Stress management Discuss psychological methods of stress management including Meichenbaums stress inoculation and increasing hardiness Outline

the practical application of stress management: Kobasas hardiness training Discuss one biological method of stress management: drug therapy including: Benzodiazepines, Beta-blockers Discuss and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the above stress management techniques.

Biological methods drug therapy: Identify the two types of drugs used to reduce the symptoms of stress (beta blockers and BZs) Benzodiazepines such as valium and Librium, are an effective method to calm the body when stressed. Reduce arousal levels in the brain, encourages the production of GABA. Beta blockers Inderal, does not work on brain chemicals, they affect the bodies sympathetic nervous system. Beta blockers, slow down heart rate and blood pressure.

Describe how one of these forms of drugs reduces the symptoms of stress. Identify two strengths and two limitations of drug therapy. Emotion-focused approach: focuses on the emotion and not the stressor itself, so treats the effect of the cause and not the cause itself. Side effects: BZs - drowsiness, decrease in alertness and concentration, liver functioning. Beta blockers - lowers blood pressure cold hands/feet dizziness. Tolerance: tolerance can form and higher dosage of drug is required. Speed of effectiveness: drugs are very speedy. Biofeedback takes time to adjust too but is still effective

Describe how both these types of drugs reduce symptoms of stress. Include a research example to support the effectiveness of drug therapy e.g. Kahn et al found BZs to superior to placebo. Include three limitations of drug therapy. Psychological methods stress inoculation training: Identify this as a form of cognitive therapy Describe the three phases of SIT Conceptualisation: tackles the thinking component. The therapist asks the client to talk about previous stressful situations. And why they were stressful. Skills training and practice: relaxation techniques, social skills, organisation skills, meditation skills, could be taught to the client to help deal with stressful situations.

Real-life application: putting skills into practice, contact with the therapist is maintained so the client has support throughout his combat against stress.

Identify two strengths and two limitations if this therapy Problem focused approach: deals with the stressors, and prevents a reoccurrence. Side effects/tolerance: no side effects or tolerance. Just financial effects and the time to have the training. Speed of effectiveness: once skills are learnt, it is speedy. But initial training is very time consuming. Availability: available to most people, but is costly unless prescribed by a doctor. Problems for the individuals: time consuming, and motivation may be difficult to find.

Hardiness training Kobasa Describe the characteristics of the hardy personality Found that there were certain individuals who seemed to be generally better equipped than others to resist the effects of stress. She described them as having a hardy personality, and claimed that this consists of three key factors that help keep stress at a minimum: Control internal locus of control. Commitment individual gets involved in life and engages with those around them. This means they are less likely to give up when the going gets tough, especially if they have gathered social support around themselves. Challenge changes are a positive challenge. This leaves them feeling less vulnerable to stressful feelings of being unable to cope.

Explain what is involved in hardiness training Focusing able to notice stressors. Reliving stressful encounters how could you deal with it differently to reduce stress levels? Self-improvement learns to avoid stress in the future. See things as a challenge rather than overwhelming.

Identify two strengths and two limitations of this method. SIT include two or more research studies to demonstrate effectiveness e.g. Meichenbaum, Fontana et al, Jay and Elliot. Meichenbaum compared SIT with another form of psychological treatment called desensitisation. This involves presenting clients with a hierarchy of fearful stimuli, starting with the least fearful. When a client can relax and cope with the least fearful stimulus, the therapist introduces the next most fearful situation. SIT dealt with future stress as well as phobias. Unlike desensitisation.

Fontana et al examined the effectiveness of a peer-led stress inoculation programme in college students. After 6 sessions treatment programme the participants had lower heart rate and stateanxiety levels than did controls. This difference was maintained at a 6 month follow up. Jay and Elliot demonstrated the effectiveness of a stress inoculation programme for parents whose children are undergoing medical procedures. Parents were assigned to a stress inoculation programme or observed their childs participation in a cognitive therapy programme. Parents in the stress inoculation group reported less anxiety.