Friday, October 21, 2011

Anger Management Course - For You Or Someone You Know

By Dr Joe James


Someone who has deep rage and violent tendencies often does not do that well at an anger management course. However, they can be a great tool for personal growth if you are of the right type of personality for the environment. Knowing what to expect when you attend a class like this will help you make a decision.

If a person has a great amount of shame surrounding this issue, group therapy is probably not for them. It is far too threatening and could cause greater outbursts only making the problem worse. Individual therapy may be the way to go for this type of person or even some internet based behavior management classes could help.

Depending on the center where the meetings are held, there will usually be a mix of people who have voluntarily shown up and those who were mandated to be there. Either way the fact is, all the participants are attending for the same reason. There is an immediate understanding that everyone at the meeting has a tendency to flare up, so people known they are not alone in that.

After the group has met for a number of weeks and the participants have learned they can relax, discussions start to happen that may not have occurred at any other time. When members share what triggers their behavior and how they express that rage, this information becomes recognizable sign posts for everyone else in the group.

When a participant relates how irate they became with their son the other day and how that affected them and what they want to do to change, this can be a powerful wake up call for the others listening. They know they are not in a position to judge so, they can look at it with compassion, understanding and begin to develop the will to change their own situation.

Something that happens in group classes that can not happen in individual sessions is role playing. These can be very powerful "scenes" from a member's life that can give clarity and perspective on how to change their lives. When the group has developed trust among their members only then can this exercise be of real use.

In most of these groups the attendants are asked and encouraged to participate. They are urged to add their voice and their insights as long as they are done with a sense of compassion and good will. Perhaps you or someone you know could benefit from an anger management course. It could be a step in the right direction.




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