Key takeaways
- Stress management is the process of combating anxiety to maintain emotional regulation and avoid serious physical health ailments.
- Careers dealing with stress management can include health care roles, fitness jobs, corporate wellness positions, and education specialists.
- There are several benefits to effective stress management, and both recipients and the professionals that distribute these techniques can take advantage of the outcomes.
- The proper education for a career that provides stress management often starts with a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university, such as a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Wellness from the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC).
- A wealth of resources exists for helping those working in mental wellness jobs that facilitate their efforts and help their clients.
Stress is an unavoidable part of life. From daily inconveniences to long-term conflicts, everyone is likely to experience a stressful situation from time to time. These instances can get overwhelming, and the key is to manage them with knowledge and grace to preserve overall health in the long term.
Luckily, people and policies in professional settings can help mediate stressors in the workplace. Many of these outlets for stress management come from the right knowledge and know-how and can easily be applied to personal situations as well. These careers offer stress management techniques and services, and when backed with the proper education, offer numerous benefits and advantages for distributing knowledge to encourage personal and professional well-being. This article discusses how to prepare for a career that provides stress management, from education to specialization, and the credentials needed to pursue the one that best fits your interests.
What Is Stress Management?
Stress management refers to the practice of handling anxiety and related emotions through various mechanisms. HelpGuide defines stress management as the process of using techniques and strategies to cope with stress levels, along with building the correct facilities to handle them. These processes look unique to each individual, with the ultimate goal being mental and emotional balance in each person.
What Are the Benefits of Stress Management?
The positives of effective stress management can provide enormous benefits to individuals, groups, and organizations. The US Department of Health and Human Services notes there are several benefits to managing stress, including improved sleep quality, increased energy, weight control, decreased muscle tension, a more positive mood, and better relationships. Over time, and with consistent application of the right techniques, those benefits can remain active and favorable.
How Can Individuals in Mental Health Careers Help Others Manage Stress?
The first step to helping others manage their mental stress is understanding the cause of the triggers, as well as the strategies for mitigating these feelings. Then, professionals in mental wellness jobs can provide tools and methods to tailor a management plan to unique situations. Licensed social worker Kristen Hopper of the Chapters Health System notes clinicians and experts who offer assistance through applied mental health services call on therapy modes like:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy: This approach studies thought processes and works to combat stress by shifting or eliminating ways of thinking and changing behaviors.
- Mindfulness techniques: Peace and clarity start with mindful intentions, which manifest in mental and physical ways. Breathwork and meditation act as agents of stress elimination with effective mindfulness techniques.
- Holistic approaches: By taking all aspects of lifestyle into account, a holistic strategy for stress management tackles conflict areas to treat these obstacles from all angles. A holistic approach can include nutrition, exercise, and other forms of support.
What Are Some Techniques to Reduce Stress That Are Taught by Mental Health Professionals?
To reduce stress, one must first be able to recognize the signs. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion describes these signs as physical manifestations of stress that can include high blood pressure, headaches, upset stomach, fatigue, sleep trouble, and ultimately a weakened immune system from persisting symptoms of stress.
Depending on the type of trigger, several techniques exist for reducing stress that mental health professionals and accredited organizations recommend. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health suggests well-known methods for overcoming negative reactions to stress, including:
- Relaxation techniques: Select methods for relaxation can vary for each person, but defaulting to personal techniques can treat PTSD, anxiety and depression in various cases, heartbeat regulation, and muscle relaxation.
- Exercise: Yoga, tai chi, and the breathwork-focused practice known as qigong prove to have positive correlations to successful stress reduction and handling anxiety.
- Meditation: Mindfulness-based practices show success when battling workplace and personal battles for stress.
- Hypnotherapy: While still undergoing study, hypnotherapy holds benefits for mastering apprehensions around medical procedures and other situations.
How Can Professionals in Mental Wellness Fields Manage Their Own Stress?
While experts handle the well-being of others, it is imperative that they recognize their own needs alongside their patients and clients. Krystal M. Lewis, PhD discusses this concept with the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, stating that the associated fields with stress management carry physical and emotional demands that can prove detrimental to their own mental health if not addressed properly. For mental wellness workers to prioritize their own stress, self-care and check-ins with their regulation techniques will help them to achieve their own balance.
What Are Some Potential Careers in Stress Management?
Concrete careers in stress management hold titles in several fields, almost always in the healthcare field. A wide range of health care occupations handle both preventative and curative care for individuals, groups, and workforces that have a propensity to experience heightened stress.
Due to the varying demands of industry professionals, potential career paths can include the nonprofit sector, health care roles, health education, corporate and employee wellness program creation, and fitness and recreation. Specific careers that constitute these specialties can include:
Health education specialist: Beyond the traditional healthcare worker, a specialist takes on a broader set of duties to serve a larger population. According to the BLS handbook, a health education specialist may be responsible for tasks that cover a range of areas such as:
- Creating programs and events to provide to aid to select groups
- Provide resources to professional workplaces
- Assisting in procuring need-based materials and workforces for communities
- Taking data to analyze said needs and improvements
- Support individuals and groups by advocating for policies
- Helping others find and apply useful information related to health and wellness
At minimum, a health education specialist needs to hold a bachelor’s degree in this field, or a similar one in healthcare or business.
Nonprofit worker: An extension of the healthcare specialist means that workers in nonprofit organizations obtain funding for their causes, while applying their knowledge of mental and physical health disorders to help affected individuals and groups. The BLS handbook also states that nonprofit healthcare specialists educate policymakers on the requirements for their clientele.
Since the demands for a nonprofit organization can be high and stressful, Indeed also recommends taking appropriate measures to take care of oneself in the field, as nonprofit environments often cultivate high-stress environments and difficult hours.
Community health programs: Programs in stress management can come from community health care workers. Also referred to as a peer care specialist, the general expectations of a community health care worker can include:
- Coordinating programs and resources for individuals and communities
- Providing coaching and social support through services that help for recovery and mental disorders, along with health management and illness prevention
- Understanding cultural needs for healthcare and provide the appropriate services
- Performing home visits and outreach for healthcare access
Per the BLS, community health workers usually require a high school diploma to enter the field though some employers seek candidates with postsecondary education. Managerial roles may also require postsecondary education.
Fitness management: As expert coaches and guides, the responsibility of a fitness instructor can go beyond just coaching. Managerial jobs in fitness capitalize on the mental benefits of exercise and physical movement. O*Net Online establishes that a fitness and wellness coordinator works to improve the livelihoods of others and assist in stress management by:
- Creating and evaluating fitness and wellness programs
- Developing niche fitness classes to encourage stress reduction, such as yoga or dance
- Overseeing health screening and preventative practices to encourage participation
- Dispatching experts and contractors in fitness and wellness areas
- Monitoring fitness facilities and providing managerial services
While fitness health care professionals find niche career paths that allow them to help others, nearly every occupation requires a bachelor’s degree or higher, with 62% of fitness and recreation workers filling positions as health care practitioners, managers, education instruction, and similar roles.
Wellness coaching: While not a requirement, Indeed notes it’s beneficial for those seeking to pursue this role to hold a degree in health and wellness, ideally a bachelor’s degree, along with the appropriate certifications. The skills and subsequent responsibilities required to perform the duties of a wellness coach include:
- Health and nutrition management: A degree of planning comes with this area of management, so that wellness coaches can provide adequate planning and support.
- Interpersonal skills: To further progress, wellness coaches must work in collaborative environments to accomplish planning and strategy.
- Organization and time management: To manage stress on the logistic side, maintaining high standards of efficiency and organization allow healthcare professionals to expand their reach and quality of services.
- Communication skills: Staying on task by talking with groups and individuals is paramount to successful mental health management.
The above careers maintain salary ranges according to experience, chosen field, and market demographics, among other details. Consult the BLS handbook for more information on potential salaries for careers that span specializations.
What Education Is Required to Pursue Stress Management Careers?
To accommodate the mental health of others in a professional setting, those looking for a career in stress management need to hold the proper degree and certifications. A bachelor’s degree in Health and Wellness from an accredited university remains the requirement for several health care professions, while doctoral degrees and certifications remain relevant for several focus areas. The percentage of qualified health care practitioners that require an education spanning two years or more averages over 54%, with additional licensure and certification required across the board to practice.
What Are Some Courses at UAGC That Deal with Stress Management?
When pursuing a degree from UAGC that prepares students for a stress management career, a standard four-year curriculum offers foundational classes in general healthcare alongside specialized courses that prepare students for work in specific fields. Students wishing to pursue a career in the health and wellness industry may wish to consider pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Health and Wellness such as the program offered at UAGC. Standout courses at UAGC include:
- HWE 415: Stress Management - As an anchor course in this ideology, this third-year class covers the casualties of stress, studies the connection to health, helps students create stress management programs, and helps understand the demands of each one.
- PSY 380: Counseling and Behavior Change - This course provides a more advanced look at the pedagogical sides of human behavior. The background in cultural and ethical matters provides context for skill acquisition as it relates to counseling and client motivation.
- Prerequisites: PSY 380 requires HWE 200: Introduction to Health & Wellness, which provides an all-encompassing foundation for wellness studies, and PSY 361: Health Psychology, a class that applies theory to strategy for mental health management.
Resources for Stress Management Professionals
Credentials and tools surrounding stress management are available in abundance to scaffold the delivery of thorough and effective techniques. Career health workers and other parties looking to improve their own well-being and that of others can take advantage of these companies and services:
The American Institute of Stress: The American Institute of Stress offers abundant resources for both field workers and everyday citizens looking to minimize their emotional conflicts. A network of professionals work to offer scholarships and certifications, along with a membership with access to webinars and courses.
HelpGuide: As a free site, HelpGuide.org offers legitimate, well-researched materials and resources to navigate stress along with other mental health matters and select disorders.
Mental Health America: Ideal for professionals in health care along with everyday career seekers, Mental Health America specializes in providing resources for employers and workers that deal in psychological wellness and want actionable outlets to help others.
Overview: Stress Management Careers
While stress presents itself in daily life through expected and unforeseen sources, the facilities to tackle anxiety are abundant and accessible. Through an education that provides a strong foundation for effective practice, along with empathy to accommodate a diverse and demanding array of particular needs, stress management professionals can make a real difference in a variety of lives. As an added benefit, the knowledge of incorporation and practices can offer similar environments of peace and satisfaction to wellness professionals.
The Bachelor of Arts in Health and Wellness program at the University of Arizona Global Campus is not designed to meet the state educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification in any state.
Data regarding salary ranges and job growth projections are national in nature and do not guarantee employment, any specific salary, or job growth. Also, national long-term projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions. UAGC does not guarantee employment placement, any specific salary from employment, or career advancement.