Customer Reviews

Overcoming Situational and General Anger - Client Manual (Best Practices for Therapy)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Though this book was meant to be used as part of a treatment program, I found that reading it and working through the many practical exercises (e.g. keeping a journal of irksome events, their causes and how to deal with them, etc.) to be very helpful.

The book gives a good overview of why people become angry by events/other people (e.g. by Generalizing, by Catastrophizing, etc.), and I was quickly able to see how I do all of these all the time; hence my anger. And then the exercises gave me a chance to categorize the cause for my anger and thus learn how to better deal with it--usually by looking at the causes of an irksome event in a more productive and realistic way (what the authors call "cognitive restructuring").

In addition to Cognitive Restructuring, the calming techniques of Progressive Relaxation and Visualization are explained in such good detail that it was easy for me to learn how to do them on my own. And, I find them to be very helpful when I feel myself starting to get angry at something/someone.

So I give this book two thumbs up and recommend it to those who feel their lives could be happier if only they could let go of some of their anger.

If this were a workbook tossed in my lap by some governing body requiring anger management, I might be more inclined to defy the order and punch somebody's face in. Granted, some people might be helped immensely in knowing the stages and terms of their angry reactions to life, but this workbook seems a little heavy on the descriptions and light on the resolution options. The companion therapist manual to this title is more 'approachable' to me because it sort of spoon-feeds a plan of action that can more easily be modified to suit the needs of the reader. I'm the kind of person who doesn't want to know how the Internet works; I just want speedy connections between my questions and the best answers. In my experience, the road to mental health counseling and self-help studying is inundated with stigma, fear, self-loathing and ignorance. That said, I haven't decided yet whether this workbook would work better as a direct 'post-primary assessment' tool or a follow-up guide to a set of one-on-one focused, proactive counseling sessions with a resilient and persistent professional. The right way is never one way, but I don't think this workbook is the best guide for beginners. Try the Therapist Manual version of this instead.