Anger management as a Lucrative Niche Specialization for Psychotherapists

According to the U. S. Department of Labor, private practice incomes for Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Clinical Social Workers, Marriage Counselors and Licensed Professional Counselors have experienced a decline of 8% during the last three years. Consequently, most mental practitioners are scrambling to find supplemental sources of income.

Anger Management is one of the fastest growing (and most lucrative) niche specializations in human services. Anger management can be provided in groups for both adolescents and adults. It can also be used for couples and families. Business and industry Human Resource Departments frequently contact Anger Management Providers to provide On-site training for employee groups. Finally, many upscale clients such as physicians, attorneys, and celebrity clients prefer to be seen individually in an executive coaching format.

Anderson & Anderson Certified Anger Management Providers are currently practicing in 38 states as well as 8 countries. This model is used in school districts, colleges and universities, hospitals, prisons, jails, Native American Reservations, the United States Postal Services and well as Military Establishments, Veterans Resource Centers and Employee Assistance Programs.

A quick look at income streams from anger management services
Los Angeles County has population of ten million residents. The Los Angeles District of the California Superior Court has 600 Judges. The Judges who handle criminal court cases as well as traffic and family law cases refer all anger management cases to Certified Providers who are listed on the Anderson & Anderson Provider list. Therefore, these providers are positioned to receive a steady stream of referrals from these courts.

If a provider has one group with 15 clients, and the group meets for one hour per week, at the going rate of $50 per session, the weekly gross income will be $750 per week which is $3000 per month for four hours of work. Believe me; this is better than Managed Health.

Suppose this same provider has two executive coaching clients who are charged $250 per hour, this is another $500 per week--another $2000 per month.

Given the traffic congestion in Los Angeles, many clients prefer to take accelerated classes rather than classes which meet on a weekly basis. Accelerated classes are held on Saturdays or Sundays. One accelerated Saturday class with 15 participants at $50 per person per hour equals $750 per hour times 8 for a total of $6000. On-site trainings are billed for a minimum of a half day at $2500. A full day training cost $5000 plus expenses and travel. If you have your accountant total up the possibilities, you may determine that adding anger management to your practice may be a worthwhile investment.

Companies large and small have determined that anger management is a cost saving intervention. Currently, at the Brentwood Office of Anderson & Anderson, the majority of referrals come from businesses rather than the courts.

To become an Anderson & Anderson Certified Anger Management Provider, visit our website at www.andersonservices.com or contact our office at 310-207-3591.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF

Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers
http://www.andersonservices.com/
http://www.angertrends.blogspot.com/
www.anger-management-resources.com

Reality of Anger Management Anderson & Anderson Internship

My name is Rasheed, and I am a sociology student at California State University of Los Angeles. I am also an intern at Anderson & Anderson, and was introduced to the firm through the EPIC office at CSULA. To be honest, I was not quite sure of what I was getting myself into when I agreed to pursue this opportunity. I must admit that I did not know much about anger management prior to beginning this internship. What I have learned is that we all can benefit from the services that Anderson & Anderson provides. I'm not just writing this to make the company look good. This is a serious issue. What many people may not realize is that anger is not a one dimensional feeling or expression. I get angry a lot, but I don't express it in a typical manner. Anger is not always about red colored faces and heated exchanges. Sometimes anger can be expressed inward. Someone who is so heated, but is afraid to outwardly express that anger for fear of harming others, can wind up harming him or herself. This "harm" reveals itself in the form of stress; and, as we all know, too much stress CAN and WILL cause emotional, psychological, and physical pain in most people. I should stress that, as I have learned from George Anderson and my time spent thus far as an intern in his company, being angry is not abnormal. It is something that is as natural as the need to eat food and the need to sleep. It would not be appropriate to say that someone who has sufficient cause to be angry at someone or some situation is in need of Therapy. Rather, it would be appropriate to say that if their anger is causing them to behave in a manner that is harmful to themselves or to others, they are in need of Anger Management.

I have learned that Anger Management has a positive impact on society. Many Employers and Courts have made it a reqirement that angry individuals who have not yet committed certain crimes be mandated to attend anger management classes. It is beneficial for an employer to send one of its top ranking employees to anger management classes rather than simply firing him or her. Why? If the employee's offense is not one that has caused significant injury to another party in a work related altercation, that offense tends to be outweighed by the employee's worth. To make it clearer, let's assume that Surgeon A has an outstanding record of performance during a ten year period. When Surgeon B is hired, he begins to throw his weight around the hospital, making his coworkers and assitants feel inferior as people. Surgeon A, having a calm and patient attitude, asks Surgeon B repeatedly to refrain from being so abrasive and rude. Surgeon B is a long time buddy of the hospital administration, but this administration knows the value of Surgeon A's work. It is no surprise that they don't want to fire Surgeon A when she finally loses her cool and threatens to harm Surgeon B. They know that she must be disciplined, and Surgeon B wants her to be terminated. But let's face it--Surgeon A has more experience in the Operating Room than Surgeon B. Although the hospital has a zero tolerance policy for threats, they know that Surgeon A's quality work and her friendliness towards those she works with and supervises both outweigh a threat she made to Surgeon B, who seems to always behave like a jerk. The Administration tells Surgeon A that she must agree to a reasonable amount of Anger Management course work in order for her to keep her job. They emphasize that something must be done with the relationship she has with Surgeon B, who also gets a tongue lashing from his superiors. This is where anger management comes in.

The point of this example is to show people how important anger management is. As a sociology major, I'm not sure how I could incorporate Anger Management into a field of study that examines group behavior. I do know that this is something that I want to do. I have only been with Anderson & Anderson for about a month, but I am already excited about the possibilities that can come out of this experience. Shortly after I began this internship, I thought of the possibility of becoming a Sociology professor, something I thought I would never even consider. One of the things that I have really enjoyed thus far is sitting in on some of the anger management groups that are held weekly at Anderson & Anderson.

An Open Letter To Human Resource Managers

Anger is a pervasive problem which is costly to businesses large and small. Anger Management in contrast, is A Cost Saving Intervention.

Today, I received two inquiries regarding the cost of instituting an organizationally-based anger management program. My initial response was that the cost depended on the size of the organization and the specific needs to be addressed.

A much better response may be, a well organized anger management program designed for prevention will pay for itself over time and prove to be a profit rather than a cost. Such a program was established for one 16,000 employee district of the U.S. Postal Service as a Pilot and resulted in a saving of 1.7 million dollars over a twelve month period.

There are four topics which are the core of most structured anger management programs. These topics can be taught together or separately. They are anger, stress, communication and emotional intelligence. Knowledge and practice of skills taught in these subjects tend to lead to improvement in an employees' level of functioning in these same areas.

If the four components of anger management intervention is made available to all employees of an organization, it results in an increase in morale, increase in productivity and decreases in sick day usuage, accidents, interpersonal conflicts, aggressive behaviour and violence. Anger management is indeed, a cost saving intervention.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF

An Incredible Year for Anger Management

In January of 2006, we predicted a good year for anger management providers worldwide. As the year comes to an end, our predictions now seem modest. Anger management has now become one of the most used phrases in the news, conversations, businesses, and entertainment.

Summary of successes:
• 2006 marks the first year that Anderson & Anderson sold licensing agreements for anger management services.
• Our first Japanese provider and Licensee, Andy Ando completed the translation of the Anderson & Anderson workbook (Gaining Control or Ourselves) into Japanese.
• The popular Anger Management Resource Directory was established to market anger management providers nationwide. www.anger-management-resources.org.
• Sonia Brill, from AngerXChange in Denver, initiates an Anger Management Assessment Service for mental health clinicians who wish to have their patients assessed for unhealthy anger.
• George Anderson was featured in the August 16 edition of the London Sunday Times in an article entitled “A Look Back at Anger” by Ariel Levy.
• Anderson & Anderson and Century Anger Management agree to join forces in supporting a minimum of 40 hours of training for Anger Management Facilitators beginning January 1, 2007.
• New Certified Anger Management Providers were added in Puerto Rico and Singapore.
• The Anderson & Anderson website at www.andersonservices.com became the major Google site for anger management ads. Relevant Google ads now appear on every page of the Anderson & Anderson website.
• Terry Gilbert, Capital Anger Management, Sonia Brill, AngerXChange and Shannon Munford, Day Break Counseling Services all reported unprecedented income from their anger management practices in 2006.
• George Anderson was interviewed by 26 media organizations resulting in articles on anger. Most of these can be reviewed by visiting the Anderson & Anderson website at www.andersonservices.com.
• Notes from The World of Anger Management, the major Anderson & Anderson blog officially became the most widely-read blog on anger management.

If you provide anger management training or services and would like to include your year-end practice successes, please contact Ben Arntz at 310-207-3591.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF
www.andersonservices.com
www.anger-management-resources.org
www.angertrends.blogspot.com

Los Angeles County Anger Management Provider List for January, 2007

The updated Anderson & Anderson Anger Management Provider List for 2007 will be mailed to all Criminal and Family Law Courts in Los Angeles County on December 29, 2006. In addition, all Hearing Officers for the City and County of Los Angeles as well as prosecuting attorneys will be sent copies of this list.

In order to more effectively monitor the professional practices of providers on this list, Anderson & Anderson will only add new providers when there is need based on the demographics of the region. All providers are encouraged to market their services to local law enforcement, attorneys and Human Resource Managers in their practice areas.

All providers must adhere to the following standards in order to remain on the Los Angeles County Anger Management Provider list:

Completion of the 40 hour Anderson & Anderson Anger Management Facilitator Certification.

Completion of 16 hours of continuing education through Anderson & Anderson on a yearly basis.

Use of the Conover Anger Management Assessment for all clients.

Use of the Anderson & Anderson client workbooks, DVDs, CDs, Posters and other training materials.

Timely payment of monthly maintenance fees to Anderson & Anderson.

All of the above criteria must be met by all potential providers by December 15, 2006. To confirm your status, contact Ben Arntz at 310-207-3591.


George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF