McMissle and anger Management

'McMissile' Mom Faced Prison Time. This is the most recent road rage incident to hit national news. The case involves road rage the Washington, DC metro area where a woman threw her ice filled cup into the car of another driver who cut her off on a busy interstate. A quick assessment of this situation suggests the potential to create a major accident. A judge imposed a sentence of five years probation for this act. As an anger management facilitator, I wondered about the effectiveness of this sentence.

George Anderson’s model of anger management compelled me to dig deeper. His model purports that four issues can lead to inappropriate anger: Poor communication skills, poor emotional intelligence, poor stress management and poor anger management skills. He also suggests that inappropriate anger is only a symptom of dysfunction in these four areas. Examination of this woman’s situation reveals that she is a single mom of three with a husband in Iraq. Reports also suggest she had other life stressors. Although not an excuse stress appears to have played a role in this woman’s road rage.

Will five years probation resolve stress management issues? Maybe not. Anger is a ticking time boob that has over and over had deadly consequences. The conclusion of this situation speaks to the lack of understanding of the long term consequences of inappropriate anger and the most effective treatments. It has been well established that psychoeducational interventions are effective in managing anger. Therefore it remains important that those who are trained in anger management techniques speak out about what works. High profile anger management providers like George Anderson have been active in the fight to treat anger according to research based techniques. We however need more action on a national level to educate judges, lawyers, schools and workplace administrators and families about the dangerous consequences of anger. So many negative consequences, including death, can be prevented if society targeted the treatment of inappropriate anger in the most effective methods. It does not take billions in pharmaceutical research to accomplish this. We have the tools TODAY which can mitigate emerging problems with anger.

I encourage any reader who has anger management concerns to contact a trained anger management facilitator. Anderson and Anderson has facilitators nationwide who are trained to deal with anger in the workplace, in court, in school, on the road and at home so please visit www.anger-management-resourses.org and let the facilitator know how we can help.

Carlos Todd
www.angerhurts.com

Hospitals Nationwide Enact Policies to Comply with New Joint Commission Standards for “Disruptive Physicians”

The Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation defines the problem in this way: “Disruptive behavior is conduct displayed by a health care professional that negatively impacts the quality or safety of care or has the potential to do so. Disruptive behavior may also intimidate staff, affect staff morale, and lead to staff turnover. Disruptive behavior may be verbal or non-verbal, and often involves the use of rude language, facial expressions, threatening manners, or even physical abuse.” All accredited hospitals are required to have policies in place to address this widespread problem.

A careful review of the above definition does not mention substance abuse or mental illness. These issues are addressed elsewhere. The popular and internationally-recognized Anderson & Anderson Anger Management/executive coaching course has been quickly accepted by Medical Licensing Boards and Hospitals throughout the country.

The key features of the Anderson & Anderson model is its built-in protection against pejorative pathological labels in the files of healthcare participants who are referred to anger management programs. The assessments used in this model are designed to gauge a client’s level of functioning in managing anger, stress, assertive communication and emotional intelligence. Skill enhancement is then addressed in the 12 session coaching course.



For more information, please contact George Anderson at 310-207-3591 or visit www.andersonservices.com

Anger Management

There is (and has been for many years) an international shortage of trained nurses. Consequently, nurses are overworked, underappreciated, mistreated, and frequently burned out. All of these situations can result in justifiable feelings of anger and hurt.

However, understandable or not, anger can still be destructive if it: is too intense, lasts too long, is harmful to oneself or others, occurs too frequently, destroys work or personal relationships, or leads to person or property directed aggression. Destructive anger needs to be assessed by trained Certified Anger Management Providers, and mediated.

Anderson & Anderson offers anger management assessments and classes at its offices in Los Angeles and Lawndale, California. In addition, on-site classes can be provided anywhere in the United States. All participants receive a computerized anger management assessment that identifies strengths and weaknesses in the four components of the Anderson & Anderson Curriculum: anger, stress, assertive communication, and emotional intelligence.

For information or enrollment in any of our classes, visit our website at: www.andersonservices.com or contact our office at 310-207-3591.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF

Anger Management Assessment now Available On-line

The best just got better.

Anderson & Anderson now offers its anger management assessments on-line at our Brentwood Office. These assessments are great for group clients and Executive Coaching clients. The integrated metrics, distinct values, and attitude sections correlate competencies with results. You can Map your personal and professional profile on four performance levels: anger, stress, communication and emotional intelligence. The on-line assessments take 15-30 minutes each, and are automatically scored and permanently archived.

Each participant is given a copy of his or her personalized Anger Management or EQ MAP results along with the recommended action plan for each category. The assessment results offer a suggested guide for the intervention with each client. The instructional client workbooks, DVDs and other instructional material are consistent with the topics covered in these assessments.

The Anderson & Anderson anger management model is the industry standard worldwide.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF

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

A Fond Farewell

This February marks the end of my time at Anderson & Anderson. It has been the best job of my life so far—the only one I can honestly say I will miss. I feel extremely privileged to have had the opportunity to work for people as supportive, trusting, infinitely patient, and good-natured as the Andersons. The growing Anger Management community is still relatively small, and I am also thankful for the chance to meet (or at least speak to) so many of its prominent members.

A year and a half ago, I was the most stressed-out I have ever been. After a succession of inane, temporary employments, I found myself in familiar territory for aspiring writers: jobless, penniless, inexperienced, overwhelmed, and largely clueless.

Eventually, my finances dictated that I needed to find a full-time job in less than a week, or else I would not be able to make the next rent payment. In this tight spot, I had the enormous good fortune to stumble across an internet posting for an Administrative Assistant position at a prominent Anger Management company. Given my complete lack of office experience, I must’ve thrown my hat into the ring with enough panache to strike a chord in George Anderson's big heart, because he offered me the job.

Although I was absolutely desperate for work, I was a little hesitant to accept the position at Anderson & Anderson, mainly because George wanted me to stay on for at least a year. And even though I had only met him once (for the purpose of an interview), I already liked him enough that I didn’t want to commit to that much time without the full intention of keeping my end of the bargain.

After a couple hours of mulling it over, I decided to take the job. I never imagined that it would transform my life as positively as it has. In my first weeks in the office, I picked up a copy of Gaining Control of Ourselves, and found it to be extremely insightful. I quickly identified several sources of stress in my life and worked to reduce/eliminate them.

Every day in this office has presented a new challenge, which consequently forced me to explore subjects I wouldn’t have tackled otherwise. Under the tutelage of George Anderson, I feel I have become a better person. He has been an incredible boss, and an even more inspiring ally.

Throughout my time here, however, I have retained my aspirations of writing novels. With the looming expiration of my apartment lease at the end of this month, I came to the heartbreaking conclusion that the time is right for me to leave this office and pursue my dream. Soon, I will be moving to Germany to work on a novel set in Berlin.

It is entirely possible that, a year and a half from now, I will again be jobless, penniless, and overwhelmed.

Fortunately, however, I’ve picked up some tools for dealing with the accompanying stress.


--Ben Arntz


PS - I am pleased to announce that our newest intern, Rasheed, will be taking over as the office manager in the Brentwood office. We can all sleep much easier knowing the office affairs will be in his very capable hands.

Free Polo Shirts!

Effective immediately, Anderson & Anderson will include a free Anger Management polo shirt with all orders totaling $500 or more.

These shirts are an easy, fun, and effective marketing tool.


Above: Rachel Bar-Gadda in a good-looking shirt!

Below: Aaron Arntz shows that even rock stars think Anger Management is cool!

Surge in Anger Management Seen Worldwide

It may or may not come as a surprise to many of you reading this blog, but it is a constant surprise to me to receive inquiries from all over the world regarding our anger management model. It is now 9:00 A.M. on Wednesday and we have already received e-mails from Maldives, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Canada and the U.K. The requests from Canada and Australia are for on-site trainings. We welcome these requests and will attempt to accommodate both countries.

The number of referrals for Executive Coaching/Anger Management for Physicians during the last two weeks has made it necessary for us to seek additional facilitators to assist in providing these services. We are also seeking trained Anderson & Anderson providers in each state to service abusive physicians nationwide.

This worldwide surge has resulted in an increase in the number of U.S. Military Establishments using the Anderson & Anderson anger management curriculum. Unhealthy anger is a common symptom of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome frequently associated with combat.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF
Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers
http://www.andersonservices.com/
www.anger-management-resources.com

Why Are Abusive Physicians Reluctant to Seek Help?

As a part of all physicians' medical training, they rotate through all specialized areas of medicine. This means that all physicians exposed to psychiatry in addition to the other areas of medicine. One of the obvious reasons for this practice is to make certain that all physicians have enough knowledge and experience to appropriately make use of all specialties other than their own.

Unfortunately, psychiatry is an area of specialization that is often viewed by surgeons, cardiologists, oncologists and neurologists as somewhat soft in terms of its science. Psychiatry is considered to be highly subjective with questionable scientific evidence. In addition, any mental health intervention carries with it a stigma that may be damaging to a physician’s career.

One of the first questions posed by physicians inquiring about resources for abusive physicians is “Do I have to undergo a psychiatric assessment?”. This question is extremely important to any practicing physician as it will almost certainly affect his or her entire career if there is anything in any file suggesting impairment or even an assessment. Therefore, if the goal of a program is to help abusive physicians who are not addicted to drugs/alcohol or psychiatrically disturbed, it must not include a mandatory psychiatric assessment.

Anderson & Anderson is largest provider of Executive Coaching/anger management for abusive physicians in the nation. We have many case examples of physicians who purposely selected our program for its lack of focus on psychopathology. Our model uses an assessment designed to determine the physician’s level of functioning in recognizing and managing stress, anger, assertive communication, emotional intelligence and motivation to change. The Anderson & Anderson Executive Coaching/anger Management course provides skill enhancement in the same four areas mentioned above. No participant is accepted for coaching who demonstrates a lack of motivation to change.

In an effort to respond to the need of busy physicians everywhere, Anderson & Anderson now offers on-site coaching anywhere in the United States.

For information, contact our office at 310-207-3591 or visit our website.


George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF

Fellow, American Orthopsychiatric Association

Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers

Featured Provider - February 13, 2007

Wayne Baker, CAMF

Mr. Baker is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker for the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington. Having completed the Facilitator training in Los Angeles in January, Mr. Baker returned to the great Northwest to integrate the Anderson & Anderson model into pre-existing programs for both adults and adolescents.

Anderson & Anderson will use its experience with Native American Tribes throughout the United States and Canada to assist Mr. Baker in his efforts to maximize the effectiveness on these improved programs.

Get mad, go to rehab. Celebrity cure-all or just an attempt at damage control?

By:
John Rogers
Canadian Press
Wednesday, February 07, 2007


LOS ANGELES (AP) - It used to be that celebrities sought treatment for things they put into their mouths. Now it is for things that come out of them.

Michael Richards, warmly regarded for his oddball Kramer character on "Seinfeld," began psychiatric counselling to control his anger just days after unleashing a racist tirade against black patrons at a comedy club. More recently, "Grey's Anatomy" star Isaiah Washington said he would seek help after receiving a torrent of negative publicity for using a gay slur.

"With the support of my family and friends, I have begun counselling," Washington announced after admitting, then denying, then admitting once and for all that he used the invective last fall when referring to fellow cast member T.R. Knight, who soon after declared he is gay.

And, of course, the celeb story of last summer was Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant after he was pulled over for drunken driving. As with Richards and Washington, he quickly announced he would seek help through rehab.

So, are celebrities truly seeking to change the way they think? Or are they just doing damage control? It's probably some of both.

University of Southern California sociologist Julie Albright said "it's a form of repentance" for celebrities to publicly admit to bad behaviour and then get help so it doesn't happen again.

Her USC colleague, Bill Boyarsky, does not think most celebrities are really serious about changing their behaviour. And certainly not those who issue a public mea culpa, then disappear for a few weeks to a vaguely defined, unsupervised counselling program.

"Of course it's all bull," said Boyarsky, an adjunct professor at the Annenberg School for Communication and a former Los Angeles Times city editor. Serious rehabilitation requires more than just saying a few public "I'm sorrys" and dropping out of public view for a week or two of counselling, he said.

It is not just Hollywood stars seeking help. Musicians, politicians, athletes and others in the public eye now routinely head off to rehab shortly after some embarrassing incident comes to light.

This week, popular San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom said he was entering a program for alcohol abuse. The announcement came less than a week after Newsom admitted to an affair with his campaign manager's wife.

Rehabilitation can take many forms.

Late last year, the Rev. Ted Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after allegations of sexual misconduct with a man. One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of counselling for Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual," The Denver Post reported Tuesday.

Hard-partying actress Lindsay Lohan recently checked herself into a posh Hollywood treatment facility following a series of paparazzi run-ins and movie-set problems. When the Web site TMZ.com posted photos showing Lohan going in and out of her Hollywood treatment facility, seemingly at will, some questioned her commitment.

Psychologist Jerry Deffenbacher of Colorado State University said it is not necessarily fair to compare the rehabilitation of drunks and drug abusers with those like Richards who fall into what he calls the "angry, snarly, grouchy, pain-in-the-butt" category.

Richards, who is white, may have violated common decency when he unleashed his racist diatribe at black people who told him he was not funny but he did not break any laws. As a result, Richards himself - not a judge - structured his rehab program.

Besides counselling, he appeared on the Rev. Jesse Jackson's nationally syndicated radio program, "Keep Hope Alive," as part of a series of apologies. He also offered to meet with the patrons he offended.

As to whether counselling can really calm someone like him, Deffenbacher said anger management experts have obtained impressive short-term results with just a few outpatient visits.

"The bad news is we are creatures of habit and it's really easy to slip back into old habits over time," he said.

It was a return to bad habits, Gibson said, that brought about his famous rehab moment last summer. The actor-director had begun drinking again after years of sobriety, and he was three sheets to the wind when he was stopped on the Pacific Coast Highway. His response to the police included loudly blaming Jews for "all the wars in the world."

Gibson quickly headed down what he called a "path for healing," apologizing multiple times, announcing that he was getting help for his drinking problem and meeting with Jewish leaders to say he did not really mean what he had said.

To publicist David Brokaw, it is important that celebrities mean what they say when asking the public's forgiveness, then prove it by not engaging in the same stupid behaviour again.

Before taking on a troubled celebrity, Brokaw said, "the first thing that I'd want to know is that they really are interested in not just solving the PR problem, but taking ownership of the personal problem."

-

Some notorious rehab cases:

-Actor Isaiah Washington apologizes and says he will seek counselling after using a gay slur last October in reference to fellow "Grey's Anatomy" actor T.R. Knight.

-Former "Seinfeld" actor Michael Richards is caught on video angrily shouting the N-word at black patrons during a November appearance at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. Richards seeks counselling, apologizes publicly and meets with civil-rights leaders.

-Actor-director Mel Gibson is stopped on the Pacific Coast Highway for suspicion of drunken driving on July 28, 2006, and unleashes an anti-Semitic tirade against a Jewish sheriff's deputy. He apologizes, pleads no contest to drunken driving and says he will seek alcohol counselling and meet with Jewish leaders.

-Lindsay Lohan checks into a private rehab program in January, six months after a studio executive publicly upbraids the 20-year-old actress, saying her "all night heavy partying" is disrupting filming.

-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announces he is entering an alcohol rehabilitation program days after acknowledging he had an affair with his campaign manager's wife.

-The Rev. Ted Haggard resigns as president of the National Association of Evangelicals after allegations of sexual misconduct with a man are made public. A minister who helped oversee three weeks of counselling said Haggard emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual."

-Former U.S. Republican Rep. Mark Foley resigns from Congress last fall and enters alcohol rehab after his sexually explicit computer messages to young congressional interns, known as pages, are made public.

-Actor Robert Downey Jr. had several drug-and alcohol-related run-ins with the law in the 1990s, including one incident in which authorities said he mistook a neighbour's house for his own, broke in and went to sleep on a bed. He was in and out of jail and rehab before eventually completing a program in 2002.

-Oft-troubled musician-actress Courtney Love was sentenced to 180 days at a drug treatment centre after violating probation in 2005.

Youth of America on the Right Track

Feb 7th, 2007
Ben Arntz

Recently, a 9th grade student from Ohio wrote to the Anderson & Anderson office expressing an interest in organizations that "benefit mankind."

Clearly, the youth of America recognizes the importance of developing the skills: 1) to recognize stress and anger, and 2) to manage these emotions constructively.

The kids are alright!

Anger Management vs. Incarceration

February 06, 2007
By Shannon Munofrd

A recent ruling and sentencing by a Long Beach Juvenile Superior Court has a community in outrage.

Nine African-American juveniles were convicted of assualting 3 white women on Halloween 2006. Prosecuters made attempts to label the altercation as a brutal hate crime.

The juveniles remained in custody for approximately 3 months and were recently released on probation. The juveniles were sentenced to 60 days home detention, 250 hours of community service and undergo anger management classes.

The victims of the assult were angered as they anticpated a harsher sentence.

The juvenile court is built on the premise that rehabiltation is favored over punishment when working with youth. The courts ruling substantiates the effectiveness of Anger Management Classes.

Juvenile courts as well as adult courts rely on anger management classes as a rehabiltation tool. Effective anger management education centers, such as Daybreak Counseling Service provide an alternative to long prison terms for violents offenders. Such practices are beneficial to the offenders and cost effective to city goverments, as housing offenders can be a taxing to financially strained counties.

Shannon Munford
Daybreak Counseling Service
http://www.daybreakservices.com/
http://www.daybreakservices.com/blog
--- Shannon Munford is the owner of Daybreak Counseling Service, an anger mangement education center is Los Angeles, California.

Tyra Banks: Poster Child for Positive Anger Management

I have been reflecting upon the Tyra Banks "Fat Attack", and as a provider of anger management services, I must say that I am very proud of how maturely she handled this whole fiasco about her weight gain. So much is said about celebrities who, in fits of rage, allow their anger to get them in serious trouble. Not Tyra Banks. In my opinion, the way she has handled this situation is anger management at its best.

Let me frame Tyra's response to her new found "publicity" as would any well-thinking anger management provider. I will use George Anderson's world renowned anger management model as my framework for arguing that Tyra is the poster child for positive, effective anger management. Anderson suggests that effective anger management must have four components: emotional intelligence, stress management, communication skills and anger management. The components I want to focus on are emotional intelligence and communication skills. Anderson-trained anger management providers argue that anger in a secondary emotion. Therefore, it follows that anger is often driven by other emotions, such as hurt, rejection, humiliation, fear, and many others. Instead of learning to communicate how we really feel, the person with an anger problem lashes out in rage; they get momentary relief, but the problem of painful emotions persist. Their anger will continue to hurt them and others.

What does this have to do with Tyra Banks? Imagine after building your whole career on your body image - and being loved by millions as a fashion model - how shocked she must have been to see such hateful pictures of herself being portrayed as fat pasted all over the internet and in print. Her emotions could have run the gamut from humiliation, disappointment, hurt, embarrassment, fear, anxiety, rejection, uncertainty, shock, disgust. Need I add more? This was the perfect recipe for an anger management fit. She could have said, "How dare they assassinate my character like that?" and, in rage, drawn up legal papers in order to file suit. But instead, Tyra appears to have processed her own emotions, and with maturity, used another of the Anderson model tried-and-tested skills - communication - to share her feelings with the world in a way that would make any anger management practitioner proud.

The way in which Tyra Banks has been portrayed is enough to send anyone on an anger binge, but not Tyra. Tyra showed us that she is emotionally intelligent and that she can communicate in a way that allows her to access and share her true feelings. To Rosie and Donald, I say "three cheers" for Tyra Banks. In my mind, Tyra is a positive poster child for effective anger management. For more discussion on the Anderson and Anderson model and other anger management topics, please visit www.andersonservices.com or www.angerhurts.com. For an Anderson provider anywhere in the country visit www.anger-management-resources.org

--Carlos Todd, LPC, NCC, CAMF
www.angerhurts.com