35 School Counseling Books That Will Help & Inspire You
Reading is a great way to expand our knowledge and grow as counselors. This list includes 35 professional development books for school counselors that myself and our fellow counselors have found helpful and informative. They cover a range of topics like behavior, trauma, school community, and more. These books are great to pick up for summer reading, to use in a school book club with your colleagues, or just to learn more about a topic of interest.
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Books About Behavior
- Beyond Behaviors by Mona Delahooke 
- Help For Billy by Heather T. Forbes 
- The Explosive Child by Ross Greene 
- Lost At School by Ross Greene 
- The Behavior Code by Jessica Minahan 
- Better Than Carrots Or Sticks by Dominique Smith, Douglas Fisher, and Nancy Frey 
Books About Trauma
- The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris 
- Eyes Are Never Quiet by Lori Desautels 
- Trauma Sensitive Schools by Susan E. Craig 
- The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz 
- Fostering Resilient Learners by Kristin Souers and Pete Hall 
- The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk MD 
Books Aoubt Building A Positive School Community
- Mapping and Monitoring Bullying and Violence by Ron Astor 
- Daring Greatly by Brene Brown 
- The Leader In Me by Stephen Covey 
- The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon 
- Don’t Suspend Me! By Jessica Hannigan and John E. Hannigan 
- Hacking School Discipline by Nathan Maynard and Brad Weinstein 
- The Invisible Classroom by Kirke Olson 
- Whatever It Takes by Dr. Bryan S. Pearlman 
- Educated by Tara Westover 
Books About Race, Equity and Cultural Competency
- Interrupting Racism by Rebecca Atkins and Alicia Oglesby 
- For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood… And The Rest Of Y’all Too by Christopher Emdin 
- White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo 
- Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum 
- Culturally Responsive Teaching And The Brain by Zaretta Hammond 
- School Counseling To Close The Achievement Gap by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy 
- Engaging Students With Poverty In Mind by Eric Jensen 
- The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys by Eddie Moore, Ali Michael, and Marguerite W. Penick-Parks 
Books About SEL And Mental Health
- UnSelfie by Michelle Borba, Ed. D. 
- Permission To Feel by Marc Brackett, Ph. D. 
- Mindset by Carol Dweck 
- The Gift Of Failure by Jessica Lahey 
- Anxiety And Depression In The Classroom by Nadja Reilly 
- The Whole-Brain Child by Daniel Siegel 
These 35 professional development books for school counselors are a great way to learn and grow in your practice. I would love to hear about which books are your favorite, or what you would add to the list. Let me know in the comments below!
 
                         
             
             
             
             
            