Cognitive-Behavioral Conceptualization and Treatment of Anger
Section snippets
A Working Model of Anger
Anger is a natural part of the human experience. The human nervous system is hard-wired for the experience of anger, and most emotion theorists consider anger one of the basic human emotions. Temperament, neurological, hormonal, and other physiological processes certainly contribute to the experience and expression of anger. Nonetheless, anger arises from the converging interaction of (a) one or more triggering events, (b) the person's pre-anger state consisting of both momentary states and
Application to the Case Study
The client, Mr. P (Santanello, 2011), is not a good candidate for change-oriented CBT interventions. In prior therapy, he failed at a relaxation intervention and did not see the relevance of that intervention. He does not conceptualize anger as a personal problem or seek help for it. Motivation for therapy appears low and not self-directed; he is in therapy primarily to reduce pressure from others. However, it would be important to clarify why he is coming for therapy now, because there may be
Acknowledgement
This manuscript was supported, in part, by Grant R49/CCR811509 from the Centers for Disease Control. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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