George Anderson is a social
worker, a Board Certified Diplomate in Psychotherapy, a Fellow in the American
Orthopsychiatric Association and, the first global provider of Anger Management, workbooks, videos, DVDs and interactive. Mr. Anderson is the author of
“Gaining Control of Ourselves”, “Controlling Ourselves”, “Parenting in A
Troubled World”, “The California Domestic Violence Intervention Curriculum, and
“Depression, Awareness, Recognition and Intervention”. Currently, he is
the major provider of language and culture specific curricula in Anger
Management and Domestic Violence Intervention. His workbooks are published in
English, Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish and Russian. In addition, Mr.
Anderson served as the technical consultant on the popular Jack Nicholson/Adam
Sandler movie Anger Management. Mr. Anderson received Post
Graduate training in Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy from the Harvard
University School of Medicine (1971). Previously he taught in the
UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute, Pepperdine University, and Simmons College
School of Social Work. Mr. Anderson lives
and works in Brentwood, CA.
Q. Mr.
Anderson when you were in social work school, did you have any idea you would
develop a multi-million dollar anger management niche practice? What were
your original goals? Did you have much help and support?
A. When I first entered
UCLA School of Social Welfare, I actually focused on Community Organization
rather than clinical practice. My goal was to become a Community Organizer. I
later transferred to the Smith College School of Social Work with the goal
of providing treatment for children and adolescents. I wanted to work for a
county, state or federal mental healthcare organization. Acquiring wealth was
never a consideration for me. I was 32- years-old at the time of my
return to Graduate School and I did have support and encouragement from my
family and co-workers. Consistent with social work practice, I developed
a curriculum that focuses on anger, stress, empathy and communication rather
than just anger. Essentially, it looks at the “person in situation” as well as
providing a Pre and Post Test making the curriculum “evidenced based”.
Q. There are
relatively few African American male social workers. Why did you choose
it as your profession?
A. My original goal was to
pursue a PhD in Psychology. I was encouraged by a male Social Work Professor to
pursue the M.S.W. followed by Post Graduate Training in Child and Adolescent
Psychotherapy. This was the best advice that I have ever received regarding
professional education. I have passed along this advice to many others.
Q. Do you
think that being African American limits your business reach in anyway?
A. I honestly believe that
we as African American’s often limit ourselves rather than the other way
around. For me competence is key. My level of confidence in my own training and
experience is such that I suspect that I often appear arrogant or at least
over-confident. I believe that I am respected for my competence. I am
actually treated exceptionally well. My wife Nancy and I became
millionaires as the owners of a Psychiatric Clinic prior to moving into anger
management. Nancy is also a Clinical Social Worker and active N.A.S.W. member.
We provided inpatient and outpatient psychiatric and substance abuse treatment
in twelve western states. Rather than individual clients, we had corporate
clients including AMTRAK, United Air Lines, British Airways, Xerox, California
Department of Banking, Occidental Petroleum and many other major
organizations. We hired Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Clinical Social
Workers to provide treatment for our contracted companies. This model was quite
different from the standard fee for service private practice. Anger
management is a tiny but growing niche and, I am currently the largest provider
and trainer. Anyone who chooses to add anger management to his or her practice
will likely do well.
Q. What
emotional/intellectual traits do you have that made you such a
clinician/entrepreneur? A vision? An innate business
sense?, An ability to see the big picture and deal with the small stuff?
Luck?
A. Prior to Social Work, I
worked for 10 years as a Probation Officer where I specialized working with
adolescents. This is when I discovered that I have an innate talent and deep
interest in working with others. My father owned a small business. I initially
rejected a career in business but learned later that I have a natural sense of
how to prosper in business. My vision was to enjoy my work while
providing a useful service. Income was not my focus. Rather than luck, I have
sought advice from others and this has worked well for me. My pride in social
work has made me comfortable demanding and expecting to be paid well. Last
year, I billed and was paid $15,000 for a four- hour presentation for 50
physicians. Currently, I receive $5,600 for each physician client.
Q. Does
working with angry clients ever get draining? Do you ever get “aha”
moments when the client suddenly gets what you are saying?
A. My anger management
curriculum is very structured. Prior to any contact with the client, he or she
would have already completed a comprehensive emotional intelligence assessment
that includes an assessment of one’s motivation to change. I do not
provide services to persons who are not motivated to change even if mandated by
the courts or Human Resource Managers. It is fair to say that I stack the
deck in my favor. Therefore, my experience is almost always positive.
Q. What’s the toughest
thing about running a major enterprise? The easiest?
A. I am sorry to say this,
but my own colleagues actually fault me for my success. Over the years, I have
been quiet about my success because I prefer to avoid criticism from other
African Americans. My office is located in the Brentwood, area of Los
Angeles which is an affluent area. Most of our clients are Caucasian. I
also live in Brentwood. Therefore, I am still not well known in the African
American community. Some years ago, the California Chapter of N.A.S.W.
was going to cancel a speech by Dr. Dale Masi for lack of funds. My wife and
picked up the tab with the understanding that we did not want to make our gift
public. Another thing that makes running a business difficult is getting and
keeping good professional and non-professional staff.
Q. If you were advising
African American social work students what would be your #1 piece of advice for
them?
A. Go all out to select a
specialty and master the knowledge in that specialty. Post Graduate Training in
necessary for success in private practice. Self-confidence comes with
training experience. It is also necessary to develop skills in using the
Internet for Social Networking and marketing.
In addition, I use my
wealth to support progressive democrats in local, state and national elections.
In addition, I have been able to influence two of my nieces to attend Social
Work School and my son Bryan, will attend Columbia School of Social Work
next fall.
