How to Be Yourself

Ellen Hendriksen has done something genuinely difficult: she has made CBT feel human. The Inner Critic framework gives readers a concrete mental handle on something that usually feels diffuse and shameful, and the clinical pedigree behind it is real — she works at one of the leading anxiety research centers in the country. This is among the most useful and readable self-help books in the social anxiety space, and therapists recommending it to clients are making a sound call. The secular framing is worth noting for faith readers, but the tools themselves are universal.