The Stress Solution: Using Empathy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Anxiety and Develop Resilience

Therapeutic tools for fighting the anxiety, fear, and depression caused by stress

"We work too much, sleep too little, love with half a heart, and wonder why we are unhappy and unhealthy," writes clinical psychologist Arthur Ciaramicoli. In The Stress Solution, Ciaramicoli provides readers with simple, realistic, powerful techniques for using empathy and cognitive behavioral therapy to perceive situations accurately, correct distorted thinking, and trigger our own neurochemistry to produce calm, focused energy. He developed this approach over thirty-five years of working with clients struggling with depression, anxiety, and addictions. Over and over again, he has helped sufferers overcome old hurts and combat performance anxiety, fears, and excessive worry. Ciaramicoli's pioneering approach offers new promise to readers facing a variety of stress-based concerns.

“"The Stress Solution is an unusually wise and well-informed look at the terrible epidemic of stress that hurts so many of us in so many ways. What's more, Dr. Ciaramicoli offers something really new here -- pioneering, in fact. If you've struggled with the effects of stress, this is the book for you. I recommend it wholeheartedly." -- Mira Kirshenbaum , author of I Love You but I Don't Trust You: The Complete Guide to Restoring Trust in Your Relationship "This book is a wonderful contribution to the ever-changing field of therapy. Based on research evidence, Dr. Ciaramicoli integrates the science and practice of empathy with traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to offer a wise and inspiring solution to the problems associated with stress. This book engages us in easy and effective strategies to help reduce unhelpful ways of thinking and to let go of stress. If you experience stress and are looking for a gentle, practical, and effective solution, empathic CBT will not fail to assist you." -- Dr. Bruno A. Cayoun , clinical psychologist, director of the MiCBT Institute, and author of Mindfulness-integrated CBT for Well-being and Personal Growth "Dr. Ciaramicoli has written an insightful and instructional book on empathic CBT. It was a beautiful and growth-inspiring journey for me, and it offers many takeaways and fresh insights. I especially love how, in the final two chapters, Dr. Ciaramicoli weaves all the concepts (i.e., courage, freedom, wisdom, authenticity, and altruism) together almost poetically, all of them mutually reinforcing and each of them enhanced by the power of empathy. Dr. C makes a very strong case for the supposition that empathy is truth-oriented. I couldn't agree more, and this connection is made in our culture so uncommonly that the notion almost seems radical. He also makes the same case for self-knowing and our own growth and development. Just wonderful. I love this book." -- Dr. James Brennan , visiting professor of organizational behavior at Lehigh University and author of The Art of Becoming Oneself "In my many years as a practicing OB/GYN and CEO, I have never seen as many of my female patients negatively affected by stress as I have recently. Not only is Dr. Ciaramicoli's book of wisdom timely, but his way of using empathy to uncover distorted thinking and using CBT techniques to alter these distortions is unique. In addition to being innovative, The Stress Solution gives us a practical way to lessen stress and consistently improve overall health. This book will be in my waiting room for a very long time, and I will recommend it to all my patients, colleagues, family, and friends." -- Mary Bethony, MD , CEO of All About Women, Framingham and Westboro, Massachusetts "Dr. Ciaramicoli has created a new, incredibly effective way to combat stress by combining the use of empathy with the concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy. This book is an excellent tool for combating the stress and anxiety in our current society, and it also teaches us how to balance our lives given the tremendous stressors in our world. I particularly value Dr. C's chapter on the stress of prejudice, which offers a very insightful look at the negative effects of bias and how to perceive free of past conditioning. I have asked my family, friends, and clients to read this wonderful book, and I hope you will do the same for all those you care about." -- Dr. Robert Cherney , chief psychologist at Advocates Community Health Services, Framingham, Massachusetts "Dr. Ciaramicoli's latest work, The Stress Solution , is a must-read. Period. Full stop. In my work as a cognitive behavioral psychologist, I know the power of CBT for managing stress. In my work in the humanitarian sphere, I know the power of empathy. But never before have I seen the two brought together in such a creative and compelling, synergistic approach. How brilliant -- logic and emotion combined to augment each other. Bravo, Dr. Ciaramicoli!" -- Chris Stout, PhD , founding director of the Center for Global Initiatives and clinical professor at University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry "Stress has reached near-epidemic proportions in America, and according to clinical psychologist Ciaramicoli, the real harm comes from the flawed ways people respond to stress. Ciaramicoli makes clear the value he places on experience over textbook learning, and in this vein, his book imparts more actions to take than information to absorb. Some research is included, but real-life examples have the greatest prominence, many taken from the author''s clinical encounters. Each chapter is replete with practical exercises and reflective journal questions, all conveyed in readable lists or tables. There are even detailed dietary recommendations. In basic terms, this is a guide to living with balance and awareness. Ciaramicoli''s major contribution is a persistent focus on empathy, not only as a hypothetical remedy to stress but as a learned behavior, achieved through a change in perspective and worked like a muscle. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, though rarely mentioned explicitly after the book''s opening, is the theory behind many of its practices. Readers will find Ciaramicoli''s recommendations easy to follow and helpful to implement." -- Publishers Weekly”

"The Stress Solution is an unusually wise and well-informed look at the terrible epidemic of stress that hurts so many of us in so many ways. What's more, Dr. Ciaramicoli offers something really new here -- pioneering, in fact. If you've struggled with the effects of stress, this is the book for you. I recommend it wholeheartedly." -- Mira Kirshenbaum, author of I Love You but I Don't Trust You: The Complete Guide to Restoring Trust in Your Relationship "This book is a wonderful contribution to the ever-changing field of therapy. Based on research evidence, Dr. Ciaramicoli integrates the science and practice of empathy with traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to offer a wise and inspiring solution to the problems associated with stress. This book engages us in easy and effective strategies to help reduce unhelpful ways of thinking and to let go of stress. If you experience stress and are looking for a gentle, practical, and effective solution, empathic CBT will not fail to assist you." -- Dr. Bruno A. Cayoun, clinical psychologist, director of the MiCBT Institute, and author of Mindfulness-integrated CBT for Well-being and Personal Growth

"Dr. Ciaramicoli has written an insightful and instructional book on empathic CBT. It was a beautiful and growth-inspiring journey for me, and it offers many takeaways and fresh insights. I especially love how, in the final two chapters, Dr. Ciaramicoli weaves all the concepts (i.e., courage, freedom, wisdom, authenticity, and altruism) together almost poetically, all of them mutually reinforcing and each of them enhanced by the power of empathy. Dr. C makes a very strong case for the supposition that empathy is truth-oriented. I couldn't agree more, and this connection is made in our culture so uncommonly that the notion almost seems radical. He also makes the same case for self-knowing and our own growth and development. Just wonderful. I love this book." -- Dr. James Brennan, visiting professor of organizational behavior at Lehigh University and author of The Art of Becoming Oneself

"In my many years as a practicing OB/GYN and CEO, I have never seen as many of my female patients negatively affected by stress as I have recently. Not only is Dr. Ciaramicoli's book of wisdom timely, but his way of using empathy to uncover distorted thinking and using CBT techniques to alter these distortions is unique. In addition to being innovative, The Stress Solution gives us a practical way to lessen stress and consistently improve overall health. This book will be in my waiting room for a very long time, and I will recommend it to all my patients, colleagues, family, and friends." -- Mary Bethony, MD, CEO of All About Women, Framingham and Westboro, Massachusetts

"Dr. Ciaramicoli has created a new, incredibly effective way to combat stress by combining the use of empathy with the concepts of cognitive behavioral therapy. This book is an excellent tool for combating the stress and anxiety in our current society, and it also teaches us how to balance our lives given the tremendous stressors in our world. I particularly value Dr. C's chapter on the stress of prejudice, which offers a very insightful look at the negative effects of bias and how to perceive free of past conditioning. I have asked my family, friends, and clients to read this wonderful book, and I hope you will do the same for all those you care about." -- Dr. Robert Cherney, chief psychologist at Advocates Community Health Services, Framingham, Massachusetts

"Dr. Ciaramicoli's latest work, The Stress Solution, is a must-read. Period. Full stop. In my work as a cognitive behavioral psychologist, I know the power of CBT for managing stress. In my work in the humanitarian sphere, I know the power of empathy. But never before have I seen the two brought together in such a creative and compelling, synergistic approach. How brilliant -- logic and emotion combined to augment each other. Bravo, Dr. Ciaramicoli!" -- Chris Stout, PhD, founding director of the Center for Global Initiatives and clinical professor at University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry

"Stress has reached near-epidemic proportions in America, and according to clinical psychologist Ciaramicoli, the real harm comes from the flawed ways people respond to stress. Ciaramicoli makes clear the value he places on experience over textbook learning, and in this vein, his book imparts more actions to take than information to absorb. Some research is included, but real-life examples have the greatest prominence, many taken from the author's clinical encounters. Each chapter is replete with practical exercises and reflective journal questions, all conveyed in readable lists or tables. There are even detailed dietary recommendations. In basic terms, this is a guide to living with balance and awareness. Ciaramicoli's major contribution is a persistent focus on empathy, not only as a hypothetical remedy to stress but as a learned behavior, achieved through a change in perspective and worked like a muscle. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, though rarely mentioned explicitly after the book's opening, is the theory behind many of its practices. Readers will find Ciaramicoli's recommendations easy to follow and helpful to implement." -- Publishers Weekly

Arthur P. Ciaramicoli, EdD, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist and the chief medical officer of soundmindz.org, a popular mental health platform. He has been on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and chief psychologist of Metrowest Medical Center. The author of several books, including The Power of Empathy and Performance Addiction, he lives with his family in Massachusetts.

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