April Lane Benson books – overshopping

To Buy or Not to Buy: Why We Overshop and How to Stop by April Lane Benson is a critical tool for anyone suffering from spendaholism (compulsive buying, compulsive shopping disorder, overspending, overshopping, shopaholism). Dr. Benson, who passed away 3/29/2021, was an internationally recognized pioneer coordinating research into and treatment of overshopping, partially inspired by her own struggles with overspending. To Buy or Not to Buy offers a comprehensive program to allow readers to identify their impulses and develop tools for avoiding and controlling their actions.

I Shop, Therefore I Am: Compulsive Shopping & the Search for Self, edited by Dr. Benson, was written by researchers and clinicians for researchers and clinicians. That can be a fascinating perspective for laypeople, or extremely difficult to follow, and perhaps with no “in between.” A reader with an academic orientation might find it valuable. Anyone might find that Part VII: Treatment Adjuncts, which discusses Debtors Anonymous and Financial Recovery Counseling, is an excellent introduction to additional tools beyond psychotherapy.