Jeffrey Bernstein – Child and Adolescent Anger Management Certification Course: Fast Acting Strategies to Prevent and Overcome Oppositional and Aggressive Behavior

Outline

Neuroscience-based Nuances of Anger in Children and Teens

• How anger is experienced and processed differently in the child and teen brain
• The fight-flight-freeze response and manifestation of anger in children and teens
• The neuroscience of the body-mind cycle of anger
• The threat response and perceived lack of emotional safety

Anger’s Connection to Learning Differences, ADHD, ODD, Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and More

• The obvious & nonobvious connection between learning differences, ADHD, and ODD
• The mechanisms of anxiety underlying anger
• The link of depression to anger
• Role of trauma in suppressed and expressed anger OCD and anger
• Addictions and anger

How to Create Emotional Safety to Engage Children and Teens About Sensitive Subjects

• Anger, fear, guilt, resentment and shame
• Successful anger management and awareness of underlying thoughts and emotions
• Behaviors at school, peer struggles, body image concerns, and family stressors sparked by underlying negative thoughts and emotions
• Why empathy uncovers and diffuses the underlying thoughts and feelings that drive anger

Myths About Anger and The Mistakes That Come with Them

• The “measure up myth” and other societal pressures that drive underlying negative emotions
• Why and how oppositional children and teens want to be equal to adults
• How perceived violations of fairness become embedded rigid distortions
• How positive emotions are incompatible with forming and holding on to anger
• Self-reflection activity: What have you seen in angry children and teens?

Anger Triggers: Teaching Children and Teens to Tune into What Sets Them Off

• Throwing spaghetti on non-talk kids’ refrigerators and seeing what sticks
• Drawing out the short fuse and long fuse
• Cooking up and digesting an anger triggers pizza
• How to use anger logs and thermometers with children
• Deescalate anger in specific circumstances
• Transitioning off video games
• Homework
• Siblings
• Hearing “no” from parents

Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques to Let Go of Anger in the Moment

• Reset anger with belly breathing
• Guided imagery to put children and teens in charge of anger
• Squeezing the lemon and other progressive muscle relaxation techniques to maintain control
• Body scan strategies to promote mindful awareness
• Mindful walking with “silly strides” for younger children

Challenge the Dysfunctional Thoughts Behind Anger with Cognitive Approaches

• CBT exercises to help the thinking brain identify, challenge, and reduce negative self-talk
• Putting cognitive restructuring into easy-to-grasp and effective language
• “Talk” and “non-talk” kids – how to get each type to buy into sharing angry thoughts
• Finding acceptance and letting go with “whatever”
• Distraction, the pink giraffe, and other disengagement strategies

Build Optimism, Gratitude, Grit and More with Positive Psychology Approaches to Managing Anger

• Seeing strengths
• Opening up to optimism
• Grabbing some gratitude
• Finding flow
• Gathering hidden grit and gaining it for the future
• Creating an anger success catch book

Assertiveness, Communication and Conflict Resolution Skill Building: Empowering Children and Teens to Problem-Solve Anger

• Assertiveness training techniques
• Communicate anger effectively with “I” statements
• Putting “whatever” to work
• Overcoming the “I Don’t Knows” that silently fuel anger
• Mindful listening, speaking, and messaging
• Social media influence inoculation strategies
• Defuse anger with humor and other conflict resolution strategies

Coaching Parents and Caregivers to Avoid Being Adversarial by Becoming Collaborative

• Looking out for negative labels
• The Pace Car, Chunky Soup, and other metaphors that help teachers and parents
• Why understanding struggling children and teens is just as important as respecting and loving them
• The “Struggle With” Vs “Choose Not” dilemma regarding impulse control
• Self-reflection exercise for participants to use with parents

Strategies for Online Anger Counseling and Educating

• Belly breathing in the house
• Expanding counseling role to teacher, puppeteer, entertainer, and comic
• Using therapeutic card decks and online whiteboards for collaborative drawing and writing
• Balancing parents and siblings popping into view
• Apps, videos, and workbooks to promote home-based anger management

Case Conceptualization and Treatment Planning

• Case study reviews
• Establish short-term and long-term goals to measure success
• Strategies for working with groups
• Self-harm and other harm considerations
• Risks and limitations of anger management approaches for children and teens