A multimodal cognitive-behavioural approach to anger reduction in an occupational sample

The effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioural package approach to anger reduction designed specifically for a non-research setting was investigated in 26 self-referring police officers. Participants who were available for session times were randomly assigned to either a treatment or a wait-list control condition. The treatment condition involved 6 90-minute weekly sessions and included training in relaxation skills, cognitive reappraisal, response disruption and problem solving, and was compared to a wait-list control group. At post-treatment, the treatment group showed reduced scores on a majority of the anger measures compared to the control group. In addition, a decrease in general anxiety in the treatment group was interpreted as a reflection of treatment generalization. Therapeutic gains were maintained at B-week follow-up. The findings demonstrate the viability of anger-reduction programmes outside of the typical research populations employed to date.