PUBLICATIONS
As a Clinical Psychologist, it is my belief that the tools I provide for my clients help them move forward with their lives outside of therapy.
Not only do these workbooks help clients process their emotions and develop realistic expectations in regard to family, friends, and co-workers, but they also act as a reinforcement of the skills taught in therapy.
Below you’ll find a few of my workbooks designed to provide these same tools in a format that is easy to use and provides immediate feedback.
The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction
Skills and Strategies for Emotional Regulation, Recovery and Relapse Prevention
by Laura Petracek, Ph.D., LCSW
Foreword by Gillian Galen, Psy.D.
When recovering from addiction and managing a mental illness, it can feel like both can take over your life. Applying the principles of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to the 12 Steps of addiction recovery approach, this workbook equips you with the tools to regulate your emotions, develop self-management skills, reduce anxiety and stress, and feel yourself again.
DBT is a type of talking therapy tailored to those who feel emotions very intensely. Exploring skills and strategies drawn from DBT that correspond with each of the 12 Steps, this book provides a new roadmap to reduce emotional distress symptoms and support your sobriety and mental health.
Written by clinical psychologist, Laura Petracek, this ground-breaking workbook draws on the author's clinical and lived experience of addiction recovery and bipolar disorder.
The Anger Workbook for Women
by Laura Petracek, Ph.D., LCSW
Foreword by Sandra P. Thomas, Ph.D., LCSW
Books on anger, by and large, have been written by men for men who express their anger in an outward and explosive way. But women usually express anger through various behaviors, from explosive outbursts to quiet seething rage. If you’re a woman struggling with anger, “The Anger Workbook for Women” is designed to help you develop skills and strategies for expressing your anger in constructive ways.
• Discover what might contribute to your anger with engaging worksheets and assessments.
• Explore the connection between anger and substance abuse, mood disorders, and domestic abuse.
• Integrate elements of narrative, art, and music therapy into a powerful set of anger management tools.
• Take the power out of certain anger-provoking situations with cognitive-behavioral and attitude adjustment exercises.
Over 40,000 copies sold!
How to Keep Your Anger from Undermining Your Self-Esteem,
Your Emotional Balance, and
Your Relationships
EDITORIAL REVIEWS AND ENDORSEMENTS
For The DBT Workbook for
Alcohol and Drug Addiction
“Laura Petracek, Ph.D.'s work on connecting the evidence based, effective psychotherapy treatment of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous is a great addition for extra tools for people recovering from addiction.
The 12 Steps are predicated on giving oneself over the process and following the program, and adding in DBT skills can help provide additional tools for supporting one's work through the 12 steps and deepening one's understanding of the Steps. The author's use of her own experience and how DBT added to her recovery is a great use of the values of AA/NA of being open, honest, vulnerable and using one's own process to allow others to take what they need and leave the rest in finding their ways through the 12 Steps.”
— W. Keith Sutton, Psy.D.
Psychologist; Director of the Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy
“Dr. Petracek provides a step-by-step guide to DBT for anyone struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. This book is accessible, comprehensive and practical. A truly valuable resource!”
— Elaine Beale
Author of "Write for Wellness: Write Your Way to Health, Happiness and Healing"
“The connection between mental health challenges and addiction is strong, complicates recovery, and is regrettably still associated with much stigma. In The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Dr. Petracek helps readers to understand their struggles with mental illness and addiction, and to address those struggles through a combination of AA/NA and DBT skills.
Drawing on her own personal experience, Petracek's warmth and compassion will make these ideas and skills more approachable for those in recovery and will remind people that they are not alone on their difficult journey.”
— Sheri Van Dijk, MSW, RSW
Psychotherapist, international speaker, and author of several DBT books, including "The DBT Workbook for Emotional Relief"
For The Anger Workbook
for Women
“Petracek uses a commonsense, realistic approach to helping women deal with their anger. I found a wealth of information on the pages of this book; it is an excellent tool for women whether they have mild or major challenges with rage. Petracek takes the mind, body, and spirit into account when teaching women how to channel their anger in a healthy way.”
— Jan Brown
Executive Director of the Domestic Abuse Helpline for Men
“A much-needed book. The problem of women’s anger is often minimized in our society, but not by Petracek who, thankfully, takes this subject seriously. Having worked for many years with angry and aggressive women, she offers some practical and innovative solutions. I especially enjoyed her sections on anger-ins vs. anger-outs and the chapter on parenting.”
— John Hamel, LCSW
Author of “High Conflict to Battering” and Director of John Hamel & Associates, a counseling firm in San Rafael, CA
“Finally, a comprehensive anger workbook for women—thoughtful and informative, this book is a must for any woman who struggles with constructively expressing anger. Petracek has created a thoughtful and informative guide that offers insight into the specific difficulties women have with anger. This workbook is full of examples and exercises that will help the reader identify how she currently manages her anger, how stress and self-esteem relate to anger, and ways to appropriately express anger and improve relationships. This exceptional book will help women stop destructive patterns of anger, whether they lash out or hold it in, and have healthier, happier lives and relationships. I am thrilled to have such a great resource for my clients.”
— Vallerie E. Coleman, Ph.D.
Psychologist and adjunct faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Loyola Marymount University
“A much-needed, long-awaited book on the subject.”
— Ruth Gottstein
Publisher of Volcano Press