Ultimate Anger Management Course Outline

Lesson 1 – The Latest in Anger Management
1. Purpose of anger management course

2. Definition of anger, anger management and the Anger Scale

3. Bodily cues of anger to watch for

4. Anger as a lens – How anger influences your perception

Action step 1 – What’s the D.I.F. (Duration, Intensity, Frequency) ?

Action step 2 – Mindfulness with MP3 audio file and MP4 video file. 

Lesson 2 – When is anger valid?
1. When is your anger valid?

2. Awareness of how positive emotions impact you

3. Residual anger – Dealing with grudges and anger you just can’t shake

4. Advanced anger management tools

5. Bad is stronger than good  – the power of the negativity bias

6. The 4 types of anger and how they play into anger management

Action step 1 – Anger log

Action step 2 – The critical skill of forgiveness. (Includes all slides as PDF download)

Lesson 3 – Latest Tools for Stress Management
1. Learning to deal with stress is critical for anger management

2. Mindlessness vs. mindfulness

3. Stages of stress

4. External vs. internal sources of stress

5. Primary vs. secondary appraisals – how best to interpret stressful events

Action step 1 – Progressive muscle relaxation (with MP3 MP4 and audio and video files)

Action step 2 – Courage story (Includes all slides as PDF download)

Lesson 4 – Appropriate Assertiveness is Key for Anger Management
1.  Assertiveness - basic and advanced information

2. Assertiveness scale

3. Assertiveness vs. aggressiveness

4. Aggression at work

5. How to deal with difficult social interactions

Action step 1 – Discover your values

Action step 2 – Self-compassion vs. self-esteem.  Includes downloadable MP3 file.

Lesson 5 – Mastering Assertive Conversations to Reduce Anger
1. The importance of assertive conversations

2. What makes up an assertive conversation?

3. How do you approach an assertive conversation?

4. What do most people do in tense conversations?

5. Tools for assertive conversations

6. Ensuring safety at work

7. Ensuring safety at home

Action step 1 – Assertive conversation worksheet 

Action step 2 – Radical acceptance exercise  

Lesson 6 – Emotional Mastery – It’s Not Just About Anger!
1.  The human mind  and how it works

2. Other negative emotions that can trigger anger

3. The emotional mind

4. Two buckets metaphor

5. Function of positive emotions

6. Function of negative emotions

Action step 1 – Pack up your troubles 

Action step 2 – ABCDE method to challenge negative thoughts downloadable PDF. 

Lesson 7 – Emotional Mastery, part 2
1. Recognizing and dealing with fear

2. Anger trigger thoughts

3. Fear trigger thoughts

4. Recognizing and dealing with sadness

Action step 1 – Self-compassion guided meditation downloadable as MP3 and MP4

Action step 2 – Finding positive meaning in past traumas (Post-traumatic growth) downloadable PDF file. 

Lesson 8 – Emotional Mastery, part 3
1.  Other powerful emotional triggers for anger – Embarrassment

2. Shame & guilt

3. Vulnerability

4. Increasing your feeling of worthiness

5. Rethinking failure

Action step 1 – Stereo metaphor – Cultivating curiosity with guided meditation in MP3 and MP4 format

Action step 2 – Your Best Possible Self exercise downloadable PDF.

Lesson 9 – Positive Psychology and Happiness (The fun part!)
1.  Positive psychology basics – the science of happiness

2. The Flourishing Life

3. What are the positive emotions?

4. Difference between happiness and positive emotion

5. The need for gratitude, appreciation, compassion, optimism, courage, and awareness

6. Rewriting your emotional wiring

7. Tools to cultivate more positive emotions

Action step 1 – Meaningful goals 

Action step 2 – Building compassionate image with downloadable PDF. 

Lesson 10 – Positive Psychology and Happiness, Part 2
1. New positive emotions – fiero, schadenfreude, nachos

2. Intentional activities to boost happiness

3. Awareness of little pleasures

4. Tools for more joy & gratitude

5. Serenity

6. Interest and curiosity

7. Creating more hope

8. Inspiration

9. Love

Action step 1 – Personal mission statement 

Action step 2 – Portfolio of positive emotions with downloadable PDF.