Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Trainers

Teach trainees to "stress-proof" themselves with these training activities from a renowned Harvard-trained psychologist. Designed to provide lasting results, as well as on-the-spot relaxation, Dr. Robert Epstein's world-famous, science-based "stress-proofing" methods are fun to teach and easy to apply. Filled with what Psychology Today called "gems," the exercises in this book can be taught to your trainees in minutes and can be performed any time, anywhere, with a dramatic effect on mood and performance. The book gives you quick methods for relaxing groups of any size or type and helping them be open and receptive to any training content you present. This simple "bag of tricks" will help trainers raise people's stress-tolerance levels, create a comfortable learning environment, and unleash their creativity. Also included are special methods for handling organizational change and interpersonal conflict; reproducible handouts ; and much more.

Table of Contents:
Part I: Getting Started. How to Use This Book. Why Stress Management and Relaxation Are Important. "Stress-Proofing": A Proactive Approach to Managing Workplace Stress. Part II: How to Use Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities for Almost Any Occasion. Helping People Prepare for Learning. Loosening Up an Audience. Closing a Session. Teaching People to Cope with Organizational Change. Teaching People to Cope with Interpersonal Conflict. Teaching Managers to Reduce Staff Stress. Teaching Managers to Reduce Their Own Stress. Helping People Design Personal Stress-Management Regimens. Helping People Design Low-Stress Work Environments. Activities for the Desk-Bound. Activities for the Time-Limited. Activities for Coffee Breaks. Activities for Evenings and Weekends. Advanced Techniques. Suggestions for a Half-Day Training Session. A Comprehensive Approach: Suggestions for an Intensive Two-day Workshop. Part III: Stress-Management and Relaxation Activities. The Anti-Boredom Game. The Beastly Boss Game. Beliefs That Can Kill. The Bliss List. Blowing Away the Tension. Blowing Up the Company. Building a Relaxation Machine. Capturing a Daydream. Compu-Relaxation. Corporate Space Oddity. Corporate Telephone. The Co-Worker from Hell. Dancing with Your Eyes. The Glittering Roof. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Gravity Magic. Hands the Heal. Hour Power. Keeping the Fires Burning. The Laugh Graph. A Little Help from My Friends. The Make-a-Fist Technique. Make Me Laugh. Making It Personal. Meditation for the Impatient. The Nirvana Room. One Minute in Hell. The Place of Perfect Peace. Popeye Puffs. Punch that Pillow! Reach for the Sky. Red, White, and Very Blue. Run for Your Life! The Seek and Kill Game. Stacked to the Ceiling. Staying Cool, Getting Hot. Tangerine Trees. The Ten-Year Planner. The Terrific Tummy Technique. This Perfect Day. The Time-Tested Ten Count. Turn, Turn, Turn. The Turtle Technique. The Twenty-Eight-Hour Day. Warmth of the Sun. What D'Ya Know? The Whoosh Game. Within You, Without You. The World is Round.

About the Author :
Robert Epstein, Ph.D. (San Diego, CA) is Editor-in-Chief of Psychology Today, host of the magazine's nationally-syndicated radio show, and University Research Professor at United States International University. Dr. Epstein holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and his research has been reported in Time, The New York Times, and Discover. His popular articles have appeared in The Washington Post and Reader's Digest.