Check out our new page for Students and this article by Cal Flyn about the 5 best books in Psychology for students featuring the Blog
​​fivebooks.com/best-books/the-best-psychology-books-for-teens-jessica-flitter-laura-brandt-nancy-fenton/

Featured Books
We always feature three books, but there is much more to explore!  Just click on the Blog link and the top of the page for over 100 more exciting book reviews and activities.
Click on the photo of the book you are interested in and you will be taken directly to the blog posting for that book.

Alisa Roth delves into the challenges facing prisons across the country. She travels to many prisons that have essentially become facilities to house the mentally ill. While some places like the Los Angeles Prison system have attempted to train prison guards to more effectively understand and supervise a population with a high number of mental ill inmates, the system is simply not built for the population prisons currently contain. Beds in mental health prison wards are difficult to come by and therapy is spotty at best, often with a different psychologist at each meeting. Therapy sessions take place with the inmate handcuffed or in their cell and during lockdowns or instances in which there is a shortage of personal the sessions are entirely cancelled. Roth explains the need to improve mental health care in part by working with personal to escalate sense situations. This violates the training of most law enforcement and will take a major revamping of the system. In addition, Roth makes a strong argument to improve treatment programs for the mentally ill who are incarcerated as without treatment the symptoms become increasingly more severe.

How much do you know about two of the most populated countries in the world? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another country? Pallavi Aiyar, author of Smoke and Mirrors: An Experience of China, provided her personal account of being Indian and living in China from 2002-2007. During her stay in China, she taught English at a public university and reported for an Indian newspaper. For five years, she traveled and asked questions to learn more about the history and culture of China. Her story is one that quickly draws in the reader and explores various stereotypes about two of the most populated countries in the world.

If there was a pill to replace exercise and it provided the same benefits without the challenging work, would you take it? Ethicists have posed questions similar to this, and the book The Joy of Movement tries to help the reader understand why movement matters. The author, Kelly McGonigal, uses a blend of quotes, research studies, and storytelling to encourage readers to rethink the purpose of movement. Exercise offers many benefits, such as happiness, satisfaction, purpose, gratitude, love, hope, and connection. But the key focus of the book is on how physical activity contributes to joy.

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If you are interested in learning more about these books and many others, click on the Blog link at the top of the page. Each of the book review postings includes a brief explanation of the book, a related classroom activity, key psychological concepts referenced in the book, and other resources such as websites or podcasts.