Stress treatment: Two aspirins, fluids, and one more workshop.

Early stress research focused on the physiology of the stress response and its relation to health and disease. Recently, there has been widespread application of stress management programs (SMPs) aimed at reducing an individual's stress. We describe and summarize the methods and results of 62 published reports on SMPs from numerous fields. Programs crossed all levels of prevention and most often took place in university, medical, or worksite settings. A meta-analysis of the quantitative results of a sample of these studies yielded mildly encouraging results. However, serious methodological and theoretical issues must be addressed with future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)