Stress Management

From Basic Science to Better Practice

Most of the literature on stress management describes and evaluates individual stress responses but lacks a critical view of the scientific foundation of stress. In order to truly comprehend stress management, there needs to be clear understanding on the phenomenon that is `to be managed'.

Stress Management examines documented pathways between stress and health and develops the scientific foundations for sound interventions. The book begins with a broad review of the term stress and its importance for health. The text then provides a critical examination of the elements of the stress process, extracts supporting research for a rationale of stress management, and describes various stress management techniques and their effectiveness.

In Stress Management, author and renowned stress researcher Wolfgang Linden reviews the literature on intervention outcomes, noting weaknesses that include an overemphasis on individual rather than societal responsibility for stress and coping and disregard of the emerging field of positive psychology. The author concludes the text with a proposed distinction between psychotherapy and stress management, and he proposes the need for three distinguishable subtypes of stress management programs-a systematic-preventative approach; a broad-based stress vaccination and prevention type of protocol; and a reactive, problem-solving type of stress reduction intervention.

Key Features:

- Begins with a firm groundwork in defining stress and examining conceptual models of stress to set the stage for rational, science-based thinking on how to manage it

- Introduces a unique 3-step process model for stress management

- Considers both physiological and sociocultural influences on stress and health

- Offers an objective analysis of existing literature and includes extensive personal, clinical experiences of the author to make the science of stress come alive for the reader

- Includes coverage of positive psychology and how the creation of social support and positive emotional states can ease experiences with stress.

Stress Management is an excellent textbook for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, such as stress management, stress and coping, stress and health, and stress and wellness, in the fields of psychology and health. The book is also a valuable resource for researchers and clinicians within the behavioural sciences interested in understanding and alleviating stress.