CRITICAL ISSUES IN THE TREATMENT OF ANGER

This article proposes that anger has received less attention in the behavior therapy literature than other emotional disorders. Little research exists to guide clinical practice on the effectiveness of interventions to treat anger. Suggestions are made for treating angry clients. These suggestions are presented as researchable hypotheses. It is proposed that angry clients often fail to establish a therapeutic alliance with their therapists. Failure to agree on the goal of changing their anger is the component of the alliance which is most problematic. Strategies to develop the therapeutic alliance with angry clients are proposed. Script theories of emotions are presented as an important tool for understanding clients' reluctance to change and in establishing the alliance with clients of different cultural backgrounds. The creation of new scripts that are acceptable to the client's cultural group is presented as one strategy to establish a therapeutic alliance. It is suggested that the use of exposure based treatment may be a promising treatment for anger.