EATING DISORDERS - SELF-HELP READING LIST
The titles in bold are those recommended by the Eating Disorders Team.
Prices may vary from those printed.
Dieting
Diet Breaking - Having it all without having to Diet!
Evans-Young Hodder & Stoughton, 1995
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0340637900
Fat Chance. The Myth of Dieting Explained
Ogden Routledge, 1992
Explores many of the myths about dieting and offers alternatives.
Used from £1.90 ISBN-10: 0415073715
Never Diet Again -the flexible eating plan to help you stay slim without dieting
Susan Kano Thorsons, 1990
Used from £1.43 ISBN-10: 0722521359
Eating Disorders - General
Carer’s Guide
EDA 2002
Passes on the experiences of other carers, and the perspective of people who have suffered from eating disorders themselves.
£5.00 from
Skills based learning for caring for a loved one with an eating disorder
Janet Treasure, Grainne Smith and Anna Crane Routledge (2007)
£12.34 ISBN-10: 0415431581
Desperately Seeking Self
Viola FodorGurze, 1997
An ‘inner guidebook’ for people with eating problems
£6.39 ISBN-10: 093607728X
Eating Your Heart out: Understanding and Overcoming Eating Disorders
Julia Buckroyd Vermillion, 1989/1994/1996
An exploration of some of the emotional issues behind women’s preoccupation with food.
Used from 13.99 ISBN-10: 0091815029
Fear of Food A Self-Help Programme for Permanent Recovery from Eating Disorders
Genevieve Blais Bloomsbury, 1995
Enables women to find and maintain their own ideal body weight.
£5.99 ISBN-10: 0747520240
Transforming Body Image. Learning to Love the Body you Have
Marica Hutchinson The Crossing Press, 1985 (£11.99)
Used from £1.89 ISBN-10: 0895941724
Understanding Eating Disorders
Dr R PalmerFamily Doctor Publications, 1996
£3.50 ISBN-10: 1898205744
Overcoming eating disorders by Linette Whitehead.
A cognitive-behavioral approach to overcoming eating disorders, focusing on getting ready to change, providing suggestions for how to manage key eating disorder features, and how family and friends can help. £2.50 from
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia: a Guide for Sufferers and their Families
Dr. David Haslam Cedar, 1994/1996/1997
Explores possible causes of bulimia and answers questions about how it can be treated and how family and friends can help.
Used from £6.18 ISBN-10: 0749324562
Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating - a Guide to Recovery
Dr. Peter Cooper Robinson, 1993/1995
£6.99 ISBN-10: 1854871714
Coping with Bulimia
Barbara French Grafton / Thorsons, 1987/1988/1994
Clear and supportive account of what bulimia nervosa is, how it differs from anorexia and how it can be treated.
Used from £1.50 ISBN-10: 0722529449
Getting Better Bit(e) by Bit(e): a Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge-Eating Disorders
U.Schmidt & J.Treasure Psychology Press, 1993
Includes a useful section on withdrawing from laxatives.
£10.36 ISBN-10: 0863773222
Compulsive Eating and Binge Eating
Breaking Free from Compulsive Eating
Geneen Roth Grafton, 1986/Plume, 1993/Penguin, 1989
Used from £2.33 ISBN-10: 0452270847
Eating Without Guilt. Overcoming Compulsive Eating
Alice KatzSelf-Counsel Press, 1986/1991
A very practical self-help book for people who eat compulsively.
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0889089787
Fat is a Feminist Issue I
Susie OrbachArrow, 1978
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0600336980
Fat is a Feminist Issue II
Susie OrbachArrow, 1984/1988/1998
The first self-help book for women who eat compulsively.
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 009934260X
Forbidden Body - Why being Fat is Not a Sin
Shelley Bovey Rivers Oran, 1989/1994
£10.39 ISBN-10: 0044408714
Overcoming Binge Eating
Dr. C.Fairburn Guilford Press, 1995
Comprehensive account of binge eating problems and a self-help programme.
£10.80 ISBN-10: 0898621798
Overcoming Overeating. Conquer your Obsession with Food
Jane Hirschman & Carol Hunter Cedar, 1989/1992/2000
Focuses on normalising eating so that food can be enjoyed and not feared.
£6.49 ISBN-10: 009182561X
When Food is Love
Geneen Roth Piatakus, 1981/1991/1992
This addresses emotional and relationship issues.
Used from £2.56 ISBN-10: 0452268184
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa: a Survival Guide for Families, Friends & Sufferers
Dr. Janet Treasure Psychology Press, 1997
Provides sections for carers alongside a section for sufferers.
£10.39 ISBN-10: 0863777600
Anorexia Nervosa and the Wish to Change
A. Crisp et al.Psychology Press, 1995/1996/1999
A self-help book for young sufferers of anorexia nervosa.
£12.34 ISBN-10: 0863774083
Anorexia Nervosa - A Guide for Sufferers and their Families
Dr.R. PalmerPenguin, 1980/1989
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0140100342
Anorexics on Anorexia
Ed R. Shelley Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997
Recovering sufferers describe in their own words their personal experiences.
£14.20 ISBN-10: 1853024716
Talking About Anorexia: How to Cope with Life without Starving
Maroushka Monro Sheldon Press, 1996
Written by an ex-sufferer.
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0859697517
The Anorexia Workbook
Michelle Heffner and Georg H. EifertNew Harbinger Publications (2004)
£14.99 ISBN-10: 1572243627
Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa: a self help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques
Christopher Freeman Robinson Publishing (2001)
£6.99 ISBN-10: 1854879693
Self Esteem
Creating Self Esteem
Lynda Field Element, 1993 / Vermilion, 2001
Practical approach to developing self-awareness and confidence. Balance yourself at every level- spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.
£5.34 ISBN-10: 0091857341
Overcoming Low Self-Esteem A Self-Help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioral Techniques
Melanie FennelRobinson, 1999
£6.49 ISBN-10: 1854877259
Self Esteem
Gael Lindenfield Thorsons, 1995/1996
Used from 37p ISBN-10: 072253017X
The Self Esteem Workbook
Lynda Field Element, 1995
Practical framework of techniques and activities that aim to raise self-esteem.
Used from £16.15 ISBN-10: 1852306459
Other General Self-Help
A Woman in Your Own Right: Assertiveness and You
Anne Dickson Quartet, 1985
£4.50 ISBN-10: 0704334208
Embracing Your Inner Critic: Turning Self-Criticism into a Creative Assett
Stone & Stone Harper Collins, 1993
Focuses on the shrill voice inside that never lets a person forget their mistakes- it gives advice about transforming this negative voice into a friend.
£7.29 ISBN-10: 0062507575
Emotional Alchemy. How the mind can heal the heart
Tara Bennett-GolemanThree Rivers Press
describes how mindfulness can help us overcome emotional patterns
Used from £2.50 ISBN-10: 0712603859
Families and How to Survive Them
J. Cleese & R. Skynner Mandarin, 1983/1993
£5.99ISBN-10: 0749314109
Feel the Fearand Do It Anyway
Susan Jeffers Arrow Books, 2001
How to turn your fear and indecision into confidence and action.
£5.24 ISBN-10: 0091907071
Feeling Good Handbook
David Burns Penguin, 1989/2000
includes chapters on
How to conquer depression and build self-esteem, anxieties, fears & phobias
How to strengthen relationships through better communication
£11.39 ISBN-10: 0452281326
Reinventing Your Life: How to Break Free from Negative Life Patterns and Feel Good Again
Young and Klosko Plume, 1994
This book is very helpful for people with long-standing eating disorders & includes the following chapters: ‘I’m worthless. The defectiveness life-trap’, ‘I feel like such a failure. The failure lifetrap’,
‘It’s never quite good enough. The unrelenting standards lifetrap’.
£7.31 ISBN-10: 0452272041
The Successful Self
Dorothy RoweHarper Collins, 1989
£6.74 ISBN-10: 0006373429
Toxic Parents – Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life
ForwardBantam, 1990
Used from £1.47 ISBN-10: 0553057006
Transforming Body Image. Learning to Love the Body you Have
Marica Hutchinson The Crossing Press, 1985
Used from £1.89 ISBN-10: 0895941724
What do Women Want?
Orbach & Eichenbaum Harper Collins, 2000
An exploration of women’s feelings of dependency and need for love.
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0006364977
Young People
Beginner’s Guide to Eating Disorders Recovery
Nancy KolodnyGurze, 2004
£7.19 ISBN-10: 093607745X
Eating Disorders – A Parent’s Guide
Bryant-Waugh & LaskPenguin, 1999
Offers guidance on recognising the eating disorders and on how to get help.
£9.49 ISBN-10: 1583918604
Wise Guides-Eating (Improve Your Body Image)
Anita NaikHodder children’s Books, 1999
Used from 1p ISBN-10: 0340744111
Booklets
These are relatively short and aim mainly to educate clients about the nature of their problems, with only a brief note about treatment. They are particularly useful as a preparation for treatment which is to be carried out by a therapist. These booklets are £2 each
- Bulimia Nervosa by Linette Whitehead, Ioana Davis & Esther Cohen-Tovée
- Anorexia Nervosa by Linette Whitehead & Vanessa Clinton
- Binge eating disorder by Linette Whitehead
An order form can be obtained from