Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lessons From Two States With Extension Programs For Managing Stress, Holly Tiret, Cheryl Eschbach, Allison Nichols, Becky Smith, Jane Riffe, Terry Clark Jones

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

Recognizing the need for education that addresses social emotional and mental health issues faced by adults, Extension developed two different types of programs. Michigan State University (MSU) Extension developed the RELAX: Alternatives to Anger program (RELAX) to address anger management, and West Virginia University (WVU) Extension created Stress Less with Mindfulness (SLM) to build stress management skills among adults. At a national conference, the two states independently shared their programs’ objectives and delivery implementation and then later cross-trained each other’s Extension team. The research reported here shares the designs of both stress-reduction health programs and the results of a combined …