Do you try to avoid or eliminate stressful feelings and situations? If so, stop, says Robert Wicks, Psy.D., in his new book, Bounce: Living the Resilient Life. Wicks, a professor of pastoral counseling at Loyola University Maryland, maintains that the best way to cope with daily stressors is to accept and reflect upon them. Wicks discussed his book at a Baltimore Book Festival panel discussion on bouncing back during the the economic recession on Sept. 25.
"Hardships are a part of life, inseparable from the most meaningful and integral experiences associated with building a career and raising a family," said Wicks. "By redirecting energy away from resisting stress and toward an appreciation for life's meaning, you can increase satisfaction and strengthen your ability to deal with conflict."
Wicks specializes in the management of secondary stress, which affects physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, relief workers and others caring for individuals impacted by trauma. Bounce, published by Oxford University Press, applies techniques that have proven successful in assisting these professionals in circumstances that could affect anyone: workplace difficulties, interpersonal conflict, financial problems, medical conditions and more.
"Bounce entreats us to have a life and live it more fully," said Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking. "Wicks helps us to develop hardiness, learn to debrief ourselves after a hard day, and create a personal self-care program we will actually follow. Bounce is the right tonic for the spirit that we need in today's world."
Wicks, who holds a doctorate in psychology from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia, teaches in Loyola's pastoral counseling program, one of the few in the world offering doctoral degrees in this unique blend of spirituality and psychological counseling. In 1994, he led the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during the country's civil war. In 2006, he delivered a presentation on self-care for healthcare professionals treating severely injured Iraqi War Veterans at National Naval Medical Center and Walter Reed Army Hospital. His earlier books include The Resilient Clinician, Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice, and Riding the Dragon: 10 Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at nalexopulos@loyola.edu or 410-617-5025.