Anger Management 2:
Counselors Strategies and Skills
ERIC Identifier: ED482767
Publication Date: 2003-12-00
Author: Hogan, Eileen K.
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Counseling and Student Services Greensboro NC.
Many different strategies and skills for anger management intervention have been tried
and tested. Some of the most empirically supported interventions are
cognitive-behavioral interventions including relaxation coping skills, cognitive
interventions, behavioral coping and social skills training, and problem-solving skills
training.
According to Dahlen and Deffenbacher (2001), relaxation coping skills target both the
emotional and physiological arousal associated with anger with the intent being to lower
the anger arousal. In contrast to targeting arousal, cognitive interventions target biases
in information processing and cognitive appraisals. They help to identify distorted
patterns of thinking, develop more reality-based and less anger-engendering cognitions,
and free up problem-solving and coping resources.
Behavioral coping and social skills training target the actual expression of anger (vs.
reducing anger arousal). Specific skills training that has been empirically supported
includes direct coping skills (e.g., interpersonal communication, negotiation, feedback),
related coping skills (e.g., parenting, budgeting and financial planning, assertive
communication), and inductive social skills training (e.g., clients identify and explore
effective behaviors for coping with anger) (Dahlen and Deffenbacher, 2001).
Problem-solving skills training is useful when there are no behavioral skill deficits (e.g.,
poor social skills) but there is a lack of general problem-solving skills with which to
assess situations and to choose various coping skills. A basic problem-solving
methodology is to identify the problem, generate alternative solutions, consider the
consequences of each solution, select an effective and appropriate response, and
evaluate the outcomes of implementing the specific response (Skiba & McKelvey,
2000).
Additional strategies that have been found to be useful in managing anger effectively
include avoiding situations that make one angry, changing environments, focusing on
something positive, engaging in substitute positive activities, and improving
communication and social skills. Humor has also been found to be helpful when it is
used constructively to help face problems; sarcastic humor is just another form of
unhealthy anger expression (Controlling anger before it controls you, n.d.).
Structured Programs
In addition to the strategies and skills highlighted above, there are numerous structured
and pre-packaged programs for helping people learn to manage their anger more
effectively. These programs vary in intended audience, theoretical basis, teaching
method, and actual skills and techniques used. A summary of several programs can be
found in Anger Management 3: Structured Interventions (ERIC Digest #
EDO-CG-03-12).
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS IN ANGER MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS
- Cultural Impact of Client's Natural Environment
Howells and Day (2002) highlight the
importance of understanding the culture a client returns to upon leaving a counseling or
training session. Will the culture support the behavior changes and thinking processes
that the client has been learning? In some cases (e.g., the gang a client hangs out with,
incarcerated clients, institutionalized clients), the culture the client lives in day-to-day will
not necessarily support the kinds of changes a client may be trying to make. Indeed,
daily survival may be based on vastly different modes of operation than a client may be
practicing in counseling. It is important to clarify which culture is in charge of the client's
daily life (e.g., the family and its subcultures? the street corner and friends? the
neighborhood? the school and teachers?) and how it may affect a client's success in
learning to manage anger more effectively.
- Transferring Skills to the Classroom / Workplace / Home
Another consideration is the adequate transfer of skills learned in counseling to one's
natural environment. This could be the classroom, the workplace, or even one's home.
Besley (1999) conducted an experiment on transferring skills to the classroom
environment of a student client.
According to Besley (1999), change begins at a teachable moment, and four conditions
are necessary for change:
- the person is in an environment where he or she feels safe,
- the person is supported and encouraged during the change process,
- the environment is relevant to the person, and
- the person is involved and has some degree of control in the change process.
In a school setting, when a counselor has been working with a student individually to
develop more effective anger management skills, there still remains the issue of
encouraging the student to use the new skills outside the counseling sessions (e.g., in
the classroom, in the cafeteria, on the playground). One proven way to do this is to have
the counselor sit in the classroom (or cafeteria or playground) with the student and be
available to coach the student right at the moment(s) he or she becomes angry (Besley,
1999). The counselor can then coach the student's cognitive processes and help the
student cope with impulsivity and, at the same time, model effective and useful skills for
the other students and even the teacher.
- Readiness for Anger Management Intervention
The best anger management training delivered by the most qualified counselor will be
ineffective if the client is not ready for anger management training. According to Howells
& Day (2003), there are several different things that can impact readiness for anger
management. Sometimes there are a complex array of factors presenting with the anger problem.
- People with certain mental and personality disorders may also have an anger
management problem. Or anger management and control may be a symptom of a
serious mental or personality disorder.
- Existing client inferences about their anger "problem" can impact their readiness.
Some clients may view anger as an appropriate response to many situations. Some clients
may believe that catharsis is the best approach (expressing anger is considered better
than controlling it) or that angry responses get results (in reality, although angry
outbursts sometimes generate desired short- term results, they rarely result in long-term
change). Attitudes of self-righteousness, low personal responsibility, blaming others,
and condemning others also reduce readiness. For some clients, anger may not even
be considered a problem. In fact, anger may be adaptive in certain settings for the
client: it may bring with it many social benefits such as perceptions of higher status,
strength, and competence. Unfortunately, these types of beliefs and perceptions can be
difficult to uncover and assess.
- The client's skill level also impacts readiness for effective treatment.
People need certain cognitive processes with which to think about consequences and choices in
order to improve anger management skills. Sometimes a person's impulsive nature will
interfere with the application of such cognitive processes. Other issues that impact a
client's readiness are difficulty judging the intent of others, underestimating one's own
reaction to anger-provoking situations, wanting to blame conflict on others, an inability
to distinguish one's feelings, and poor social and problem-solving skills.
- Finally, the client's beliefs about treatment impact readiness.
Even in coerced or mandatory treatment, if the client concurs with the need for treatment and perceives the
treatment as likely to be helpful in meeting his or her goals, then coercion is not as big
an issue. However, if the client believes the treatment is not likely to fulfill his or her
personal goals, then coercion could definitely impact readiness.
How does a counselor positively influence the readiness variables? Counselors can
explore the personal goals of the client and help the client become aware of any
discrepancies between the actual social consequences of their anger expression and
the pursuit of their personal goals. Counselors can work to incorporate the client's goals
and treatment plan into the values and goals of the existing informal culture of the client.
Counselors can also help clients build appropriate interpersonal and cognitive skills and
develop an appropriate vocabulary for communicating triggers, thoughts, emotions, and
behaviors.
- Variables that Influence Effective Treatment
In studies on the effect of anger management interventions with student populations,
Skiba and McKelvey (2000) found three variables to have the most influence.
- Length of treatment: typically, more sessions yield stronger initial outcomes and booster
sessions (e.g., annually) improve long-term outcomes.
- Proper framing: the more the training is made relevant to the student and the environments in which he or
she lives on a daily basis, the stronger the initial outcomes.
- Supplemental interventions (e.g., utilizing weekly goals, utilizing components of Aggression
Replacement Training) help improve initial outcomes.
Although these factors were studied specifically in reference to student populations, they are likely applicable to
other client bases as well.
SUMMARY
Anger. Everybody experiences it and everybody expresses it. Some people manage
their anger in healthy ways. Other people are managed by their anger in unhealthy
ways. Although there are many skills, strategies, and structured programs
(see Anger
Management 3: Structured Interventions, ERIC Digest #EDO-CG-03-12) known to help
people improve how they deal with anger, there are many factors to consider when
selecting an effective intervention. In addition to understanding the expression, function,
source, and resulting problems of a client's anger
(see Anger Management 1: An
Overview for Counselors, ERIC Digest # EDO-CG-03-xx), practitioners can also attempt
to understand the client's cultural needs with respect to dealing with the problem, the
ability of the client to transfer new skills to their daily environments, and the client's
readiness and skill level for dealing with the problem. Only then can the practitioner
choose an intervention that will be truly effective for the client.
This publication was funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, Contract No. ED-99-CO-0014. Opinions expressed in this
report do not necessarily reflect the positions of the U.S. Department of Education,
OERI, or ERIC/CASS. ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced.
REFERENCES
Besley, K. R. (1999). Anger management: Immediate intervention by counselor coach.
Professional School Counseling, 3(2), pp. 81-90.
Controlling anger before it controls you (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2003 from National
Mental Health Association Web site: www.nmha.org/infocrt/factsheets/44.cfm
Dahlen, E. R. & Deffenbacher, J. L. (2001). Anger management. In W. J. Lyddon. & J.
V. Jones, Jr. (Eds.), Empirically supported cognitive therapies: Current and future
applications (pp. 163-181). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Howells, K. & Day, A. (2003). Readiness for anger management: clinical and theoretical
issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 23. pp. 319-337.
Skiba, R. & McKelvey, J. (2000).
What works in preventing school violence: The safe and responsive fact sheet series - Anger management.
Retrieved July 23, 2003 from http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/AngerManagement.pdf
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