Book excerpt: The Button Therapy Book is a practical cognitive counseling manual for mental health professionals and a psychological self-help book designed to: Help you identify, modify, and eliminate your Buttons that trigger stress and distress in your life. Help you identify potentially troublesome cognitions related to your thinking styles such as "black and white thinking"; should messages such as "I should do everything perfectly"; self-defeating core beliefs such as "I am a victim of life's circumstances"; and defense mechanisms such as denial and rationalization. Includes the Cognitive Self-Assessment Inventory (CSAI) to help you identify your troublesome cognitions and Buttons. Includes the Motivational States Inventory (MSI) to help you determine which of the six motivational states is associated with your Buttons that get pushed. Help you determine which of the "six centers of consciousness" you are spending the most time in with the Centers of Consciousness Rating Scale (CCRS) in the Motivational States Inventory. Teach you a portable Six-Step Button Therapy Method to utilize anytime and anywhere you have a Button pushed which causes emotional distress. Help you become more conscious, aware, loving, and compassionate. Improve your interpersonal relationships. Facilitate your journey of personal and spiritual growth. Early Acclaim for The Button Therapy Book Improve Your Quality of Life and Parenting Skills The Button Therapy Book has made an incredible difference in my attitude and my life. I am able to relax more and don't get as uptight or angry as I used to. I have always been a person who had my "Buttons pushed" fairly easily and now I understand how to identify my Buttons, address them in a calm and loving way and most importantly, get rid of them. I've also been able to take the information given in the book and pass it on to my children to help them overcome their "Buttons." Dr. Goodwin gives the reader all the tools they need to live happier, healthier lives, starting immediately! I highly recommend this book, it is a must for any person who is interested in improving his or her quality of life and getting rid of those buttons! Jodie Wilkerson from Greenville, NC Get Ready to Unbutton and Be Free! Button Therapy, a 'MUST HAVE' for any mental health professional and/or the lay person. I have found many insights in this book and I have recommended it to just about everyone I know. I think that Dr. Goodwin has hit the 'button on the head', and has loosened it's thread with his insightful, caring explanation of our 'Buttons' and how to deal with them. I find myself referring to it regularly in my business. Thanks Lloyd, I am happier, my clients are happier and we all understand others and ourselves better now that we have read your book. We will all be looking forward to your next work! Suzanne Osborne, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Forensic Psychologist, Criminal Profiler, Counselor from North Myrtle Beach, SC A Model for Personal and Spiritual Growth The Button Therapy Book is a creative synthesis of Eastern and Western models for personal and spiritual growth. An incredible compilation and synthesis of psychological self-help techniques. You would have to read 10 books to get the information and number of self-help techniques presented in this book. I've personally benefited from applying this practical six-step self-help model to some of my Buttons. The chapter titled "30 Seeds for Your Mind's Garden" is worth the price of this book alone. The "30 Seeds" are guidelines that have been helpful in my journey of personal and spiritual growth. Planting these "life-enhancing seeds" into the gardens of our minds enables us to become more conscious, aware, loving, and compassionate. This is simply the best psychological self-help book I've ever read. I've already recommended this book to my friends. An excellent read! Patricia Pollard, M.P.A., Administrator from Health Sciences Personnel, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC Button Therapy Book: Good for Self-Helpers and Professionals Goodwin has written a very readable book, which includes a thorough compilation of respected authors, therapists, and philosophers. Those views, augmented with his many years of counseling experience, provide a useful theoretical and practical book for both the mental health professional as well as the individual seeking a good self-help reference and guide, including inventories in the appendix. Stephen K. Creech, Ph.D., Mental Health Professional and Musician from Winterville, NC. Button Therapy I was excited to see three decades of counseling theories, approaches, and strategies in mind-body therapy, brought together in one resource that is readable and accessible for either the lay-reader or counseling professional. This book is unique because it combines psychological research with very usable self-assessments and self-help techniques that can be applied in the "real world". The element that I found most helpful are the "30 Seeds for Your Mind's Garden" in Chapter 21. This presents a summary and cognitive guideline of living life most effectively to its fullest potential. Mark Stebnicki, Rh.D., LPC, CRC, CDMS Professor and Director, Rehabilitation Counselor Education Program, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC A Fantastic Book A super way to learn how to deal with all the Buttons and Button-Pushers in your life. Learn to be a happier, healthier and hopefully a better person all around. Ned Petrak, Financial Advisor, Goldsboro, NC CONGRATULATIONS!!! Congratulations Dr. Goodwin! You've done a wonderful job. I like the holistic nature of this cognitive behavior therapy model. The vast majority of clients I have worked with, see themselves as pawns in this world being blown from one situation to the other with minimal control. They often experience their emotions and actions as responsive to external forces rather than behavioral choices over which they have control. The Button Therapy Book teaches that the locus of most situations is internal and therefore, under our control. Most of us are spiritually empty. I am very positive that they will be able to fill that spiritual void by reading The Button Therapy Book. I will recommend this book to any mental health professional I know. Agyenim A-Boateng, M.S., CRC, CCAS, LPC, Mental Health Professional from Pinehurst, NC An Excellent Guide To Feeling Good! The Button Therapy Book provides techniques that will immediately lift your spirits and help you develop a positive outlook on life. Everyone has Buttons and Button-Pushers. Dr. Goodwin provides a framework to recognize the cognitions (i.e. thoughts, beliefs, etc.) attached to Buttons that produce negative results. Through the 21 Button removal strategies described in the book empowerment is accessible. A great "tool box" for those working in the mental health field as well as for anyone seeking personal growth. If you have the desire to dance to the music of the universe instead of dancing every time somebody pushes your Buttons, buy it, read it, you deserve it! Sharon Williams from Washington, NC Tired of Getting Your Buttons Pushed? The Button Therapy Book is an excellent 'life enhancement manual'. I highly recommend it. Its foundations are based on the teachings of Buddha, Jesus Christ and Ken Keyes Jr. The Button Therapy Book also nicely wraps up the 'best of the best' literature from prominent psychologists, philosophers, and modern day shamans. The fewer 'Buttons