Annmarie Carvalho recommends
Annmarie Carvalho is a therapist, trainer and founder of TCC (The Carvalho Consultancy), an agency which specialises in supporting lawyers and those in the legal profession with their mental health.
Formerly a family solicitor at Farrer & Co, Annmarie retrained and set up TCC in 2018 with the aim of providing more high-quality, bespoke training and support to the legal profession as well as ‘corporate health’ support to law firms. Now with a team of six other lawyers turned therapists, the TCC motto ‘because we’ve walked in your shoes’ reflects TCC’s ethos that the person best placed to help another is one who’s lived through similar experiences.
TCC has won seven awards in its first six years of business including, most recently the Supporting the Industry and Best Innovation Awards at the 2024 Modern Law Private Client Awards.
Read on to find out which six books Annmarie recommends, and why…
I’ve always been a bookworm and always have at least two or three on the go. I tend to read fiction to relax but always have at least one non-fiction book on me too, usually something therapy-related as its such a fascinating world with endless amounts to learn. I’ve focused on non-fiction in my list – they are the books I come back to time and time again and the books I’m most likely to recommend to my clients. I’m actually in the process of writing my first book for lawyers on mental health so look out for that!
The Creative Lawyer
Michael Melcher
This is a great book for anyone in the profession who is feeling hum drum, uninspired and unsure about what they want to do next. It contains various exercises and helps to spark ideas as to how to reignite your career. I love the fact this book focuses on imagination and inspiration – putting paid to the idea that lawyers can’t be creative in their work and their lives! I used it myself when I was at a crossroads in my career and it helped me to create the (very fulfilling) career I have now.
When Things Fall Apart
Pema Chödrön
I go back to this book time and time again when I’m having a hard time. Pema Chodron is a remarkable woman – an American woman who became a Buddhist nun, teacher and author with a down to earth, gritty approach to helping you find peace in turbulent times. She writes beautifully about her own experiences, including her own divorce, which gives so much power to her message. I love all of her books but this is my personal favourite.
Get Out of Your Mind and Into your Life
Steven C. Hayes
This is another therapeutic workbook which is really effective and which I often recommend to others. A cognitive behavioural therapist I worked with when I was a trainee solicitor and struggling with self-doubt and low self esteem introduced me to it and I still go back to it. It’s one of the main texts from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – the new wave of CBT which I find much more effective than the old approach. Traditional CBT focuses on trying to change thoughts and feelings. But with ACT the focus is on working towards noticing and accepting your feelings whilst becoming more conscious of your values and keeping them at the forefront of your life. I find it much more effective.
Leading Professionals: Power, Politics and Prima Donnas
Laura Empson
This is an excellent book about the inner workings of law firms and other professional services firms. Professor Empson describes lawyers as classic ‘insecure overachievers’ and encapsulates beautifully the phenomenon of imposter syndrome in high achievers. She also has valuable insights on leadership, good and bad, within professional services and how power dynamics evolve. A brilliant read for anyone who wants to understand the profession’s inner workings more thoroughly.
Rebel Ideas
Matthew Syed
I love all of Matthew Syed’s book but this is the one I’ve read most recently and, again, this book is all about creativity at its heart. About thinking about things differently. I love writers like Syed and Malcolm Gladwell who are so readable and who fuse ideas from all over the place – from all sorts of different countries and industries which you might assume have nothing in common. A number of law firms I’ve worked with have used ideas from this book to help them improve openness at work and to conduct team meetings differently, encouraging communication and breaking down the aspect of hierarchies which can stymy people’s honesty.
Goddesses in Every Woman
Jean Shinoda Bolen
I finish my list with another fabulous female writer. A Jungian Analyst and author of a number of fabulous books, my favourites are this one and its counterpart ‘Gods in Every Man’. Bolen brings the Greek archetypes to life and explains how each one can manifest in our present day lives in our characters. She’s a beautiful writer, describing how these archetypes can assist and hinder us in our lives. I so enjoyed seeing different archetypes come to the fore at different stages in my life. It’s fascinating spotting yourself in this book – for me, I saw a strong Artemis streak. Check it out and see which archetypes you relate to!