What are some books a psych major should read outside of textbooks?
Man’s Search for Meaning is by Viktor Frankel. Initially a follower of Freud, he was sent to a concentration camp during WWII. He lost all his family and his life work during this time. As he attempted to survive, he reconstructed his writings and came up with a personal philosophy and therapeutic outlook that helped him go on. He writes about this in this little paperbook. He developed further his techniques into “Logotherapy” to help people find meaning in their lives. Deccades later after our American POWs were released from Hanoi after years of terrible isolation and torture I realized that what helped some of them survive had been what Frankel was talking about….finding meaning in suffering and life’s challenges. I wrote my Master’s thesis on comparing one American POW’s experiences (Gen (ret) Robison Reisner) with what Frankel had to say. So you might also wish to read The Passing of the Night by Gen (ret) Robison Reisner who describes his survival and coming to terms with life
If you want to do Christian counseling you really need to read the Bondage Breaker series by Neil Anderson. I worked in psych for a while and my experience was that it would be very dificult to maintain your faith after getting through the education. Christians have a hard time finding a therapist who believes in the existence of a devil who may have anything to do with their loved ones state of mind. Neil Anderson in The Bondage Breaker thoughtfuly tries to help disern the difference between mental illness and demonic attack. Not an easy task. If there were more Christian counselors who embraced these concepts they would have flourishing practices. There are many Christians out there who are starving for mental health professionals who really “get” their faith and don’t see them as flawed because they rely on Jesus. I hope you will read it. It changed my life.
looking in the psychology section. I don’t know how far along you are in your major, but I think if you browse you will find something interesting and relevant to your interests. There are also many excellent self-help books that will give you a handle on what the average person is thinking about as far as improving quality of life. Good Luck!
