Assessment of Parenting Competency in Mothers with Mental Illness. Teresa Ostler, $35.95

The stakes are undeniably high when it comes to deciding whether a mother with mental illness can raise her child in a safe, nurturing environment. Now, mental health professionals will have sound assessment strategies that fairly evaluate the parenting competency of mothers with a wide range of mental illnesses, from "baby blues" to schizophrenia.

Going beyond measuring only the mother's degree of mental illness, the safety of the environment, or the rate of child development, this groundbreaking resource integrates multiple approaches so that professionals understand the full picture of parenting competency. With this much-needed resource, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and child welfare professionals will be primed to conduct more accurate assessments, make informed decisions, build stronger mother–child relationships, and facilitate family preservation whenever possible.

Can I Catch It Like a Cold? Coping with a Parent’s Depression.  Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, illustrated by Joe Weissmann, $19.99 (ages 6 and up)

When a parent has depression, children have many questions.  Can I Catch It Like a Cold offers reassurance and allays fears for kids who cope with this adult-sized problem.

A Deeper Shade of Blue: a Woman's Guide to Recognizing and Treating Depression in Her Childbearing Years. Ruta Nonacs, $32.00

Depression affects women almost twice as often as men and while depression may strike at any time, studies show that women are particularly vulnerable during their childbearing years. Dr. Ruta Nonacs, a senior member of the Center for Women's Mental Health at Massachusetts General Hospital and mother of two children herself, confronts the issues of pregnancy-related depression, including:

• Becoming pregnant while being treated for depression and depression during pregnancy
• Pregnancy loss
• Infertility-related depression and the effects of fertility treatments
• Understanding the effects of maternal depression on spouses and family
• Postpartum depression and anxiety

Dr. Nonacs also looks at many of the complicating factors that occur during the span of a woman’s childbearing years including education, career, marriage, and child rearing and discusses how depression often takes hold during potentially stressful times. Honest and compassionate, A Deeper Shade of Blue gives women who are experiencing a pregnancy-related depression the information and support they need to realize the best possible outcome.

Easy Does It, Mom: Parenting in Recovery. Barbara Joy, $20.50

In Easy Does It, Mom, Barbara Joy provides moms with positive encouragement, knowledge, and tools they can begin using immediately as they continue their recovery and move toward being the best mothers they can be. Joy includes real-life stories and strategies from the moms and children she works with. The reader is guided by a professional and encouraged and inspired by moms who have "been there, done that."

Everything Changes: Help for Families of Newly Recovering Addicts. Beverly Conyers, $18.95

A relative or friend has finally taken those tentative steps toward sobriety. With the relief of this life-changing course of action comes a new and difficult set of challenges for recovering addicts and those who love them.

Families Care: Helping Families Cope and Relate Effectively. Facilitator’s Manual. S. Bubbra, A. Himes, C. Kelly, J. Shenfield, C. Sloss & L. Tait, CAMH, $29.95

Families CARE is a group-based program that helps family members Cope and Relate Effectively with the person who has a substance use problem.

The program offers education, support and skills development. Family members learn about, discuss and practice such skills as coping, grieving, dealing with emotions, solving problems, setting goals, communicating, setting limits, supporting and responding to the person with a substance use problem, and helping children affected by a family member’s substance use. The facilitator’s manual consists of 18 modules that include:

• Objectives and session outlines
• Teaching points and discussion
• Handouts that provide information, clinical exercises and home practice for clients to use during the sessions and at home

The Ghost in the House: Real Mothers Talk About Maternal Depression, Raising Children and How They Cope. Tracy Thompson, $17.50

The Ghost in the House, the result of Thompson's extensive studies and personal struggles, addresses maternal depression as a lifelong illness that can have profound ramifications for mother and child. A striking blend of memoir and journalism, here is an invaluable resource for the millions of women who are white-knuckling their way through what should be the most satisfying years of their lives. Thompson offers her readers a concise summary of the cutting-edge research in this field, deftly written prose and, above all, hope.

Mommy Doesn’t Drink Here Anymore: Getting through the First Year of Sobriety.  Rachael Brownell, $20.50

Part anecdotal, part self-help, author Brownell addresses a whole new generation of "cocktail play date" parents who need to find their way to sobriety.

Mommy’s Different Faces. Barbara Patterson, illustrated by Scott Collie, $14.95

If you have a child or know a child who is coping with a parent who has a mental health issue, this book will help facilitate a conversation about their situation.

Mommy's Gone to Treatment. Denise Crossman, $18.95

Written for children ages 4-8, this book candidly tackles the confusion and fear children face when an addicted parent enters treatment. With vibrant illustrations and a parent guide page, parents now how a helpful tool that will ease children's apprehensions when someone they love must confront reality.

Mommy’s Coming Home from Treatment. Denise Crossman, $18.95

The perfect companion for Mommy's Gone to Treatment. Addresses the difficulties children may have when a parent returns home from treatment as the whole family learns to adjust to a new way of life.

Moms to Moms: Parenting Wisdom from Moms in Recovery. Barbara Joy, $18.95

In MOMS TO MOMS, counselor Barbara Joy shares stories, advice, and inspiration from more than 60 mothers in recovery who have struggled with addiction. These are women of all ages, races, and religious affiliations who candidly share their experiences: the challenges of being a mom in recovery, the values they want to teach their children, and their fears, struggles, and accomplishments.

This is a book that offers help and hope to busy, stressed-out moms in recovery; a book they can turn to again and again to find inspiration, comfort, and advice.

Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs: Family Experiences and Effective Practice. Hedy Cleaver & Don Nicholson, $34.95

Parental Learning Disability and Children's Needs explores how to effectively assess children in families where one or more parent has a learning disability. These children often have unmet needs because their parents are more likely to be coping with co-morbidities like mental and/or physical illness, domestic violence or substance abuse.

This book, based on original research, looks into current social care practice and the support systems available to parents with learning disabilities, evaluating their effectiveness and examining their impact on the families affected. The authors present many case studies and point out perceived shortcomings, along with suggestions to improve current social care practice and promote the welfare of children in need.

Here is a structured program for working with children of substance abusing parents. This workbook for grades 3 to 8 helps children understand and cope with chemical dependency in the family. Counselors begin each session by reading a story and reproducible sheets are provided to facilitate follow-up discussions and activities.

Skills for Families, Skills for Life: How to Help Parents and Caregivers Meet the Challenges of Everyday Living. Amy Simpson, Paula Kohrt, Linda Shadoin, Joni Cook-Griffin & Jane Peterson, $17.50

This revised and expanded edition of Skills for Families, Skills for Life can help family practitioners and other professionals incorporate the teaching of life skills into the assessment of and treatment planning for the families they work with. More than one hundred thirty basic to complex skills in thirteen caregiving areas are outlined in step-by-step detail. Skills areas have expanded to include:

• Relationships
• Mental Health Needs
• Preventing Abuse
• Community Safety
• Housing
• Money Management
• Informal and Formal Supports
• and Education

An enclosed CD-ROM allows you to print skill sheets to use as checklists, make notes, and list resources as you counsel individual families. A new chapter also helps you locate public and private, local and national sources of assistance for families.

Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Bill Eddy & Randi Kreger, $19.95

Divorce is difficult under the best of circumstances. When your spouse has borderline personality disorder (BPD), narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), or is manipulative, divorcing can be especially complicated. While people with these tendencies may initially appear convincing and even charming to lawyers and judges, you know better — many of these "persuasive blamers" leverage false accusations, attempt to manipulate others, launch verbal and physical attacks, and do everything they can to get their way.

SPLITTING is your legal and psychological guide to safely navigating a high-conflict divorce from an unpredictable spouse. Written by Bill Eddy, a family lawyer, therapist, and divorce mediator, and Randi Kreger, coauthor of the BPD classic STOP WALKING ON EGGSHELLS, this book includes all of the critical information you need to work through the process of divorce in an emotionally balanced, productive way.

Talking to Families About Mental Illness: What Clinicians Need to Know. Igor Galynker, $41.00

A clinician's guide to understanding and responding to the concerns of family members whose loved one suffers from mental illness.

Part courageous memoir, part influential how-to guide, The TurnAround Mom offers the tools you need to end the legacy of toxicity. With chilling vignettes from author Carey Sipp's own abusive past, plus the tips and techniques she used to turn her life — and the lives of her children — around, this stirring story will be the daily touchstone that you and your family deserve.

Author Jerry Moe shows how young people affected by family addiction can thrive, using the simple techniques and tools he’s learned from years of experience as an addictions professional and the National Director of Children’s Programs at the Betty Ford Center.

Why Are You So Scared? A Child's Book about Parents with PTSD. Beth Andrews, $10.95 (ages 4-8)

When a parent has PTSD, children can feel confused, scared or helpless. WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED explains PTSD and its symptoms in kid-friendly language and encourages kids to express their thoughts and feelings.

Wishes and Worries: Coping with a Parent Who Drinks Too Much. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, $19.99

Children have many questions when someone in their family drinks too much. WISHES AND WORRIES helps to initiate dialogue, offers reassurance and allays fears for those who cope with this adult-sized problem.

Wishing Wellness is a workbook for the child whose mother or father is suffering from a serious mental illness. Packed with information, interactive questions, and fun activities, it's an ideal tool for children and their therapists or other professional mental health workers.