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.