21st Century Solutions for Anger

with Julie Christiansen, President, Leverage U

(founder of Anger Solutions™)www.angersolution.com

Why Anger Solutions™?

• Clients with anger issues? Behavioural Problems? Adjustment difficulties? Addictions or Criminogenic Factors?

• Struggling with finding comprehensive resources and concrete tools to use with your angry clients?

• Looking for ways to help clients improve self-esteem and assertiveness?

• Want to reduce risk of recidivism with young or adult offenders?

• Need to help your clients with employment maintenance, family/marriage or remedial issues resulting from stress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, ineffective communication skills, or lack of assertiveness?

How Do We Know Anger Management Works?

• No comprehensive statistics about how many anger management programs are currently in use in Canada or in North America, or the rest of the world!

• Various models based on different trends of thinking in psychology (e.g. CBT, REBT, Jungian Therapy, Psychotherapy, Mindfulness)

• There are very few comprehensive studies on the success of Anger Management over the years

• Due to the fact that Anger Management programs continue to run and to receive referrals we assume that they work; however, how successful are they exactly, and how can we know for sure?

Questions We Could Ask About Anger Management:

• Does anger management help with the reduction of aggressive and/or violent behaviour?

• Does anger management result in a more positive self-esteem for participants?

• Do people who participate in anger management become more aware of their emotions and the precursors to their angry responses?

• Do people going through the correctional system experience a reduction in recidivism as a result of anger management?

• Do people with addictions experience a reduction or an elimination of their drug/alcohol dependency as a result of anger management?

Assessments Used in Anger Solutions™

• Our Core Measurement Tools• One – to measure the level of clinical anger at intake and

exit (Clinical Anger Scale, [Snell, 1995])• And the Second – to measure the client’s self-reported

perception of his/her self-esteem at intake and at exit (Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale).

• The third assessment is one that I created – to assess the participant’s level of self-awareness of their emotions and precursors to their behaviours. It also measures the frequency of inappropriate expressions of anger at intake as compared to exit (Anger Solutions Intake/Exit Surveys)

The Anger Solutions™ Puzzle

“With most one-dimensional puzzles, the way you piece it together doesn’t matter, as long as you come out with a picture in the end. This is true for most traditional anger management programs, many of which have a continuous intake system, meaning that participants can join at any point in the program and just continue until they have completed all the components.”

Think 3-D

• “The Anger Solutions™ Program is more like a 3-D puzzle – you still have a great deal of flexibility in how the pieces come together, but the final product depends on ensuring that the pieces are properly structured. In either case, there is no room for error – the pieces belong where they belong.”

How is the Puzzle Structured?• The Anger Solutions™ Program consists of 10 core modules to be

covered once weekly for 10 weeks. The program can be expanded to a 12-module program or condensed into an 8-week program.

• Anger Solutions Program increases awareness of anger precursors using a variety of exercises.

• The self esteem and assertiveness components teach effective strategies for expressing anger.

• Component on releasing residual anger provides alternatives to violence or risk taking behaviours.

• Comprehensive compilation of resources, tools, strategies, and references that you can use –Everything you need to run an effective group or individual counseling or coaching session is in one package

• Tools are provided to ensure that Clients are leveraged to stay motivated throughout the program.

A Closer Look…

• Beliefs– Belief is the basis of

action– What do you believe to

be true?

• Actions– Your behaviour is

rooted in what you believe to be true about any situation

Method and Madness

• Method– WIT Model (Whatever it

Takes)– Combines the best of

evidence-based models and blends them for flexible but predictable results

• Madness!– Program is customizable

and flexible enough to suit the needs of your client

– Flexibility pushes our results above 80% success

Resources

• All exercises have been “kitchen tested” so you don’t have to worry…

• Facilitator’s Manual contains all materials and tools you need (in reality or in a list )

• More tools and materials being shared through Anger Solutions Professionals Association and network

… More Resources

• Anger Solutions for Kids (AS4K) – a 6 week program simplified with fun activities and the core learning modules for children aged 9-12

• Anger Solutions for Youth (AS4Y) – a 10 week program designed for youth 13 – 18 and containing content for both low and high-risk youths

Canadian Association of Anger Solutions Practitioners• http://angerpros.blogspot.com

• Enhancing the professionalism of Anger Solutions Professionals

• Continuing Education• Shared Resources• Networking with other AS providers• Licensing renewals and service promotion

Now – about our training programs

• One-Day Boot Camp: Facilitator Certification• Train the Trainer: 3 days – become a certified Anger

Solutions Trainer• Anger Solutions Master Trainer• Anger Solutions Coach/Counselling Program (for one-to-

one work)• Training Dates – please contact us direct for upcoming

dates at http://www.angersolution.com and register online. You can also call 905-329-6169 or Toll Free: 1-866-754-6169.

For More Information about Anger Solutions™

Contact Us: http://www.angersolution.com

BLOG: http://angersolution.blogspot.com

PODCAST: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/julie-christiansen