Working with people can be a huge challenge. There have been times over the course of my thirty year social work career when I have asked myself why I chose this profession. I have worked in several different areas of social work. My formal training and continuing education credits have concentrated on children with mental illness. Most times I find that when children have mental health issues the adults in their lives do also. The children tend to be opened to addressing their issues; however adults usually get defensive and angry if it suggested that they also need help.
Working with resistive clients is the nature of most of my work. Many clients that I work with have been ordered through a court hearing to cooperate with services. Having someone ordered to work with me, especially if they have anger or control issues sets the relationship up to be a rocky one. Many times the courts will also order people to attend anger management courses. Because this is a common requirement of the courts there are many mental health centers that offer anger management. I have worked with several mental health professionals to insure that there are specialized groups for the participants. It is important that all people with anger issues are not lumped into one group setting.
I think it is helpful for people with domestic abuse issues to be in anger management classes with other domestic abusers. So often these groups can become volatile. When an abuser sees another person get angry and out of control they can get a better feel for how their behavior affects others. Anger is sometimes used as a control mechanism by abusers. When they experience someone else trying to control a group setting or a therapist they sometimes feel the same emotions that their victims have felt.
Anger management with teenagers is another issue all together. Many times their anger comes from feelings of not being heard or being misunderstood. It is common for a teen to feel angry because they are caught between the years of childhood and adulthood. They are not old enough to do many of the things that they want to do and yet are too old to be cuddled. Most teens concentrate their anger towards their parents; there are a few that express anger towards all authority. Teenage anger management usually works on healthy ways of expressing anger. It is important that teenagers learn that everyone gets angry from time to time and that it is alright to let people know that you are angry as long as you do so in a way where the other person feels safe around you. Healthy expression of anger is the goal of all anger management courses. Teaching techniques of how to express yourself and how to diffuse anger are key elements for a health group process.
Anger management groups are formed to support person from age of 12 in learning to deal with anger in a healthy and productive manner.
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