The evidence of the need for anger management is convincing
and available twenty -four hours a day on local, national and worldwide news.
No examples are necessary.
As I am writing this post, I am watching msnbc. Naturally,
the discussion is on the violence in Yemen, Belgium, Nigeria along with MLK
events in the U.S.
Since anger is a normal human emotional. Anger is not
considered an illness and rarely the subject of credible research. The Group
For the Advancement of Psychiatry is the organization responsible for
determining and cataloging nervous and mental disorders worldwide. In its’ 2014
Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental & Nervous Disorders (DSM-5),
anger is not listed as a disorder. The American Psychiatric Association defines
anger as a normal human emotion that is a problem when it is too intense,
occurs too frequently, lasts too long, impacts health, destroys work, school
relationships or intimate relationships or leads to person or property directed
aggression or violence.
The most promising intervention for impulse control is
Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the capacity to understand
and manage your own emotions as well as the ability to sense the needs and
emotions of others. The most important contribution of emotional intelligence
is the fact that EI competencies can be learned and enhanced for persons who
are motivated to change.
Lets take a look at the 15 emotional intelligence scales
that are a part of the internationally recognized EQ-I-2.0 Assessment:
Self-Regard
Composite
Self-Regard
Self-Actualization
Emotional
Self-Awareness
Self-Expression
Composite
Emotional
Expression
Assertiveness
Independence
Interpersonal
Composite
Interpersonal
Relationships
Empathy
Social
Responsibility
Decision
Making Composite
Problem
Solving
Reality
Testing
Impulse
Control
Stress
Management Composite
Flexibility
Stress
Tolerance
Optimism
All of these 15 EI scales are
interrelated and changes in any area will impact other areas. In my experience
providing Emotional Intelligence Coaching for “disruptive physicians”, here are
some of the patterns of EQ-I-assessment results:
·
Physician
clients whose scores in emotional self-awareness are in the low range, these
physicians also score low in impulse control, emotional self-expression,
assertiveness, interpersonal relationships, optimism, empathy, problem solving
and flexibility.
·
When
these areas are the focus of six-months of individual emotional intelligence
skill enhancement coaching, these same scores are more likely to move to the
mid or high range of competency.
·
Increases in stress tolerance, reality
testing, self-regard and self-actualization are also likely to occur.
Previous interventions for
anger management have focused on assessing the physiological and psychological
changes that occur when a person is angry and offering relaxation and positive
self-talk to reduce or lower the intensity of the anger. These interventions
have simply not worked.
George Anderson is considered the
anger management guru. www.andersonservices.com
