<Our Institute's focus is on an anger management program which will help court ordered anger addicts overcome their anger problems>
Taking action is the most positive response we can have when an anger issue has been highlighted. Here the biggest obstacle has been overcome as the person has already acknowledged that they have an anger problem.
That they are also ready to take further action to solve this problem is also encouraging and does make the road to recovery much easier.
After all, anger is just like an addition to for instance alcohol. In both, there are usually long-standing underlying causes that build up and personal feelings are kept as secret as possible all the while building-up until one day this becomes possible no-more and an incident happens. With alcoholism this can be when drinking simply overwhelms the person's life prohibiting day-to-day functions such as going to work.
Also with anger, this is usually when an anger-related incident happens that again prohibits day-to-day activity.
With this acknowledgment of personal anger and willingness to take action to control this, the following techniques are helpful to simply make sure that this is the case and these good intentions do not simply get brushed to one side.
TRY
NOT TO WASTE ANY
TIME IN TAKING THESE
FURTHER ACTIONS
As this is such a
potentially positive
situation to be in,
it would be awful to
let the moment pass.
As soon as the
person has admitted
that they have an
anger problem and
are willing to take
further action,
begin the process of
taking action.
Letting too much
time pass - for
instance leaving
discussing of the
situation at the
weekend maybe three
or four days away,
or even the next
day, is too long a
delay. By this time
we get round to
talking further and
thinking of the
steps to take, other
things could have
happened. More
stresses and anger
or simply a bad
day(s) could greatly
alter the person's
mood. By the weekend
or whenever we have
the follow up
conversation with
them, they may have
completely changed
their mind. Indeed,
from agreeing to
take action about
their anger, they
may now not even
admit they have a
problem at all.
HAVE A DISCUSSION
ABOUT THIS ANGER AND
THE UNDERLYING
CAUSES OF THIS
As
many causes of
severe anger tend to
be long-term
(building over days,
weeks, months or
even years) trying
to get to the root
cause of anger is
often useful. With
the person already
having 'opened up'
to admit that they
have an anger
problem, now is
probably the best
opportunity we have
to have a
conversation about
the root-causes of
this. If this does
not work and the
person still does
not want to talk
with us about these,
do not panic. It is
sometimes easier to
talk to an anger
management
professional rather
than family and
friends and by doing
this the person may
get to the root of
their anger and take
professionally
tailored advice on
resolving this
anger. Do however
try to ensure that
the appropriate next
steps have been
taken to enable this
to happen.
TALK BUT ONLY IF THIS HELPS THE SITUATION
If the person has fully 'let their guard down'; this lack of a protected barrier could mean a very interesting and revealing conversation. This can be helpful for the person themselves (allowing them to share this stored-up anger), useful for us (as we can learn more about the person's mindset) and also useful for third parties (very useful information to provide to anger management professionals when taking the steps to manage this anger).
A word of warning here is that if this conversation begins to cause argument or tension to rise then simply stop it and change subjects quickly. Carrying-on could do more harm than good and may actually cause the person to put their guard back. If this begins to happen, try to ensure that the next steps (the actions to limit this anger) have been taken and leave the next steps to an anger management professional.
Martin Hogg
Anger Classes and
programs and
articles can help
with your anger
problems.
4, 8, 12 OR 24 HOURS OF COURT ORDERED ANGER MANAGEMENT CREDIT.