Managing Stress and Distress

STAN GODEK is the founder and director of SG Training and Consultancy. He is a psychologist with a background of working with children affected by trauma. His work was informed first by attachment theory, and later by the theories of Erik Erikson and Alan Sroufe. He has worked in the UK, Ireland and Russia, and has also managed residential childcare services. Stan has developed a wide range of techniques and exercises designed to help young people to self-regulate their moods and emotions, and to cope more effectively with the various negative experiences that have impacted on their lives. He draws on these techniques in workshops on how mindfulness techniques can improve concentration and learning in the classroom, and in the consultancy service he offers to primary and secondary schools, residential units and fostering agencies. He is the author of Mindfulness Techniques for Children and Young People: A Practical Guide.

Series Preface; About the Author;
Author's Preface; How to Use This Book
Part 1: Introduction
1. What is stress? 2. A brief history of stress and distress; 3. A psychological perspective; 4. Neuroscience; Ten key things to know about stress and distress
Part 2: Stress and the brain
5. Key components of the brain; 6. The HPA and stress chemicals; 7. The negative impact of stress 8. Elizabeth Blackburn and the Telomere Effect
Part 3: Distress
9. The attachment process; 10. The arousal response cycle; 11. Emotional regulation or containment; 12. Empathetic attunement, the secure base and exploratory behaviour; 13. Internal working model; 14. Distress and insecure attachment styles
Part 4: Managing distress
15. The arousal cycle; 16. How to help at each stage; 17. Nonverbal communication; 18. Recovery and post-crisis; 19. Analysis of incidents and looking after ourselves
Part 5: Stress and stages of development
20. Erikson's stages of development; 21. Pre-school to primary transition; 22. Adolescence; 23. Neuroplasticity
Part 6: Stress reduction
24. Chemicals again!; 25. Mindfulness; 26. Meditation; 27. Breathing and breathing exercises; 28. Imaging and visualisation; 29. Shinrin-Yoku and Two Schools
Part 7: Conclusion
30. Summary; 31. A last word to parents and carers; 32. A last word to teachers and schools