Introduction
It goes without saying that anger may be regarded as a normal reaction in response to pain, frustration, tiredness, ignorance, annoyance, critique, and being overwhelmed with daily struggles. However, when anger becomes enduring, intense, and frequent while reasons are not significant, it requires particular attention and a qualified response. Anger refers not only to emotional outbursts but to aggressiveness and intimidation as well. Excessive and uncontrolled anger leads to multiple negative consequences, including relationship problems, problems with employment and the law, health disorders, and more severe mental health issues. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remains one of the most efficient methods of anger management. At the same time, self-help books and workbooks become efficient assessment and treatment tools, especially for people whose healthcare accessibility is limited. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine CBT treatment in relation to anger, investigate the efficiency of its practices, and review a workbook dedicated to anger management in order to evaluate its potential to substitute traditional therapy.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
In general, CBT is defined as solution-oriented psychotherapy that helps a patient identify his problem expressed in negative feelings or thoughts and assess its scope in order to challenge and replace these manifestations with more positive and rational ones. It is traditionally applied as an efficient solution for people with depression, stress, addiction, anxiety, and anger issues as it focuses on the development of practical skills that allow individuals to feel better. All in all, CBT is based on the following principles:
- Unhealthy and inappropriate ways of thinking are the main reason for psychological issues;
- Unacceptable behavior that causes a psychological problem derives from learned patterns;
- It is possible to minimize the manifestations of a psychological issue through coping strategies for more rational thinking.
CBT has two major aspects which include functional analysis and skills training. In other words, a patient learns to look at feelings and thoughts that lead to a particular inappropriate behavior and gains new coping skills. Meanwhile, a therapist plays an important role in CBT by controlling sessions, providing guidance, and giving direct advice. In addition, as treatment presupposes the assignment of homework, a specialist will review it and provide quality feedback for better understanding and consistent practice.
In relation to anger, CBT-related assessments and treatment fully fit the intervention model for this condition. Thus, CBT presupposes a wide range of exercises and questions that help a patient define triggers that lead to outbursts and their root causes. On their basis, a therapist provides various techniques and strategies for efficient anger management and emotion control, such as relaxation, deep breathing, and rational problem-solving. In general, for people who suffer from intense and enduring anger, CBT treatment implies the following steps:
- The determination of a problem’s root causes. First of all, a patient should identify major situations and conditions that cause anger in order to make a smarter decision concerning a solution.
- Strengthening of awareness and understanding. Self-awareness is highly essential for anger management as it helps realize the importance of this psychological issue.
- The determination of negative thoughts. In collaboration with a patient, a therapist defines negative and inaccurate thoughts that lead to inappropriate behavioral patterns.
- The change of negative thoughts. This step presupposes the development of positive thinking and the reframing of memories through various techniques to establish positive behavior. In addition, CBT treatment refers to the replacement of unhealthy and aggressive communication with assertive and peaceful one. Although anger remains a natural emotion, it is necessary to use adaptive ways of communication to avoid crossing acceptable boundaries.
It goes without saying that there are multiple techniques that may be used by a therapist, including personalized ones, and it is impossible to apply all of them. However, several methods used in CBT may be regarded as the most common and effective. The first one implies the enhancement of personal awareness as the expression of anger does not presuppose the understanding of its clear sense. In this case, a specialist should perceive and explain to a patient the nature, causes, and consequences of his anger. Role-playing, detailed discussions, and self-monitoring are usually used to raise patient awareness.
Another strategy of CBT is the development of relaxation coping skills. As anger is traditionally associated with increased physical and emotional excitement, relaxation skills help an individual remain calm and reduce the negative consequences of outbursts. The acquisition of these skills is connected with the understanding of anger triggers for its lowering through slow deep breathing, focusing on the reduction of muscle tension, the repetition of calming words, and meditation. All techniques should be initially practiced during sessions to relax quickly in real-life situations.
Successful anger management presupposes the disruption of it by removal or avoidance and the replacement of anger-producing thoughts with reasonable thinking as well. In combination with relaxation coping skills, these techniques allow an individual to leave an anger-related situation. Negotiation with other people, alternative ways of response, and distracting non-angry activities contribute to the minimization of anger manifestations. At the same time, in particular situations, humor may assist in the elimination of negative thinking that leads to anger. Moreover, the understanding that other people can make mistakes and that some situations are inevitable helps disrupt stress caused by events or other people’s actions. Finally, CBT helps an individual to enhance his skills for efficient negotiation and interpersonal communication to avoid stress, conflicts, and, as a result, the expression of anger. Thus, skill training will contribute to efficient interaction in a direct, problem-solving, and calm manner.
Self-Help Books and Workbooks for Anger Management
In the present day, regardless of expressed skepticism and insufficient research in relation to their scientific status, self-help books and workbooks for the management of various psychological disorders are extremely popular. A considerable number of people use bibliotherapy as a self-administered and self-prescribed treatment and “a very cost-effective substitute for professionally delivered therapy” (Redding et al., 2008, p. 537). At the same time, workbooks are frequently provided by therapists as patients’ homework for more appropriate outcomes of CBT.
In general, it is possible to mention the efficiency of bibliotherapy for the management of anger and other mental health disorders. Multiple meta-analyses support the notion that the effect of self-help books is similar to the outcomes of traditional therapy (Redding et al., 2008). Bibliotherapy is more effective than placebo, antidepressants, and waiting lists (Redding et al., 2008). All in all, the general advantages of the use of workbooks for patients with psychological problems include bibliotherapy’s accessibility for large numbers of individuals, cost-efficiency, autonomy, and preventive and educative functions.
Workbook’s Analysis
A workbook under analysis is The Anger Control Workbook written by McKay and Rogers which focuses on a particular subject – anger management. In general, this book may be regarded as an appropriate substitution for a traditional CBT treatment, especially for people who do not have an opportunity to visit a therapist. It contains all aspects of traditional therapy, such as the identification of a psychological issue, its root causes, negative thoughts and triggers that lead to emotional outbursts and aggression, and multiple applicable techniques for anger control.
The book is characterized by a compassionate approach, comprehensive narration, and scientific evidence for its content’s support. In other words, it addresses readers in a personal manner that resembles a competent therapist’s words. For instance, the authors state that when a patient suffers from intense anger forgetting all his resolutions to stay calm, he does not become a bad person (McKay & Rogers, 2000). Instead, he is full of pain, and anger is a way to overcome it. However, anger is a temporary solution that, in turn, leads to highly negative consequences for a person’s physical and mental health and relationships with others.
At the same time, the book is full of real-life examples that make its material more comprehensive. For instance, there are multiple examples that allow readers to understand the nature of anger, its causes, and its impacts. However, all aspects of bibliotherapy presented in the book are supported by evidence received as the result of multiple studies and research (McKay & Rogers, 2000). All in all, all factors of anger and coping techniques are consistent with psychological theory and research.
In general, The Anger Control Workbook is a helpful and accessible tool for anger self-management. It provides harmful, accurate, and specific guidance for readers to self-diagnose, apply coping techniques, and measure their progress in the long-term perspective. In addition, it contributes to a reader’s understanding of his anger-related issue to the fullest extent – thus, it describes not only the negative but positive consequences of stress as well to help an individual realize why it is expressed (McKay & Rogers, 2000). It goes without saying that coping techniques are thoroughly described, and templates for individual completion are presented. Moreover, in contrast with multiple workbooks, The Anger Control Workbook explains when and why self-help may be limited.
At the same time, there are several disadvantages connected both with an actual book and bibliotherapy in general. First of all, there is a slight inconsistency in the workbook – for instance, anger inoculation and coping techniques are intermixed. In turn, it would be reasonable to place the assessment of anger in one part of the book and anger management in another. In addition, the book addressed a common classical therapy that does not presuppose paying attention to patients’ cultural peculiarities. In this case, bibliotherapy cannot substitute for a culturally competent therapist. Moreover, not all people perceive knowledge efficiently without quality feedback which is not presupposed in workbooks. In this case, this format is insensitive to patients’ individual needs.
Conclusion
To conclude, CBT may be regarded as a highly efficient intervention for anger management. It helps a patient access his psychological issue and address it in the most appropriate way. In turn, self-help books and workbooks may substitute traditional therapy as they contain its aspects. However, on the basis of a workbook’s review, it is possible to state that bibliography leads to the most appropriate outcomes in combination with CBT as not all people may learn without a therapist, especially a culturally competent one, who will guide the progress and provide feedback.
References
McKay, M., & Rogers, P. D. (2000). The anger control workbook. New Harbinger Publications.
Redding, R. E., Herbert, J. D., Forman, E. M., & Gaudiano, B. A. (2008). Popular self-help books for anxiety, depression, and trauma: How scientifically grounded and useful are they? Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 39(5), 537-545.