Hermes’ Web founder Jerry Fjerkenstad, MA, LP, recommends the following “must read” books to support your use of Hermes' Web.

Depth Psychology and a New Ethic — Erich Neumann

This book describes the difference between the ego and the core and why core-level change is absolutely necessary for both the individual and society. The book lays much of the groundwork for the Hermes' Web approach...and much more!

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Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception — Daniel Goleman

The author clearly explains how the human mind and its cognitions work. It is an excellent book for understanding self-deception and what the barrier is really all about.

Violence: Our Epidemic and Its Deadly Causes — James Gilligan

This book is an excellent primer for examining the root causes of violence of all types.

Revisioning Psychology — James Hillman

This book is a great primer on working imaginally, offering a much more sophisticated way to work both sides of the barrier, while honoring the primacy of the core.

The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self — Alice Miller

The true self and the false self are very useful concepts that easily align with the idea of the ego and the core, especially before any attempts have been made to link those two worlds. The linking of the two worlds creates emotional intelligence as well as healing, and Miller does a wonderful job of describing the consequences of creating a separate false self.

The Evolving Self — Robert Kegan

The author takes the entire developmental process and its stages to a new level. The author describes the growth of the core, as that it what usually lags behind. When push comes to shove, the core takes over, and its developmental level it typically far more primitive than that of the ego. This book explains why and what is likely to manifest.

The Crucified Jesus Is No Stranger — Sabastian Moore

This book represents the essence of the Hermes’ Web approach, presenting it in a Christian context. The author explains what it needed to make the core moral.

Humanizing the Narcissistic Style — Stephen M. Johnson

This book offers an amazing imaginal and clinical description of the process of changing the false self to the true self and counteracting issues that affect the process. It helps readers begin to navigate the damaged and contaminated core.

Provocative Therapy — Frank Farrelly

This book is a wonderful resource for using humor in therapy. It has a dark edge to it and talks candidly about the difficulty in adjusting to this particular style of therapy. The author captures the jester archetype and offers a myriad of great examples. Humor is an essential element of therapy and is often the only way to deal with imperialist egos and make contact with the core without raising defenses.

Native American Postcolonial Psychology — Eduardo Duran

This book explains why ego-based therapy with indigenous people, urban or otherwise, does not work well. It discusses how to work from the core and the hazards involved.

The Difficult Connection: The Therapeutic Relationship in Sex Offender Treatment — Geral T. Blanchard

This book helps therapists make good connections with clients, especially sex offenders, and examine what’s below their own barriers to discover how that affects their work.

The Man Who Died — D. H. Lawrence

This short story provides a wonderful image of what it means to “shift” and how waking up in the core is not necessarily a pleasant experience, at least at first.

Solaris — Stanislaw Lem

This book (and movie) greatly exemplifies how elements within the core can come to life and become unavoidable, just like a sex offense often does for an offender. The book shows the shape, image, and personality of what inhabits the core and the creatures that can overwhelm and possess the ego.

Invisible Guests: The Development of Imaginal Dialogue — Mary Watkins

This is a wonderful book for understanding characters in the context of drama and how that relates to human healing.

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