Anger Management

Lesson Structure: Anger Management BPSIII

There are 9 lessons:

1. Nature and Scope of Anger
   • Introduction
   • The autonomic nervous system
   • Anger and arousal
   • Galvanic skin resistance
   • Voice stress analyser
   • Polygraph
   • Degrees of arousal
   • Difficulties of arousal theories
   • Theories of emotion
   • James Lange theory
   • Cannon Bard theory
   • Schachter's theory
   • Lazarus's appraisal theory
   • Weiner's attribution
   • Averill's social construction theory
   • Facial feedback theory
2. Managing Anger with Counselling
   • Causes of anger
   • Frustration
   • Breaking personal rules
   • Self defence
   • Expression of anger
   • Counselling strategies
   • Empty chair technique
   • Recognising psychological arousal
   • Thought stopping
   • Relaxation exercises
   • Progressive muscle relaxation
   • Time out
   • Assertiveness training
   • Three steps in assertiveness training
   • Five stage assertiveness training interview
   • Mental blocks to assertiveness
3. Managing Anger with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
   • Cognitive behavioural therapy
   • Identifying antecendents
   • Assessment of anger
   • Beginning therapy
   • Teaching CBT
   • Inferences
   • Evaluations
   • Chaining
   • Disputing inferences and evaluations
   • Independance and blocks to change
   • Use of imageryEmotional insight Exposure
   • Termination
   • Working with anger problems in CBT
   • Problems with CBT for anger management
4. Anger Management Techniques for Violence
   • Introduction
   • Anger and violence
   • Appearance
   • Posture
   • Affect
   • Speech
   • Causes of violence
   • Cold violence
   • Hot violence
   • Reactive violence
   • Tips for dealing with a violent client
   • Strategies for violence prevention
   • Action after violence
   • Managing violence against others
   • Mental disorders and violence
5. Anger Management for People with Mental Health Issues
   • DSM dimensions to diagnose mental illness
   • Dementia
   • Dementia and anger
   • Supporting clients with dementia
   • Grief
   • Anxiety
   • Depression
   • Stages of grief
   • Tasks of mourning
6. Managing Anger in Children and Adolescents
   • Introduction
   • Toddlers
   • Temper tantrums
   • Older children and anger
   • Adolescence
   • Psychological changes in girls
   • Psychological changes in boys
   • Depression
   • Eating problems
   • Adults sharing anger
7. Anger Management for People with Special Difficulties
   • People with personality disorders
   • Psychopathology
   • Borderline personality disorders and treatment
   • Psychopath and treatment
   • Roid rage, symptoms and abuse
8. Anger Management Services
   • Counselling
   • Anger management clinics
   • Courses and workshops
   • Group and individual work
   • Conflict management
   • Conflict handling techniques
   • Life coaching
   • Setting up an anger management consultancy
9. Deciding on a Course of Action
   • PBL Project to create and present a plan of anger management to support an individual experiencing serious anger difficulties.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the academy and marked by your tutor and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading

Learning Goals:  Anger Management BPS220

• Discuss the nature and scope of anger including psychological and physiological manifestations.
• Explain the biological, social and psychological causes of anger and the strategies used by counsellors to deal with the underlying causes in an effort to diffuse the build up of anger in people
• Explain how anger problems can be addressed through the application of cognitive behavioural counselling
• Discuss anger management techniques to diffuse violent outbursts and manage violence
• Consider anger management issues for people with specific mental health issues.
• Explain the causes of anger in children and adolescents, and review a wide range of techniques for addressing those issues.
• Determine the nature and scope of anger management services in society.
• Identify ways to support clients seeking anger management services
• Evaluate a situation where anger is becoming a problem and determine an appropriate course to follow in response to the problem.

Iona Lister
Licentiate, Speech and Language Therapy, UK, Diploma in Advanced Counselling Skills.

Iona has been a clinician and manager of health services for fifteen years, and a trainer for UK-based medical charities, focusing on psychosocial issues, mental health disorders, and also the promotion of communication skills for people in helping roles. She tutors and facilitates groups via workshops and teleconferences, and now specialises in Sight Loss. As a freelance writer, she contributes regular feature articles for magazines, has written five published books, as well as published courses relating to personal development and counselling skills.

Iona has aslo written published books, courses and articles across a wide range of subjects, mostly in the areas of health, counselling, psychology, crafts and wildlife.

She has drawn experience from clinical and managerial experience within the NHS as well as medical and humanitarian subjects. She has been a regular feature writer and expert panel member of a national magazine for six years.

Books include:A Guide to Living with Alzheimer's Disease (and associated dementias),The Psychology of Facial Disfigurement; a Guide for Health and Social Care Professionals,When a Medical Skin Condition Affects the Way you Look; A Guide to Managing Your Future,Facing Disfigurement with Confidence,Cross Stitch: A Guide to Creativity and Success for Beginners.
Courses written include:Mental Health and Social Work, Counselling Skills, Understanding and Responding to Substance Misuse, Journalling for Personal Development, Guided Imagery, Stress Management.
Current work includes:Tutor: Courses associated with Creative Writing, Counselling Skills, Psychology, Holistic Therapy,Certified Hypnotherapist and Hypnotension Practitioner.
Facilitator of Teleconference Groups:Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)
Trainer(Skills for Seeing): Macular Society
Reviewer of Books/Information:Macmillan Cancer Support
Fundraiser:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB),Embroidery/Art Groups Facilitator, Board Member
Website Manager:The Strathcarron Project,Coordinator (Delaware & Tennessee) Human Writes

Extract from Course Lessons

Before we consider anger management, it is necessary to understand what anger actually is. Like many other emotions, it is very difficult to give a precise definition. In general terms, what we can say is that anger is a strong reaction to an array of different situations such as being attacked, being restrained, losing ones job, and so forth. You can probably think of many other instances which make you angry. A definition of anger also usually includes physiological reactions to the angerprovoking stimuli. For instance, clenched fists, facial expressions, deep sighs, and so on are all possible physiological reactions. Many of these are autonomic nervous system responses, especially from the subdivision known as the sympathetic division which is associated with preparing the body for action. Indeed, anger can manifest in an attack response in many species. One of the difficulties in defining anger is that different researchers and authors might include other emotional reactions such as hatred, hostility and rage under their definition of anger. If you were to consult an English language dictionary you would probably find a definition along the lines of a strong feeling caused by extreme displeasure.

The Autonomic Nervous System
As mentioned above, the physiological manifestations of anger are part and parcel of understanding anger. To this end, we need to look more closely at what happens in the body when someone becomes angry. Specifically, we need to understand the role of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is associated with the overall state of the body. It is composed of unmyelinated nerve fibres which run from the spinal cord and base of the brain to internal and external sensory organs. The ANS is comprised of the sympathetic division which is involved with an action state, and the parasympathetic division which is concerned with a resting state. Activation of the sympathetic division is synonymous with arousal. During arousal, changes in the operation of the internal organs of the body take place which stimulate alertness and readiness for action.

For example, the spleen releases more red blood cells into the blood stream which increases the bloods oxygen content. The heart beats faster thereby circulating the blood faster to muscles supplying sugars and oxygen, and it also replaces the used oxygen faster. Our breathing becomes deeper so that more oxygen is provided to the lungs. Sugar is metabolised more quickly by the digestive system to supply a ready source of energy, but foods in need of longer term digestion take longer to digest. Such changes are known as the fight or flight response. This response enables an animal to either flee or stand and fight by equipping it with sufficient energy. In terms of evolution, the fight or flight response maximises an animals chances of survival in the face of danger. If an animal were to fight, then increased levels of blood clotting platelets released during the response will minimise bleeding. Endorphins released by the brain will minimise the sensation of pain.

Other responses include sweating to cool active muscles and dilated pupils to focus on external stimuli. The changes are stimulated by neural impulses from the sympathetic division of the ANS and are maintained by the endocrine system. The glands of the endocrine system release hormones and during arousal it is those hormones of the pituitary and adrenal glands which are involved.

Specifically, the pituitary gland releases glucocorticoids which are responsible for converting fats to glucose in the digestive system and for inhibiting the immune response until the fight or flight response has finished. The pituitary gland also releases ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) which stimulates the adrenal gland to secrete adrenalin. This enters the bloodstream where it maintains levels of muscular activity, a suitable blood supply to muscles, increased heart rate, blood pressure, and perspiration. The parasympathetic division of the ANS is not quite the opposite of the sympathetic division but its activity does counteract many of those of the sympathetic division.

For example, rather than dilate the pupils its actions constrict them and rather than inhibit longer term digestive processes it stimulates them. The parasympathetic division of the ANS is concerned with stimulating the bodys restorative processes through promoting tissue repair and storing fats and sugars for when they are needed. When the intense activity of the sympathetic division declines, the parasympathetic division becomes active. If you were to become angry this would stimulate the sympathetic division of your ANS, as you calmed down the parasympathetic division of your ANS would activate.