Anger management

Who is suitable for an anger management intervention?

Any child or young person from the age of 2 up until 25 may be suitable for an anger management intervention from HSR Psychology. It is possible to provide an anger management intervention for a child below the age of 2, although this is very rare.

Anger management interventions may be appropriate for children and young people, aged 2 to 25, who: 

• Often get angry
• Are violent towards people, places, objects or themselves
• Are verbally aggressive, for example shouting at people
• Show extreme angry behaviour, such as physical aggression, or threats of violence
• Struggle to name or talk about their feelings
• Have poor attention and/or concentration due to anger or frustration
• Struggle with academic life due to their emotions or outbursts
• Struggle to share with others
• Get upset or shout if they lose at a game
• Say comments which are sexist, racist, homophobic etc.
• Have difficulties regulating emotions

If you would like to discuss how an anger management intervention at HSR Psychology could support you or others around you then please contact us.

What are the benefits of an anger management intervention?

Anger management brings many benefits to the child or young person, including:

• Being calm when faced with stressful situations
• Reducing the frequency and intensity of anger
• Being able to identify and talk about different emotions
• Improving life opportunities
• Being able to concentrate better, due to correct handling of anger
• Having appropriate methods of communicating their feelings
• Being able to share and co-operate with others 
• Being able to recognise anger without using violence to express it

Following anger management interventions we will provide recommendations for supporting the young person at home, school and in the community.

What happens prior to anger management interventions?

Anger management interventions can be carried out following one of our initial discussions, please see our process below.

What happens during an anger management intervention?

Anger management interventions are bespoke to the individual and their identified needs. Usually, an anger management intervention involves giving the young person help to understand what anger is, what anger feels like, and identifying specific triggers. Then, the young person can learn how to understand their emotions, reduce general levels of stress and use techniques for relaxing in triggering situations. Techniques for coping can be tailored according to the child or young person's needs and situation. The individual might be encouraged to use their relaxation techniques between sessions in order to evaluate their effectiveness within sessions. Our anger management interventions can take place within an education, home, or community setting or within our clinic. 

What happens after an anger management intervention?

After an anger management intervention the individual will usually be able to recognise the triggers which cause anger. By understanding triggers, the individual will be able to use relaxation techniques to cope with anger when a trigger occurs. Following anger management interventions it may be suggested that we carry out follow up sessions if a particularly triggering situation arises or if there is an alternative underlying cause. 

Does an anger management intervention come with a report?

HSR Psychology can provide a report following an anger management intervention which can highlight specific triggers of anger and coping strategies. We always recommend a report outlining our input, the impact of our involvement and any recommendations. If a written report is not wanted, then verbal feedback can be provided. Read more about our reports.

How an anger management intervention helped Joe

We helped Joe, a Year 10 student who struggled with his anger, to understand and better regulate his anger. Find out how we helped.

HSR Psychology was approached by a school where they identified a Year 10 student, Joe, who was frequently getting into arguments, had difficulty with his temper and was at risk of exclusion. The school wanted to get Joe some help to be able to handle his anger and frustration more effectively. Joe had a very troubled home life, a less than nurturing relationship with his role models including parents. He was also not interested in academic work which led to difficulties between him and the school staff.

Our involvement consisted of five sessions and a follow-up session five months later. During the sessions, we provided him with some psychoeducation work. Our intention was to teach Joe about his emotions and feelings. We also explored his anger further and discussed the multiple causes and the insecurity he was experiencing. We further explored what triggers his emotional outbursts and what techniques helped him. Together with Joe, we created a ‘tool box’ that he could use in difficult situations. The ’tool box‘ included Joe’s previously used techniques as well as techniques that we introduced. We shared these techniques with the school staff so they could best support him. Lastly, together with Joe, we reflected on how these above mentioned techniques worked out. Reflection is a great tool to increase self-awareness and helps to identify the situations and thoughts that trigger anger and frustration.

The follow-up session 5 months later allowed us to see the improvement he made during the time. The student’s whole perspective about the world around him had changed. Joe could accept help better and was able to calm himself down before he saw red. He also successfully walked away from multiple fights. The changes were reported by not only him but by the school staff as well.