As a counselor with over 20 years experience working in the mental health and substance abuse fields- I think this book is a great tool to learn the basics of mental health and relationships. It’s a great overview of common issues most of us struggle with and it provides basic info and tools to help the reader navigate through these issues. This book doesn’t replace working with a therapist directly and shouldn’t replace treatment for significant mental health issues. I received a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love love love, very helpful in the way I see things and learning about myself, I never read a self help book before so this is my first and I’m happy to say I enjoyed it, I’ll definitely try one again in the future

To be honest, I picked up Liz Kelly's book, This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy, because of the cheeky title and colorful cover. To my delight, this book is filled with useful ideas, tips, and reminders. There are a couple of sections that did not speak to me at this time, but I think the goal of any book like this is for the reader to take what they need in that moment. There are certainly many pieces that I can put into practice right now, and I can imagine myself referring back to this book in the future.

Each chapter ends with optional Action Items for the reader to consider. There are also other books suggested for similar reads. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This book is a very good primer for someone who is unfamiliar with therapy and is reluctant to or unable to see a therapist. People who are further along in their self-help journey may have heard these things before. However, it's a good refresher. Very approachable entry into a sometimes difficult subject.

this was such an incredible book! i am so thankful to netgalley for letting me read it early. it was just a pure delight and i think everyone should read this one!!!

This book indeed was cheaper than therapy. Thank you to NetGalley and PESI Publishing, Bridge City Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
A great book filled with comedy and insightful ruminations about various struggles that we go through. Kelly provides a wealth of knowledge on how to understand and practically approach different mental health topics. While not a substitute for therapy, it provides a great foundation as well as resources and mental health reinforcements.

I was drawn to this book because of its catchy title, "This Book is Cheaper Than Therapy: A No-nonsense Guide to Improving Your Mental Health." Author Liz Kelly is a professional therapist who wants to help her readers take control of their mental health. Kelly starts by encouraging her readers that taking care of yourself isn't selfish. Instead, it's an act of survival. She negates several common myths about self-care, such as that it's expensive, unnecessary, and time-consuming. Kelly talks through the various types of self-care (mental, emotional, physical, etc.) and then shares practical tips and action items for the reader to complete.

While many books about mental health feel too rigorous and like more of a textbook, this book is full of practical tips and ideas for the reader. I found many of these tips very helpful and easy to complete. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. I enjoyed reading this book. "This Book is Cheaper Than Therapy" by Liz Kelly was very insightful. I like that she lays things out and gives options on how to deal with different situations. I connected with Chapter 5 "Healthy Boundaries". Its actually helped me in a few situations this week. Although there were some chapters I didn't relate to, I do believe this would be very beneficial to someone that's never gone to a therapy session.

This book takes you through the process of managing yourself, without the office visit. I appreciate the reminders to question your thoughts origins and consider different ways to replace negative thoughts.

This Book is Cheaper Than Therapy is a thought-provoking book offering wise counsel and advice for those contemplating therapy. Although each chapter is chock full of tips, ideas and strategies for coping and getting through the many battles life offers, the author, Liz Kelly, makes it perfectly clear that if none of these offerings work or if you are depressed, anxious, stressed, and feeling defeated, therapy may still be your best option. I respect her for outlining that in the beginning of the book, which helped me keep an open mind throughout reading. Much of Ms. Kelly’s advice was helpful to me for thinking things through, and I hope it will be for you too.

I'm genuinely grateful for the opportunity to delve into "This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy," courtesy of the Publisher and Liz Kelly. Drawn in by its enticing cover and intriguing title, my initial impressions were met with a conversational style and a dash of common-sense wisdom. While the information shared was familiar and lacked the depth I found in Lori Gottlieb's "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone," I appreciated the author's humorous touch, especially in naming her inner critic "Nelson."

The exploration of buying unnecessary items as a coping mechanism resonated with me, as did the emphasis on regular physical exercise. Having drifted from a once-active lifestyle, this book served as a motivational nudge to rekindle my commitment to physical well-being. The discussion on grief and loss, though well-worn territory, provided a timely reminder of the importance of addressing these emotions.

In essence, "This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy" may serve as a beginner's guide, offering valuable insights for those starting their self-help journey. While not groundbreaking, it triggered a positive response in me, motivating a return to healthier habits. Whether it's a must-read depends on individual preferences and experiences, but it certainly has its merits. Thanks to Net Galley, Liz Kelly, and PESI Publishing Bridge City Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

This book is a great starter-kit to learning how to take charge and change your life for the better. There are so many topics this book covers in a to-the-point, digestible manner such as grief, self-care, and trust.

Whether this book is purchased to read in one setting or to be consumed in hopes of bettering yourself in a specific way, it will surely be beneficial no matter what!

First I’d like to thank Netgalley and PESI Publishing for the ARC.

I really enjoying reading this self-help book. I will be the first to admit that they are usually not my thing but the title caught my attention and made me curious what was in this book.

This book covers lots of topics from self-care to managing feelings to keeping healthy boundaries to looking at your mental health in the future as well. I think all her topics were super relevant in today’s world.

I think my favourite section was the self-care section. I loved how she pointed out about how self-care is so in right now but there are tons of misconceptions about it. She also gave lots of examples and ideas to use practically in your life.

Overall for a self-help book it was straightforward and easy to read. I enjoyed it.

I was very thankful to have my wish to read this granted and, really appreciating a good self help book, began this one eagerly, however it wasn’t really for me.

A beginner’s guide to a lot of commonsense life hacks most of us develop over time.
If you’re closer to midlife or older this is going to rehash most generic stuff you already know / do.

If you’re not unfamiliar with one on on therapy sessions, I’d personally skip this one.



Thank you to Bridge Street Books and NetGalley for the DRC

I really enjoyed this book and found it helpful! It has a blend of personal anecdotes, psychological theories, questions to ask yourself, and ways to apply her suggestions.

As someone who can’t currently afford therapy, but still hopes to find coping mechanisms, this book is great. I appreciate how the author chose to make this info accessible. Therapy is expensive in the US!

The disclaimers at the start were great. The care and kindness in them told me that it was going to be a good (and safe!) reading experience.

This had so many good quotes and nuggets of wisdom. I want them printed on fridge magnets or in an app that makes them pop up on my phone periodically throughout the day! It also had a summary of action items at the end of each chapter. Compiling some of the standout items from each.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for granting me an early e-copy!

It seems like there are a lot of books out this year related to the topic of therapy, and I’m not mad about it. Making it more accessible and removing the stigma around it isn’t a bad thing. This book was great. Easy to read, relatable, and full with helpful tips. I will read it again and share with friends.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5949190898

https://www.librarything.com/work/31132671/reviews/251267293

4/5 stars

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

-- 4.5 stars --

"I like to think of the mind as a garden. You nurture and grow the flowers, vegetables, and fruit (your beneficial and realistic thoughts) and discard the weeds (your unhelpful and untrue thoughts) before they overtake your garden."

I'm not exactly what you'd call a voracious reader of self-help books; not because I don't need the help (lol), but because I find most of the advice to be rather vague, intangible, and, well not all that helpful. Oftentimes I walk away feeling confused and overwhelmed, with no idea where to start, or how to put the principles I just read about into action.

But Liz Kelly's THIS BOOK IS CHEAPER THAN THERAPY? *This* is the self-help book I've been looking for.

A LICSW (licensed independent clinical social worker) and therapist practicing in the Washington, DC area, Kelly offers a plethora of practical advice for surviving and thriving if/when therapy isn't an option.

This includes sections on:

- Self-care (including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, recreational, financial, and professional); pro-tip: self-care isn't always doing what feels good

- Cognitive distortions; countering and reframing negative thoughts; naming your inner critic and putting them on trial; and positive self-talk and affirmations (be your own damn cheerleader!)

- Breaking the cycle (downward spiral) over overthinking

- Practicing self-compassion (ask yourself: "Would you treat your best friend this way?")

- The mind-body connection, including activating your "rest and digest" system (parasympathetic nervous system) to promote calmness: by using grounding techniques; mindful breathing; meditation; visualization; progressive muscle relaxation; power posing; being in nature; mindfulness, activating the vagus nerve (by singing, yawning, or gargling); yoga nidra; massage; practicing gratitude; cold water immersion; and hugs, cuddles, and weighted blankets

- Regulating your emotions

- Radical acceptance

- Establishing and enforcing boundaries (a "fuck budget")

- Dealing with emotional dumpers (eve if that person is you!)

- Building and nurturing connections by finding and meeting good people; active listening; fighting fair; and apologizing like a pro

- Dealing with grief and loss (including collective grief)

- Finding meaning in your life through belonging, purpose, transcendence, and storytelling

- Identifying your core values and constructing a life that honors them ("Turning your values into action allows you to live with intention rather than let the momentum of the daily grind take over.")

- Finding a therapist and getting the most out of therapy

Each chapter ends with three "action items" that expertly distill the main points of the section into concrete steps that you can take today, this week, or even in this moment. I especially love the action items in the final chapter (on finding a therapist); like I said, I often walk away from self-help books feeling lost and overwhelmed, but these final three action items encourage the reader to create an achievable, realistic path forward by choosing just one or two takeaways and putting them into practice.

Kelly has a cheeky, conversational style that I found engaging, but might not be for everyone; if you don't appreciate a well-placed f-bomb, maybe keep walking. (Tbh, she had me with the Fred Rococo reference.)

As a youngish widow, I found the chapter on grief especially poignant ("Grief sometimes feels like being homesick for a place that doesn’t exist anymore."), if necessarily brief. In the other direction, I found the relationship stuff ("This Is Your Brain on Love") a little out of place. Dating advice feels like a whole other conversation/book/genre. But maybe that's just because I'm single, cranky, and not looking (see, e.g., "young widow").

I loved this book! It felt like a mini dive into therapy. It’s full of helpful tips, action items, and reassuring words. I wanna gift a copy to everyone I know.

I have been considering therapy for quite some time, but was hesitant due to the expense. I jumped at the opportunity to read Liz Kelly's book, "This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy." She provides actionable steps in a clear and compassionate manner. I loved that every chapter ends with the key "Action Items" from the chapter. This helped me understand what steps I need to take and where to start. I felt empowered to take action to help myself, and I felt understood and not so alone in my struggles. I appreciated that she ends the book with information about how to find a good therapist if you decide to seek it.

I was disappointed in this book. I was expecting more out of it based on the title and the blurb.

This Book Is Cheaper Than Therapy goes over self-care, the inner critic, emotions, boundaries, relationships, grief, and meaning. Each of these is touched on briefly and shallowly. I think if someone were brand-new to mental health struggles and had not ever read anything about it or reached out for any help, this book would do a decent job at introducing a bunch of concepts that they could delve into themselves over time, although I think they would find they would either have some confusion or need to relearn some of the concepts.

I was honestly expecting this book to go into more detail in each section, as an actual alternative to therapy for those who cannot access it. I disagree with the premise of this book, that it "explain(s) complex mental health concepts in a way you can understand and can put into practice immediately". I think it is very surface-level material that you will have heard of if you have read articles or books on mental health, or if you have ever gotten help for mental health, be that therapy, group sessions, or classes. I would not recommend this to anyone dealing with mental illness issues that are anything more than mild. I would also not recommend this book to someone looking for a guide, tips, or practices that they can implement. I noticed some of the information was presented in a way that could be misconstrued, misleading, or unhelpful if this were the only book that someone were to read.

This was especially noticeable in the relationships and attachment theory section. Elsewhere the author makes a point to to the reader to be very aware of the type of language that they use (when discussing grief and suicide, for example), but in this section, she talks about attachment styles other than secure as unhealthy. They aren't, they can lead to unhealthy behaviours and cycles, but the attachment styles themselves are adaptive, and are developed when people are in insecure and/or unsafe environments. While I understand she only means to introduce attachment theory as a concept, I think I would just remove this section entirely because she doesn't give enough information for someone to be able to apply it to their relationships the way it's meant to be - this could lead to worsening relationships and an inability to get out of some cycles. This work is better done with a therapist, or by reading something that has way more information (ex. Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson).

For claiming to be an alternative to therapy, it does not go over any mental illnesses, their descriptions, symptoms, warning signs, what to watch for to get help if it's worsening, etc. There are no sections detailing anything specific about how to recognize and deal with anxiety or depression, the two most common mental illnesses that most people will deal with. There is exactly one mention of OCD in passing, and no other mention of other severe mental illnesses that I could see (bipolar, schizophrenia, etc), even in the usual disclaimer of what this book can and cannot do. I understand completely that these do need more intervention than a book can provide, especially when it's meant to be more of an overview and not specialized information, but if this is supposed to be an alternative to therapy and someone's first foray into mental health help I think a quick note about them would be helpful. Maybe it's just me being thrown off by the title. I just personally feel this book would be better marketed as a self-help guide to rocky parts of life, rather than an alternative to therapy. I don't think there's much material in here that would help someone dealing with mental illness - I think it would be more helpful for people dealing with low mood due to life events.