Brief Course Description
This course provides students with an introduction to stress theories and the ways in which individuals and families respond to stress. It addresses the application of these theories to understand coping mechanisms and intervention strategies to help individuals and families under stress. The course establishes a foundation for understanding the stress process, possible coping mechanisms, resilience, and the impact of stress on specific groups. Potential strategies and techniques for working with individuals and families experiencing stress will be explored.
Course Objectives
- Gain an understanding of the concept of stress, including various types of stressors.
- Explore theoretical approaches to studying family stress.
- Analyze the concept of coping and assess the significance of communication within romantic relationships and families.
- Identify specific stressors that families may encounter, such as geographic separation from family members, death of a family member, the transition to parenthood, and physical or mental illness.
- Examine the concept of resilience and explore posttraumatic growth.
- Learn about techniques for stress reduction and resilience, including mindfulness- and compassion-based approaches
This course will involve a combination of lecture, in-class activities, and class discussions. We will watch videos and use personal reflections to explore concepts in depth and enhance critical thinking around the class topics.
- Teacher: Chantal Rodriguez Torres