Anger and Aggression Groups:

Abstract

As a response to increased college campus violence, the counseling staff at Assumption College proposed and implemented a psychoeducational intervention group to help student perpetrators of verbal and/or physical aggression learn nonaggressive ways of dealing with angry feelings and frustrating situations. Since the group is offered to students as an adjunct or alternative-to-discipline, it is distinct from the disciplinary process and is not mandated treatment. The group intervention, entitled Anger and Aggression Management, co-led by a male and female counselor, consists of five ninety-minute gruop sessions incorporating practical coping strategies as an alternative to aggressive behaviors. Preliminary results indicate a change in the campus climate towards less peer acceptance of aggression as a means of dealing with angry feelings.