Stress Management & Counseling Techniques

Medline Plus, an extension of the National Library of Medicine, identifies both formal and informal support systems as one of the key factors in managing stress. Though some stress is a positive influence in people's lives, too much stress impacts day-to-day function in a way that creates physical and emotional tension or distress. Counselors recognize several techniques for stress management that occur both during and outside counseling sessions.

Cognitive Approaches

• Cognitive psychotherapy is a counseling approach that focuses on conceptualizing intellectual strategies for managing stressful situations. The first step for managing stress with a cognitive therapy approach is identifying the types of negative thoughts and beliefs that contribute to stress; the client may be asked to keep a journal that reflects their thoughts during stress situations, or to relive a stressful moment in a therapy session. After the thoughts are identified, the counselor works with the client to develop strategies for dispelling or rationalizing negative thoughts that proliferate stress reactions. The counselor suggests strategies for problem-solving like brainstorming or thinking aloud. The counselor may walk the client through a role-playing activity that enables the client to practice stress management strategies with the help of the counselor. The focus in cognitive therapy is in relying on intellectual approaches, rather than behavior approaches, to managing stress.

Symptom Management

• While some techniques focus on eliminating the causes or aggravators of stress, a symptom management approach provides clients with behavioral strategies for dealing with stress in the moment that a stress symptom emerges. Stress symptoms might include headaches, feelings of anxiety, shortness of breath or significant changes in sleeping or eating. Symptom management approaches address the physical manifestations of stress rather than the cause of stress in the hopes that managing symptoms makes the client feel more in control and, therefore, less stressed. A counselor may review several strategies for managing different types of stress reactions. For example, the counselor may review controlled breathing techniques for managing anxiety or recommend regular massages for releasing muscle tension associated with stress. Strategies for maintaining a regular diet and sleeping schedule are also encouraged as way to both combat stress behaviors and prevent unhealthy habits from forming, which could create further stress.

Stress Education

• A stress education approach to stress management offers a more holistic approach. The client receives education about her specific stress triggers, reactions and management strategies. A counselor may also provide information about the relationship between external stress and internal physiological reactions that create physical symptoms like anxiety or feelings of sickness. The goal of stress education is to provide the client with the ability to identify which aspects of stress are in his control and which are not. For example, a counselor may attempt to convey that though it is not possible to control the behavior of a pushy boss, the client can control his own reaction to his boss' behavior. The basic premise of stress education is that the more knowledgeable a client is about stress, the more comfortable the client will feel in stressful situations.