Do ‘anger Management’ Courses Work?

You get out of it what you put into it. Anger management teaches you to recognize the signs of anger before you get out of control. It also teaches you to recognize what feeling you are having (hurt, embarrassed etc) before you get to the extreme emotion of anger. It is actually fun if you learn to recognize it because you will become much more in control of yourself instead of having other people in control of you. Trust me, there are people in your life who know exactly how to “control” you through your anger. Don’t let them.

No. They are just a way of employing the unemployable. I know of a tatooed, barely literate woman who does courses while constantly chewing gum!
The courses have an amazing racist slant and catch questions such as, ‘ If you come home from work tired and angry, do you take drink or drugs?’, ‘Do you have friends of another ethnic origin?’
If you are too angry, you will be taken off the course rather than receive the specialist treatment you require!
Many people attending such courses are supplied with valium to help them carry out the childish tasks which make up the programmes. They are doped to the eyeballs.
Much good that does! Another potential addiction problem.
There is no point. It is just a punishment.
The people doing the courses are lucky if they have 3 GCSEs between them.

The only people I know of who seriously know how to control their anger are the Japanese. How do they achieve this in the work place? There is a special room inside which is a dummy with a picture of the boss stuck to it’s head. Workers are encouraged to take hold of a heavy bamboo poll and bash this dummy as much and as hard as they wish. Anger session over. Back to desk. Scream at stupid customer etc.
A very famous English wrestler of the 1960s, Jackie Pallo, once said that he got rid of all of his anger and aggression in the wrestling ring. Outside the ring he was just a softy.
Anger can be controlled by taking up a sport such as boxing. Not only can you lay punches on your opponent, he can do it back. Watch out and learn to duck and weave etc.
Sitting dutifully in a room with other angry people and talking like a parrot, does not help.
It rather reminds me of the joke about the Alcoholic’s Anonymous Club, who gathered together on a Friday afternoon and talked about booze for a couple of hours and then all went down the pub together afterwards to get drunk.

IM NOT SURE BUT IN MA OPINION IT A BUNCH OF BULLCRAP…A PERSON STOPS BEING ANGRY ON THEIR OWN NO ONE CAN JUS STOP ANGER WITH WORDS

If I recall correctly, weren’t the Columbine killers getting anger management counseling?
In my experience, the only time counseling or treatment work is when the person seeks out the help, not when they are forced into it. Otherwise, they do just enough and say just the right stuff to get it over with, but never change.
Talk about a huge industry with a poor success rate!

They work if you have the right attitude. You appear to have the wrong attitude because you think they are a joke. You say you “have to do them”. Why not surrender your ego and take them seriously? What have you got to lose?

i went to them for 12 sessions and to be honest with you,IM BLOODY ANGRY,THEY DIDNT WORK AT ALL,THAT POMPOUS **** PREACHING AT ME FOR HOURS AND HOURS,I WANNA GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND FOR WASTING MY TIME I CAN TELL YOU,ITS A LOAD OF SELF RIGHTEOUS DRIVEL AND IM REALLY ANGRY NOW BECAUSE I WASTED MY TIME ATTENDING….***^%%%$%))(!!!”xx++)**^^^%…
BLODDY++l:&&&
RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
THE BASTA!!RDS
GURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Courses like that try to first convince people that they need help and then teach ways to manage your anger. If you haven’t been convinced that you have a problem you won’t listen to their suggestions, so in your case there probably isn’t a point. Just like AA doesn’t work if you can’t admit you’re an alcoholic, Anger Management can’t help if you refuse to admit your temper is an issue.
But, you’re in that class for a reason – don’t you think it would be more valuable to you in the long run if you *try* this? Wouldn’t it be better to get the message now than to let it get worse and it rock bottom? Just a thought…

no

If you think they are a joke, perhaps you should tell the Judge. He might send you to prison.
‘New meat’ for ‘lifers’, you may not see that as joke.

There as useful as you make them. If you cant be bothered to try and control yor anger then they cant help you.
You have to be willing to wokr with them not against them.

I’m assuming you’re doing A.R.T.? Anger management is only one part of the course you’re doing, the other components being moral reasoning and social skills training. The whole package has been proven to be extremely effective at stopping people from thinking it’s ok to use violence, stopping them from getting into positions where they get wound up and learning how to keep a lid on that anger if the first two things don’t work.
It will only work if you want it to. If you don’t want to change then that’s up to you. The course is your opportunity to learn those skills that’ll help keep you out of trouble in the future.
Tutors know that there are those saying the right thing, its blatantly obvious, those people get completion reports that say they are just as risky at the end of the programme as when they started.
So what if the others are taking the pi$$? Is that a good enough reason for you to not get the most out of it? Instead of going out for a smoke during the break why not stay in and speak to the tutors? Tell them that it isn’t making sense to you yet and they’ll give you a little extra help.
You won’t get another chance. Turn your nose up at this and next time youre pre-sentence report will say that there are no available/appropriate programmes and a custodial sentence is the most appropriate disposal.