A Year to Change Your Mind

‘Twelve months’ worth of smart self-help from someone you’d want on your team in a crisis … genuinely useful, charming, comforting’ – Guardian

‘Compelling, warm and authoritative’ – Viv Groskop, bestselling author of Lift As You Climb

‘A compassionate book filled with useful tips to help us through life’ – Claudia Hammond, bestselling author of The Key to Kindness

Help yourself to live a better life

Psychology underpins everything we do, determining the decisions we make, the relationships we build, the roles we play and the places we live, and our behaviour is further influenced by the changing seasons, encouraging many of us to fall into unhelpful patterns again and again each year.

In A YEAR TO CHANGE YOUR MIND, consultant clinical psychologist Dr Lucy Maddox explains how psychological processes thread through our lives, pinpointing those issues most frequently encountered in each month, and shows us how by reflecting upon past experiences, both joyful and painful, and considering evidence-based ideas from the realm of psychology, we can learn to live a more thoughtful, positive life that better prepares us for the future.

From the tendency to lack motivation in January and to experience red-hot anger in the heat of August, to the weight of expectation associated with that back-to-school feeling in September and the pressure to enjoy the December holiday season, we’re shown recognisable features of behaviour over the course of the year. In sharing with us the most useful psychology ideas the author has learned in her 15 years as a clinical psychologist – ones she uses in her own life, and returns to time and time again with people who have come to see her for therapy – she provides plenty to think about that we too can put into practice to improve our own lives.

‘Compassionate and easy to read, this book can lead us to better ways of living. It is filled with unpretentious wisdom’ – Henry Mance

‘A fantastic book crammed full of practical – and evidence-based – tips to shift your thinking’ – Sonia Sodha

‘Warm, assuring’ – Independent

The Wisdom of Tea

For more than 25 years Noriko Morishita has studied and practised the intricate rules of the famous Japanese Tea Ceremony, trying to master its complexities in order to find inner peace. In this vivid account of her experience of the universal trials and triumphs of adulthood, Morishita connects the core tenets of this ancient art with leading a fulfilling life, showing how we too may use mindfulness to achieve happiness.

The Book of Knowing

Written in an accessible and humorous style, this book teaches you to know what’s going on in your mind and how to get your feelings under control. It’ll help you adapt and feel better about your place in the world.

Psychologist Gwendoline Smith uses her broad scientific knowledge and experience to explain in clear and simple language what’s happening when you are feeling overwhelmed, anxious and confused.