20 Quick Strategies to Help Patients and Clients Manage Stress

Fast, effective strategies — each teachable in 10 minutes or less!

Includes printable patient handouts and audio downloads for guided relaxation practices

Empower your patients quickly with tools that range from relaxation strategies to life skills. Teach patients to recognize their stress response and use proven techniques to reduce their exposure to stress. Each of the 20 strategies described in this practical guide includes a script to teach patients how to use the strategy and a printable patient handout. Patients can use the audio downloads at home or right in your office.

Whether you are a health care professional, social worker, or student in a health care program, this book will provide you with strategies you can use to help patients immediately. These methods work. All have been used in a variety of settings, including primary care and community health clinics, mental health centers, addiction treatment facilities, community counseling agencies, domestic violence shelters, and secondary and post-secondary health centers.

Table of Contents

1. Stress and your patients
2. Awareness strategies
3. Self-management strategies
4. Relaxation strategies
5. Sensory grounding strategies
6. Cognitive strategies
7. Clinician wellness
Summary: How to use this book
Strategy 1: Human stress response and warning signs
Strategy 2: Daily stress log
Strategy 3: Stress thermometer
Strategy 4: Stress-management plan and resources
Strategy 5: My stress-management goal
Strategy 6: Self-care plan: Lifestyle factors for stress management
Strategy 7: My support map
Strategy 8: Deep breathing: Technique
Strategy 9: Deep breathing: Extended exhale
Strategy 10: Deep breathing: Boxed breathing
Strategy 11: Guided visualization
Strategy 12: Progressive muscle relaxation
Strategy 13: 5–4–3–2–1 sensory grounding exercise
Strategy 14: Pictures on the wall exercise
Strategy 15: Cognitive-awareness grounding strategy
Strategy 16: Journaling and relaxation
Strategy 17: Gratitude lists and journaling
Strategy 18: Surfing your stress
Strategy 19: Awareness of negative thoughts
Strategy 20: Setting boundaries and saying no
Signs and symptoms of compassion fatigue
Ten nourishing activities for clinician wellness