anger management

• anger management is a type of CBT that aims to help individuals use productive methods to manage their anger, instead of demonstrating their anger in abusive, aggressive and criminal ways.
• Novaco (1975) suggests that some violent offences occur because offenders cannot deal effectively with their anger, which tends to be expressed in antisocial ways, and displaced onto inappropriate targets.
• Novaco's three key aims of anger management:


  1. cognitive restructuring - greater self-awareness and control over cognitive dimensions of anger.
  2. regulation of arousal - learning to identify physiological signs of anger and techniques to deal with them.
  3. behavioural strategies - learning to develop problem-solving and assertiveness skills.
• stress incoluation model 


  can be seen as a way of "vaccinating" an individual against anger, so that when they come into contact with an anger provoking situation, they have the skills to cope and will not engage in angry behaviour.
• Ainsworth (2000) identified three stages in most anger management programmes:


  stage one: cognitive preparation - offenders analyse their own patterns of anger, and identify irrational thinking processes that may lead to or sustain angry outbursts.
• stage two: skills acquisition - the offenders learn skills to help manage their anger - these might include relaxation, avoidance, or social skills such as assertiveness or conflict resolution.
• stage three: application practice - offenders practice their newly acquired skills in a controlled and non-threatening environment.

  this could include role-playing of situations identified in the first stage as being a trigger for the offenders.
• the Controlling Anger and Learning to Management programme (CALM), in 24 sessions teaches participants to monitor and understand their emotions to prevent and control problematic behaviours.

  they learn skills that reduce the frequency, intensity and duration of anger to lessen the likelihood of aggression.