Teaching Stress Management Interview
This teaching stress management interview will give you expert advice on how to successfully teach others about managing stress. Dr. Serena Wadhwa is an expert in stress, burnout, and compassion fatigue management. She has presented, taught and published articles on these topics and is writing a book on chronic stress, burnout and compassion fatigue for the professional along with a daily stress management technique book. She has a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a licensed clinical professional counselor and certified alcohol and drug counselor.
Teaching Stress Management Interview with Dr. Serena Wadhwa
LoveToKnow (LTK): Can anyone teach stress management?
Dr. Serena Wadhwa (SW): "A stress management teacher needs the knowledge, skill and the right attitude."
LTK: How can someone prepare to teach stress management?
SW: "Teaching stress management is both a science and an art. You need the research, information and resources. You also need a creative way to implement the science so that it grabs your students and sticks with them. There are varieties of programs out there to assist someone in teaching stress management, but it really depends on the goal the individual has for teaching. It's important the "instructor" is clear on what he or she wants to teach and the audience."
LTK: What is typically the first thing that someone should do when helping someone manage stress?
SW: "Let the person know it's possible to manage stress and the benefits of it. There are many myths about what stress is and it's important to set those straight."
LTK: Please provide some topics someone should cover when teaching stress management.
SW:" It depends on the audience and the goal of the session. Some basic topics include: what is stress; what are stressors and how to identify them; the physiological response to stress; how the mind (thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, etc) influences the perception of stress; the emotional aspects of stress, how stress affect us mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, financially and behaviorally; techniques of managing stress (including physical, emotional/spiritual, and mental)."
LTK: What are some fun things to do to help someone learn how to manage stress?
SW: "Including games and activities can make learning fun. Hands-on activities are typically what I include in my stress management workshop. You can also include games with information, like true/false or Jeopardy-type game. Keeping humor in the instruction also helps. I have developed many activities for various topics and do consult on this if readers would like help."
LTK: How do you teach stress management to a group in which people have different learning styles?
SW: "The basic information to teach is the same, however, the method of teaching it may differ. For example, you may have an audience with participants who learn best by a visual presentation and others who learn best by a "hand-on" approach. Say you are teaching breathing techniques, you may offer some reading material and practice the breathing technique so you address both learning styles."
LTK: How can someone take the teachings in a session to the outside world and how can a teacher help this transition?
SW: "A teacher can help with this transition by encouraging the individuals to practice. New coping skills are not always readily available to the mind, so it's important to develop that link. Encouraging individuals to practice new techniques and remember information when not stressed may help utilize the lessons later."
LTK: What are some final words of advice a teacher can give to students?
SW: "People need to be patient especially if this is a new way for them and that managing stress provides more quality and quantity of life."
LTK: Do you have any resources a reader can consult that will further help with understanding how to teach stress management?
SW: "There are a variety of programs online available. I would be happy to consult with a reader. They can also check resources on my website."
LoveToKnow Stress Management would like to thank Dr. Serena Wadhwa for taking the time to give her expert advice in this teaching stress management interview.
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