Overcoming Your Workplace Stress: A CBT-Based Self-Help Guide Martin R. Bamber Routledge, 2011, £14.99, pb, 256 pp. ISBN 9780415671781

Work-related stress is very common but may often go unrecognised. This book gives an overview of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)-based strategies to manage work-related stress.

Different aspects of the topic are dealt with in three parts. Part 1 provides some basic information about what may cause stress at work and why it is important to manage it. Part 2 forms the main bulk of the book, covering topics such as healthy living styles, effective time management, assertiveness and relaxation skills. In addition, identifying and modifying some common patterns of dysfunction at work (e.g. perfectionism, underachievement and procrastination) is covered.

The chapter on time management is particularly useful and will benefit people who seem to always lack the time and struggle with procrastination. Case vignettes enliven the chapter on assertiveness, demonstrating how one should prioritise and delegate tasks for effective time management and providing tips and techniques to help one become more assertive at work. Other chapters in the section provide more insight on identifying and challenging dysfunctional ways of thinking that might lead to stress. Part 3 incorporates all the information given in the previous chapters to help readers build an eight-stage self-help plan using CBT principles to resolve work-related stress.

The author makes good use of case scenarios to paint a picture of work-related stressful conditions, their impact on one's thinking and feeling. He then explains the possible solutions to reduce stress levels in those conditions. I particularly liked his style of presenting the material in a very user-friendly, jargon-free language as this makes the book an easy read. There are checklists and questionnaires to assess readers’ current level of stress and interpersonal skills. The book ends with a good summary of the topics covered and a useful list of references.

Overall, I think this book will be more helpful to junior trainees who are not already familiar with CBT principles. It provides some tips and guidance to recognise and manage stress in its early stages and offers some preventive strategies. For those who are not new to CBT some of the information may appear basic and repetitive, but they also may find the book useful as the CBT principles are utilised in the context of work-related stress.