Week 8 – Assignment Signature Assignment Develop a Stress Prevention and/or Reduction Program for a Specific Population NCU
PSY-5302 v4: Stress and Coping Northcentral University
Six-Session Coping Programs for Adolescents
Annotated Outline
Adolescents experience countless number of issues as they cope with the emotional, cognitive, and social challenges that characterize this period. The following is a six-session program to help adolescents develop coping skills to navigate the challenges of this turbulent period and the stress associated with it. Each session is one hour.
Steps and Techniques
Session one
Relaxation exercises – muscle relaxation (van Loon et al., 2020)
- The group will be taught how to do muscle relaxation exercises. Focus on one muscle at a time, tense it and hold for five minutes, release hold while exhaling and let the muscle relax for 20 seconds before moving to the next one.
Life skills training – emotional regulation (van Loon et al., 2020)
- The group will gain understanding of the functions of emotions and how to attain emotional regulation through various approaches, including identifying and reducing triggers, modulating responses, engaging in positive self-talk, and self-awareness.
Session two
Power-up meditations (van Loon et al., 2020)
- Engage in meditation exercise for 10-20 minutes
Life skill training – problem-solving (van Loon et al., 2020)
- Teach the group problem-solving techniques: identify a problem, brainstorm potential solutions, evaluate and choose theappropriate solution, put it in action, and evaluate the outcome.
Session three
Gratitude (Bennett et al., 2019)
- The adolescents will be taught how to create a daily gratitude journal by listing what they feel grateful for
Tell real stories
- The participants will be encouraged to share stories about their lives.
Session four
Talk it out/write it down (Kempis & Daga, 2021)
- Teach the teenagers how to talk about or write something that is bothering them.
Psychoeducation (Boring et al., 2015)
- Provide psychoeducation on common mental illnesses affecting young people, such as anxiety, and suicidal ideation, to enhance awareness and knowledge on how to prevent them.
Session five
Time management – setting priority, setting discipline (Kempis & Daga, 2021)
- Teach the participants about the important values of time management, such as setting priorities and exercising discipline.
Life skills training – conflict resolution (van Loon et al., 2020)
- Train on conflict resolution techniques, including recognizing when one is wrong and asking for forgiveness. Other techniques are clarifying the issue, talking it out, mediation, and brainstorming solutions.
Session six
Mindfulness (Bennett et al., 2019)
- Practice mindfulness for 10-15 minutes
Positive cognitive restructuring (Boring et al., 2015)
- Teach the group how to replace negative or stress-inducing thoughts with neutral ones.
Handout
Emotional regulation
Emotional regulation is the ability to control one’s emotions to prevent anger outbursts or aggressive behavior (Boring et al., 2015). Emotional regulation involves being able to identify emotions, emotional self-awareness, and knowledge of emotional triggers and techniques to mitigate them.
Relaxation exercises
A set of activities that helps a person to relax. Muscle relaxation is focused on relaxing the muscles (van Loon et al., 2020). The exercises produce a calming effect, thereby reducing stress and anxiety levels. The following image demonstrates relaxation exercises that can be easily done at home, in the office, or at school.
Meditation
The act of focusing one’s mind on a particular thing or item for a given period to enhance attention, clear the mind, and gain emotional calmness.
Problem-solving
Refers to the concept of working through challenging issues to find a solution. Various approaches to mapping out the problem and solution include drawing it, listing on paper, thinking critically, and acting out.
Mindfulness
Means concentrating on the present moment by focusing one’s mind on appreciating thoughts, feelings, and bodily reactions. The exercise produces a calming effect on stress and anger.
Conflict resolution
Finding a mutual solution following a conflict between one or more people (van Loon et al., 2020). Requires taking into account the interest of both parties and negotiating a solution.
Time management
Planning and organizing activities to exercise control on time spent on given activities. It helps in allocating time appropriately according to the needs and priorities of each activity.
Positive cognitive restructuring
Refers to a technique that helps people change their thinking from negative to positive. Training the mind to think positively helps eliminate thoughts that cause stress and anxiety.
Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation is the exercise of providing support and information regarding mental health issues (Bennett et al., 2019). It enhances awareness and supports people who already have mental illnesses.
Gratitude
Refers to the act of being thankful and appreciative. Practicing gratitude takes many forms, from writing something an individual is grateful about, practicing kindness, expressing appreciation, etc.
These techniques can easily be practiced at home, especially whenever one feels overwhelmed by stress, anger, or anxiety.
References
Bennett1, P. S., Hernandez, B., Wiercinski, K., & Abraham, S. (2019). Stress and Coping in Adolescents: A Review of the Literature. Human Journals, 12(3),.
Boring, J. L., Sandler, I., & Vélez, C. (2015). Children of Divorce–Coping With Divorce: A Randomized Control Trial of an Online Prevention Program for Youth Experiencing Parental Divorce. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 83(5), 999 –1005.
Kempis, G., & Daga, C. (2021). Coping Mechanism of Teenagers of Stress and Anxiety: A Case Study. International Journal of Research Publications, 609(1), 1-11. https://doi.10.47119/IJRP100691120211706.
van Loon, A., Creemers, H., & Beumer, W. (2020). Can Schools Reduce Adolescent Psychological Stress? A Multilevel Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of School-Based Intervention Programs. J Youth Adolescence, 49, 1127–1145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01201-5.