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© 2000 Jordan Institute
for Families

Vol. 3, No. 2
July 1998

Five Steps of Anger Management

Below is an approach to anger management used by Dr. Kim Masters, of Charter Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. If you work with angry youth, you may want to learn these steps and integrate them into your practice.

  1. Admit that you are angry, to yourself and/or to someone else.

  2. Believe you can control your anger. Tell yourself that you can!

  3. Calm down. Control your emotions. Take some time for yourself, breath deeply, count to ten, cry...do whatever works for you.

  4. Decide how to solve the problem. This step only works once you are calm. Figure out what you need, and what's fair.

  5. Express yourself assertively. Ask for what you need. Speak calmly, without yelling, and people will listen to you.

Source

Masters, K. (1992). The angry child: Paper tiger or sleeping giant? Santa Monica, CA: Psychiatric Hospital Division of National Medical Enterprises, Inc.

© 1998 Jordan Institute for Families