Specific Psychological Distress

Anxiety and Stress

Dryden, W. (2000) Overcoming Anxiety. London: Sheldon Press.

Positioned as a self-help book, this volume explains the Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy approach to anxiety. The book will undoubtedly be useful to many people experiencing anxiety, although it may be somewhat tedious for counsellors already familiar with the general approach. (I found it quite amazing that so many pages could be filled explaining relative basics...)

Sapolsky, R.M. (1998) Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. New York: WH Freeman.

This book is not about counselling, or about counselling people experiencing stress, but about stress itself. An interesting mixture of entertaining anecdotes, serious (but gently delivered) science, and (just occasionally) a frustrating absence of content, this large book teaches all about the physiology of stress and its impact on health. The overall style is deliberately very comical, which might tire some readers looking for specific pieces of information but which will probably also make it easier to digest for others. The last chapter, on managing stress, is disappointingly short on specific conclusions. Counsellors may find several interesting connections with the internal locus of evaluation of person-centred theory, as well as with cognitive therapeutic ideas about how our responses to external events are modulated by our beliefs about them.