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CBT: Anger Management (Anger Management CBT (Raymond Novaco 1975 (Some…
CBT: Anger Management
Anger Management CBT
Anger management assumes that the offender's inability to control their anger is the root cause of offending
Raymond Novaco 1975
Some offenders are more likely to see certain situations as threatening & stressful, this leads them to react aggressively or violently, rather than rationally
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From a behaviourist perspective, anger is reinforced by the offender's feelings of control that anger gives them in that situation
Can see anger results from cognitive & behavioural problems, so treatment needs to tackle both
Cognitive Preparation
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Work with a trained therapist, the offender reflects on situations that have triggered their anger in the past & considers whether they could have reacted differently
E.g. if become violent when someone physically touches you in bar, encourages to redefine the situation as non-threatening (rationalising that the person may have been pushed themselves)
Skill Acquisition
Offenders taught a range of behavioural techniques to help them cope more effectively with anger-provoking situations
E.g. - counting to 10 - kind of self-talk promotes calmness rather than aggression & likely to become automatic response is practiced regularly
Some behavioural strategies deal with the physiology of anger, like meditation & deep breathing - aim is to control 1's emotions rather than being controlled by them
Application & Practice
Therapist devises situations in which the offender is able to demonstrate the skills they have been taught
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Evaluation
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Weakness
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Ireland's investigation - assessment was after 8 weeks - may not be sufficient time to realistically evaluate the effectiveness of similar programmes, especially once offender is released form the institutional setting
Questionable whether Ireland's study is a good indicator on how effective anger management would be in the long-term
Research Study
Jane Ireland 2004
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Offenders randomly allocated to 1 of 2 conditions
1 group received a cognitive-behavioural anger management treatment programme
Other group received no treatment until later, acting as a wait list control group
Treatment group were given 12 sessions of anger management & there was 3 measures of progress
These were interview & questionnaire for participants & a behaviour checklist completed by the prison staff
Data for all these measures was gathered 2 weeks before & 8 weeks after treatment
Findings
Nearly the entire treatment group showed significant improvement on at least 1 measure (92%) & nearly 1/2 (48%) showed improvement on the questionnaire & behaviour checklist
Improvement was most marked for those offenders judged to be 'violent' before the investigation began
Control group failed to show improvement on any of the 3 measures whilst waiting
Conclusions
Would suggest anger management is clearly more effective than no treatment at all, & is most effective for those who have a history of violence