In brief, anger management consists of knowing how to recognize when and why you get angry and how to control your emotions, along with new ways to respond when confronted with anger-triggering stimuli, or anger triggers.
The term “anger management” became popular in discussion about 15 years ago with the Adam Sandler film of the same name. Many tabloids report when hot-headed celebrities, from Chris Brown and Shia LaBeouf to Mel Gibson and Kayne West, attend court-ordered anger management sessions.
Frequent and uncontrolled anger is a problem, not just for one’s own health but also for the well-being of family members, coworkers, neighbors, and other people in the community.Some anger management classes involve little more than attending (in person or online) and listening to information passively for a few hours and perhaps completing some homework assignments. These may be enough to meet a court-ordered requirement, but they are not an effective way of dealing with anger problems. Better are anger management treatment programs, which emphasize repeated practice, rehearsal, and coaching and are more intimate, intense, and engaging. A typical program, which can be done individually, with a partner, or in a group setting, would be at least 8 to 10 weeks, with progress depending on how much work the individual puts into the process.
