| Synopsis: |
Read this first This 'Choosing What to Think' exam stress programme is very easy to use. It is a paperback book with an audio CD included in the price. The stress reduction, exam stress programme is on the CD. Parents first read Chapter 1, just six pages, then parents and children sit down together, play the CD and follow what it says. The book, Chapters 2-10, offers further detail to read when you have time. Where the term, parents, is used in this programme it is intended to refer to parents or carers such as foster carers. Updates and additional information are periodically provided on the author's website www.stressatschool.co.uk Who Is this programme for? It is for youngsters, 10 to 18 years old who are likely to experience exam stress but, critically, parents are invited too. You join in with your children at home listening to the stress management CD tracks. Complexity can trigger stress. In order to be effective, stress management techniques must be designed in a straightforward style. This means that the same, simple programme suits a wide age range of children. Parents may also benefit. What is on the CD?The stress management training sessions are contained in five separate relaxation audio tracks on the CD, each lasting around 15 minutes. You might listen to one track per week over five weeks, or one track per day over five days, or choose any sequence which fits into your family's schedule. The exam stress session is Track 5, but it is not a free standing track. You need to listen to Tracks 1 - 4, before listening to Track 5. What's in the book? Chapter 1 is all you need to read before playing the CD. It is the complete programme in one chapter for busy parents who need to get started on helping their youngsters deal with exam stress. Additional chapters offer a concise and straightforward distillation of the stress literature for you to read when you have time. Chapter 2 gives parents more information, if you feel you need it, on the detailed running of a stress management session. Chapters 3 to 6 provide parents with more extensive information from the literature on stress and its management. Chapters 7 and 8 tell you why it is valuable for the whole family to work together and how you can fit stress management into your busy life.Chapters 9 and 10 give the theoretical and philosophical bases for the programme. This programme is a process to be experienced not a book to read. Parent and youngster, sit together, listen to the carefully scripted audio CD tracks and relax together. This is not a flavour of the month creation. The programme's roots are in authentic, mainstream psychology, drawing extensively on a cognitive behavioural approach. The combination of relaxation plus guided, positive thoughts in the 'here and now' is akin to mindfulness which may have its origins in meditation practices from other cultures. Nowadays these activities have been established as relatively mainstream techniques in western civilisations. For family life beyond the relaxation audio sessions, the programme gives you tools and techniques to deal with many other stressful situations in everyday life. How Is this programme different? Because it involves parents and their children sitting together at home during the short relaxation sessions. By giving this time to your children you let them know that you want to join in and help them deal with their exam nerves rather than leaving them to sort it out.Research shows (Jeynes, 2005) that giving dedicated time to your child or teenager, including fairly subtle ways such as, communicating with them, encouraging them with positive expectations, can have a significant impact on their achievement in education. Spending time with your youngster in the calm environment of these audio tracks has additional benefits in helping you and your youngster to feel more relaxed and ready to tackle stress. Joining in can be encouraging for your children, letting them know that you are following and supporting them in the stress management process. The programme is the culmination of twenty five years of research, writing, recording, trialling and refining, all distilled, by a fully qualified and highly experienced educational psychologist into a straightforward and easily accessible format, summed up as 'Choosing What to Think'. Jeynes, W. H. (2005). Parental Involvement and Student Achievement: a Meta Analysis. Harvard Family Research Project: Harvard Graduate School of Education. www.hfrp.org Too busy to help with exam stress? This stress management programme requires very little time or effort to use.You do not have to read the whole book straight away. To get started, first read Chapter 1, then put on the CD, listen with your youngster to Track 1 and follow what it says. It is as simple as that. Listen to the remaining tracks as they fit in to your family's schedule. Each stress management session is quick and easy to carry out. The parent leads the relaxation session by inviting the youngsters to sit down in a quiet room with phones switched off or on silent. The parent then starts Track 1 of the audio CD, everyone relaxes and follows what is said. The last track, number 5 in the series, is on exam stress but this is not a free standing session. You need to listen to Tracks 1 - 4 before listening to Track 5. Each relaxation track lasts around 15-20 minutes. A large amount of available knowledge has been distilled into an easy to follow sequence. The programme is based on sound psychological principles, providing a straightforward, practical guide to stress management for parents and children to fit into a busy day. |