Reaching Out to Problem Anger: Assessing the Effectiveness of One-Day Cognitive Behavioural Workshops in a Community...

Problem anger is frequently experienced by the general population and is known to cause significant problems for the individual and those around them. Whilst psychological treatments for problem anger are becoming increasingly established, this is still an under-researched area of mental health. We present an evaluation of a series of one-day anger management workshops for the public, targeting problem anger with a cognitive-behavioural approach.

The main aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a brief group-based anger intervention in terms of subjectively reported anger provocation levels and of depression and anxiety.

Workshop participants completed a number of questionnaire measures at baseline before the intervention and at 1 month follow-up. The key questionnaires measured self-reported anger provocation levels (Novaco Anger Scale-Provocation Inventory), depressive symptomatology (PHQ-9) and symptoms of generalized anxiety (GAD-7). Change scores were analysed using repeated measures analyses.

We found a significant reduction in anger provocation among workshop participants at 1 month follow-up (p = .03). Reductions in depression and anxiety were not statistically significant.

We conclude that this brief psychoeducational anger intervention was effective in a small community sample and suggest future work should assess the effectiveness on similar brief interventions using a larger client group and examine outcomes on a broader range of anger measures.