ABSTRACT
In recent years the fastest growing area of involvement for counsellors has been in the field of stress counselling. In this chapter three important new directions where recent research and practice can inform the work of the counsellor are discussed. First is the umbrella nature and complexity of the stress process itself. If counsellors are to be effective in their work it is important that they should be able to unravel this complex term and its meaning for their clients. Second is the involvement of counsellors in the rapidly expanding industry of stress management for occupational stress. The variety of schemes designed to help employees cope with stress and the effectiveness of such schemes will be discussed. Third is the growing evidence and awareness of the particular stresses faced by counsellors themselves, including how they can be acknowledged and coped with both in training and in professional life. Areas related to stress which have not been included concern post-traumatic stress counselling (see, for example, Hodgkinson and Stewart 1991; Scott and Stradling 1992) and the role of the counsellor in post-incident counselling and psychological debriefing (Parkinson 1993).
