Coping with Stress in the Health Professions

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xii

   PDF

2. Stress and the health professional

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 1-14

3. Stress and feelings

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 15-31

4. Stress and self-awareness

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 32-61

5. Self-awareness activities for stress reduction

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 62-75

6. Stress and relaxation

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 76-85

7. Stress, values and meditation

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 86-97

8. Stress and assertiveness

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 98-110

9. Stress and its effects on you

   • Philip Burnard

   Pages 111-121

10. Stress support systems for individuals

    • Philip Burnard

    Pages 122-148

11. Group support and supervision

    • Philip Burnard

    Pages 149-168

12. Back Matter

    Pages 169-196

    PDF

Stress is a feature of all of our lives. The business of working in the health professions means that we are constantly being exposed to stress. That stress can sometimes be enriching and motivating. It has often been pointed out that stress can be positive or nega­ tive. When stress is positive, it rarely needs any further attention. When it is negative, it is a problem. The first aim of this book is to discuss the various sorts of stress that may be experienced by a variety of health professionals, including social workers, nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, occu­ pational therapists and others. What they all have in common is that they work closely with other people - people who often have emotional problems or problems in living. Working with other people who are troubled in this way is indeed stressful. For too long it has been assumed that health professionals should 'get on with it' and put up with any stress that is involved in caring for others. The second aim of this book is to offer practical ways of coping with negative stress. These methods range from simple relaxation techniques, through meditation to methods that involve discussing stress with others: counselling, co-counselling and group work. All the methods described in this book have been used with a variety of health professionals, and not all of these methods will necessarily appeal to you. One of the fundamental points about stress is that it tends to affect each individual idiosyncratically.

• Affect
• attention
• coping
• counseling
• emotion
• health
• social work
• stress

• University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales

  Philip Burnard

• Institute for Higher Professional Education for Health Care Professions, Hogeschool Midden Nederland, Utrecht, The Netherlands

  Philip Burnard

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