The book is a good, basic stress management resource for those working with the 10 years and older age group, including counsellors, therapists, social workers and school counsellors. Alternatively, it can also be worked through by a young person on their own, or with a parent.
The Stress Gremlin character brings an element of humour and fantasy to the book... The book is full of simple exercises to help young people develop self-awareness and insight into how they currently cope with stress, and particularly how their thoughts relate to their behaviour and actions... Collins-Donnelly has developed an evaluation sheet that can be used alongside the book to help monitor your progress... I am sure young people who read Starving the stress gremlin will get a good grounding in the basics of stress management, feel better resourced and more confident in the fight against their own Stress Gremlin.
-- MentalHealth.org.nz
Collins-Donnelly provides three CBT workbooks targeting stress, anxiety and anger. A great feature of these books is that they are geared towards teens. Although the book itself states it is for youth aged 10+, the book is most appropriate for older teens. The gremlin character is accessible for youth, without being too cute and babyish for this age group. The extensive use of visuals and repetition of topics and concepts makes this series a good fit for youth on the spectrum. The workbooks encourage writing and drawing, and youth who enjoy and have strength in reading will be able to benefit... Overall, these workbooks serve as a great introduction to cognitive behavioral therapy and can serve as a great adjunct to in-person psychotherapy. Teens are taught to identify the sources of their stress, anger, and anxiety as well as the thoughts that accompany these feelings. Starving the gremlin serves as a great metaphor for changing your thoughts to change your behavior. -- On The Specturm Magazine
This is a recommended read for any young person who has difficulty coping with stress. It is a practical guide that is easily to follow, and innovative. Young people who 'work' through this book will gain insights as well as coping strategies about the day-to-day challenges of stress. -- Raychelle Cassada Lohmann, MS, LPC, professional school counselor and author of The Anger Workbook for Teens and co-author of The Bullying Workbook for Teens
Starving the Stress Gremlin is clearly a workbook... he book is designed to be teenager-friendly : it uses cartoons and diagrams effectively and contains a number of quizzes and questions which are likely to appeal... the overall presentation of the book is excellent... There are lots of examples of stress-inducing thinking and these are helpfully categorised and structured which reinforces the reality that a young person is not alone in thinking this way - it is a common part of human experience...
Starving the Stress Gremlin is a good introduction to CBT for young people and parents. -- Mark Edwards * Wellbeing Mentor blog *
Fun activities, including quizzes, work sheets, questionnaires, crosswords, and word searches.... presented in an attractive format in order to interest and engage children aged 10+..... These books would be useful for professionals who are already working with children, but would like to introduce a more activity based approach or extend the range of materials which they already use. -- Pat Havell, Counsellor and supervisor * ACPNL Magazine *
