I suggest you thing more long term!

The “before and after” pictures inside the covers are hilarious.

The programme in the book is for men or women but there is a separate book for women that I haven’t actually seen.

Consult your GP before starting any new exercise programme.

Stress Relief to Go: Yoga Meditation Reiki Pilates Feng Shui and More (To Go). Jonathan Hilton

Er……...this is a bit “new age” for me but I’ve included it for a number of reasons:  It covers a lot of ground; it includes exercises you can do in your normal clothes at work, home, etc.; it covers a wide range of stress-relieving activities—as hinted in the title!

Pushing Yourself to Power. John E Peterson.

OK you want to exercise but you don’t fancy the gym and competitive sports leave you cold.

It could be isometrics are for you. Isometrics that you know already are push-ups and  sit-ups. But there are isometric exercises for all areas of the body and Peterson gives you an exercise plan to follow. You don’t need any special equipment  and these exercises could be done on the beach, at home or in the garden —some in the car while you’re in a jam!

Consult your GP before starting any new exercise programme.