Across different care settings, practitioners routinely see clients whose anger reactions contribute to significant loss and suffering. While anger is a frequent and universal human emotion, it has received surprisingly little attention as a clinical problem. 

When addressing anger, practitioners commonly engage in unproductive conversation (e.g., clients venting about unfair actions of others) and struggle to help clients move away from impulsive reactions toward more thoughtful decisions and behaviors likely to lead to better outcomes.  

In this session, participants will practice identifying the key features of client anger reactions by applying a 6-stage Anger Episode Model Interview to understand how anger is experienced and expressed in the client’s real-life interactions. The analysis of anger episodes forms the groundwork for effective case management and collaboratively identifying relevant intervention goals. A flexible menu of well-established interventions for managing anger difficulties will be reviewed.  

This workshop is highly interactive, incorporating structured learning activities that include recorded work samples, small group exercises, and “real”-plays. This session provides an efficient way to update your knowledge and skills in this challenging clinical area. 

Learning Objectives:
In this workshop, participants will: 

• Understand common anger myths and learn about scientifically supported anger facts 

• Be able to understand client anger reactions according to a 6-stage sequential anger episode model 

• Practice conducting an anger episode interview to efficiently identify relevant anger components in clients’ typical reactions 

• Acquire knowledge of empirically supported interventions and additional resources to help clientele with dysregulated anger