Ronald T. Potter-Efron

Therapeutic Approaches to Anger, Rage and Domestic Violence Counseling
August 18-22

The field of anger management and especially domestic abuse counseling emerged as somewhat of a maverick discipline during the 1980's and 90's. It was primarily informed by a male power and control paradigm that was frequently implemented within an anti-therapeutic, anti-couples counseling milieu. This useful but limited model has been gradually challenged because of the need to treat clients who don't fit well into its conceptualization such as violent women, mutually aggressive couples, and those with significant underlying psychological conditions. The result is a stimulating array of approaches, old and new, that can be utilized to help appropriate clients. The goal of this course will be to address a selected number of these approaches while stimulating thoughtful discussion of the underlying conceptual and therapeutic issues.

Teaching methods will include lecture, small group discussion and practice sessions, observation of filmed interviews, handouts, power point presentation, and exercises designed to help participants understand the dynamics of their own anger experiences.

Monday
Introduction: the many words associated with anger; Gestalt therapeutic awareness cycle approach to anger problems; Assessment of anger concerns: Use of a comprehensive questionnaire, the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory and an instrument that distinguishes eleven different ways that anger may be expressed.

Tuesday
Core therapeutic approaches to anger and aggression problems: Behavioral therapy for immediate control; Cognitive therapy for longer-term improvement; Affective approaches and Relaxation techniques for stress reduction; Existential therapy for deeper change.

Wednesday
Treatment of eleven anger styles: three hidden styles (anger avoidance, passive aggression and anger turned inward), four explosive styles (sudden anger, shame-based anger, excitatory anger and instrumental anger), and four chronic styles (habitual anger, paranoia, moral anger, and resentment/hate).

Thursday
Rage and our imperfect brains: Differences between rage and strong anger; Possible underlying brain mechanisms that predict raging; Use of rage questionnaire and rage episode forms; Sudden vs. seething rage; Treatments for survivor rage, impotent rage, and shame-based rage.

Friday
Use of attachment theory to treat abandonment rage; Gender-appropriate models for treating domestic abuse; Systems therapy approach to treating angry couples and angry families.

Ronald T. Potter-Efron, M.S.W., Ph.D., is a clinical psychotherapist and co-owner at First Things First Counseling and Consulting in Eau Claire, WI, where he is also the Director of the clinic's Anger Management Center. He is author of several clinical volumes for therapists, including the Handbook of Anger Management (a Behavioral Science Book Club main selection) and Shame, Guilt and Alcoholism. Dr. Potter-Efron is best known for his well-received books for the general public that include Angry All The Time; Letting Go of Shame; Rage: A Step By Step Guide to Overcoming Extreme Anger; Letting Go of Anger; and the workbook entitled Stop the Anger Now. He has facilitated professional seminars throughout the United States and Canada as well as in Panama, Hong Kong, and Europe.

Add to your Cape Cod Institute experience by ordering CD Audio recordings of this course here.