A 2018 study by the Mental Health Foundation found that 74% of UK adults had felt so stressed in the previous 12 months they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.
National Stress Awareness Day gives people the chance to think about their wellbeing and to find advice and support to help manage stress.
This selection of articles from Therapy Today and our divisional journals shows the role therapy is playing in helping people manage various forms of stress, including the importance of recognising and managing our own risks.
Work-related stress
Meaningful work
Dr Paul Flaxman and colleagues share their experience of using acceptance and commitment therapy to improve the psychological health and resilience of NHS staff. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, January 2017
Overload and collapse
Open article: Chris Johnstone addresses the epidemic of workplace overload. What role might we play in shifting personal and organisational cultures to support the recovery of wellbeing? Counselling at Work, Summer 2016
All change
Restructuring, redundancy and change are ever present in the workplace. With so much uncertainty, Fiona Dunkley and Felicity Runchman consider the impact on employees and the ways that employers can help. BACP Workplace, October 2019
Family-related stress
A lifeline for a lifetime
Sally Flatteau Taylor outlines the maypole project’s services, which offer emotional support to families living with a child diagnosed with an illness or disability. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, January 2015
Better conversations about... new parents and emotional wellbeing
Jane Moffett explores the role that employers can play in supporting staff as they embark on the journey into parenthood. BACP Workplace, April 2019
Counselling the carers
Open article: Danuta Lipinska considers how counselling can help carers of people with dementia cope in often overwhelming circumstances. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, April 2016
Student stress
Building resilience and improving wellbeing in pharmacy students: a collaborative approach
Mark Evans and Nicola Ward from De Montfort University describe an innovative approach to integrating wellbeing within a course curriculum and the benefits that can accrue. University and College Counselling, March 2018
Building resilience by cultivating compassion
Elaine Beaumont considers how compassionate mind training could help student healthcare practitioners cope with the demands of clinical care. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, July 2016
Innovative models of care for students: the embedded approach
As demand for mental health services continues to rise in colleges and universities, David Adams describes a new approach to offering accessible support to students. University and College Counselling, March 2019
Environment-related stress
Workplace matters: Brexit stress
Open article: "...never have I seen quite such a dramatic impact of world events on mental health as I have with Brexit." Regular column from Sandi Mann. Counselling at Work, Autumn 2016
Is there a therapy for climate-change anxiety?
Steffi Bednarek calls for a collective response to a global ecological disaster. Therapy Today, June 2019
Together, communities can defeat terrorism
Sean Arbuthnot, Prevent co-ordinator at St Philip’s Centre, Leicester, talks about his approach to tackling extremism. Thresholds, July 2018
Post-traumatic stress
Supporting veterans
Dominic Murphy details the clinical pathways at Combat Stress for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Healthcare Counselling and Psychotherapy Journal, April 2016
Working on the edge: supporting aid workers
Open article: Fiona Dunkley outlines the work of InterHealth Worldwide in psychologically preparing, supporting and sustaining humanitarian and aid workers responding to crises around the world. Therapy Today, November 2015
Protecting our police
Dr Noreen Tehrani sheds light on how psychological support systems and processes help to protect the police from the harmful effects of repeated exposure to traumatic events. Counselling at Work, Autumn 2017
Counsellor's personal stress
Who cares for the wounded carers?
Counsellors working with severe trauma need protection from trauma too, writes Fiona Dunkley. Therapy Today, March 2018
Practising what we preach
When it comes to our own self-care, Michelle Seabrook fears we often fail to practise what we preach. Private Practice, June 2018
Respect
Relentless exposure to our clients’ traumatic material is a risk to our health. Fiona Dunkley outlines a resilience toolkit for those carers most at risk of vicarious trauma. BACP Workplace, July 2018