The Stress Management Center
Since 1985, IPCS has helped people and organizations recognize excessive stress, understand what triggers it and learn to manage it. It was the first institution in Brazil dedicated to stress research and treatment.
Why stress matters
Some stress is unavoidable, and well-managed stress can even make us stronger. Excessive stress is different: it lowers productivity at work, strains personal life and harms health. It is linked to anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, ulcers, skin conditions, exhaustion, irritability and coronary disease.
For companies, unmanaged stress means lower productivity, absenteeism, turnover and higher medical costs.
Who we help
- Executives, managers, business owners and their teams
- Anyone under heavy pressure who wants to prevent burnout
- Adults, couples, teenagers and children in psychotherapy
- Organizations, public and private, that want healthier, more productive teams
Our services
Programs can run as intensive two-day workshops or as weekly sessions, in English or Portuguese, at your company or online.
Individual counseling
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the Stress Management Training developed at IPCS, for stress, anxiety, depression and other life problems.
Group sessions and workshops
Practical training on coping strategies, relaxation, time management, assertiveness and emotional regulation.
Programs for organizations
Customized stress assessment and management programs, leadership training and wellness initiatives for teams at every level.
Action and reflection in health and quality of life
Our corporate wellness and stress management program is based on behavioral principles. It helps people change unhealthy habits through motivation, self-reflection, peer feedback and participation at all levels of the company, from the executive suite to the factory floor.
- Unit 1: Kick-off seminarAn experiential, informative seminar that explains stress and motivates employees to take part.
- Unit 2: AssessmentQuality of life, stress level and job stressors are measured with the Lipp Kit, our validated set of instruments. Participants receive stress management handouts.
- Unit 3: ReportsEach participant receives a one-page report with personal recommendations. The company receives a group profile with statistics and recommendations.
- Unit 4A: Stress management trainingFor employees who choose to join: 15 weekly sessions of 1 hour 40 minutes, in groups of up to 10, led by a psychologist and including a session with a nutritionist. It covers exercise, relaxation, nutrition and coping strategies.
- Unit 4B: Training for managers and directorsRecommended for leadership regardless of individual test results, so leaders can recognize and reduce stress in their teams.
Our science
IPCS founder Dr. Marilda Lipp created the Stress Management Training (TCS), a 12 to 15 session program based on cognitive behavioral therapy and tested with office workers, police officers, hypertensive patients and others. She also proposed the four-phase model of stress, adding a near-exhaustion phase to Hans Selye's classic model, and developed the Lipp Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults (ISSL), used in dozens of published studies.
Our team
Marilda Novaes Lipp, Ph.D.
Founder and director
Psychologist (American University), M.A. and Ph.D. from George Washington University, postdoctoral fellow in Social Stress at the National Institutes of Health (USA). Pioneer of stress research in Latin America and author of 34 books and more than 100 scientific papers.
Louis Mario Novaes Lipp
Administrative director
Biomedical scientist and pharmacist, specialist in acupuncture, with a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Rochester. Dual Brazilian and American citizen, he sees patients in English.
Our staff also includes psychologists and health professionals who work as consultants, lecturers, workshop leaders and clinicians. Meet the team (in Portuguese).