Anger Management

The Center for Creative Conflict Resolution no longer offers a dedicated program to address anger management issues.  The closest thing at this point is a recurring ten-week class called the 10 Disciplines for Building Healthy Relationships.  But from time to time we have clients who need to demonstrate that they have completed “Anger Management.”  To be able to assert this we need to provide a clear set of measurable goals for which they can show mastery.  Here is a description of the relevant aims of the program and the markers by which we are able to evaluate completion.

Aim

The title “Anger Management” was good for a movie but it doesn’t capture the goal of the program.  Rather, the goal is to become so aware of and comfortable with one’s emotions generally, and anger specifically, that when we are angry we remain clear-headed and able to act with clear intentions and full integrity.  We are able to know that we are angry and use the energy of that emotion to create within the relationship the qualities that we need such that others also experience more of what they need.

Markers for measuring mastery

  1. Is the person aware of emotions generally and able to name them such that, when they are in any sense troubled, they can state what is troubling them?
  2. Is the person able to describe what is happening when they are troubled such that others in the relationship will recognize the event and agree that it is happening?
  3. Is the person able to identify what this “trouble” aroused in them in terms of sensations, emotions, thoughts, wishes, memories, and imagination?
  4. Is the person aware of what they are longing for and be able to distinguish between what they want and what they need?
  5. Is the person able to construct a plan for addressing this trouble in a manner that is safe for them and others and which moves them toward what they need?
  6. Can they actually implement the plan and evaluate how well it worked?
  7. Can they develop and implement such plans in both mutual and reciprocal relationships to address persistent patterns of conflict?