Anger Management Group Activities

Anger management group activities help people with anger problems replace aggressive actions with assertive ways to cope. Group therapy sessions led by a social worker or licensed therapist usually lead anger management groups.

It can be intimidating if you are required to participate in an anger management program. Knowing what kind of anger management activities take place at group sessions may help ease some of the anxiety of the unknown. Anger management group leaders often feel a group can benefit from new activities to shake things up or invite increased participation from the group. These activities are useful for both participants and leaders.

Establishing Ground Rules and Making Introductions

Most therapy groups abide by a set of basic rules referred to as ground rules. These are often repeated at the beginning of every session, and are sometimes posted during meetings as a visual reminder. New group members may even be asked to read and sign a copy of the rules. These rules may be things such as maintaining confidentiality of the identity and experiences of other group members and principles for acceptable conduct during group sessions.

Group members may also introduce themselves by first name, and perform what’s called a “check-in.” Participants check in with the group by sharing their experiences with anger in the previous week, and share how they did or did not use the coping skills they’ve been learning in the group.

Anger Management Group Activities

The following are some common anger management group activities.

• Writing exercises

Some anger management groups have a specific curriculum that they follow. Each session focuses on a different aspect of anger. To help participants absorb information during group sessions and in required reading materials, the leader may encourage participants to do writing exercises. These may range from lengthy questionnaires about anger-related behavior and anger issues that are given to group members at the first group sessions to reflective writing assignments that require the participant to exercise a degree of self-awareness in order to answer.

These exercises may help group participants identify the situations that trigger their anger, what thoughts they have that contribute most to their anger, and non-destructive ways to control anger.

• Role-playing

Role-playing exercises involve two or more participants recreating a situation in order to find healthy ways to handle it. One group member may pretend to cut off another in a car, or pretend to push another participant in line. The group leader and other members then help the participating members work through the situation and handle their frustration in an assertive way.

This is especially useful for those whose anger is triggered by personal interactions with others, such as talking with a spouse or disciplining a child. The group participant can practice his or her newly-acquired anger management skills first in a controlled setting, and become comfortable using assertive behaviors within the safety of the group first.

• Games

Although some group participants may view it as childish, games can give an anger management group the opportunity to create a potentially stressful situation. Any game, no matter how simple, can create feelings of competition. This is especially true when meaningful prizes are involved. A gift certificate for a popular restaurant or movie gift certificates would be a good incentive for participants to get involved in the game.

Some commercially available games that can create both a competitive situation and some frustration are Sorry!, Jenga, or Operation. These games are challenging, and participants can suddenly find themselves in losing positions even if they’ve done well during the whole game. After the game is over, or during the game if things become too heated, the group leader or leaders can discuss and reflect on the game and the feelings it produced. Many people become angry while in situations that are not in their control and games are a great way to help group members learn how to cope with this type of situation.

Benefits of an Anger Management Group

Even those who are required to complete anger management classes by their employer or the courts are usually able to learn some useful skills from the group sessions. All groups focus on helping their members become aware of the triggers for their anger, the warning signs that they are becoming too angry, and how to keep that anger from becoming destructive to the angry person or those around him or her. Assertiveness skills are taught to replace the aggressiveness of the angry person, and these help group participants deal with stressful situations in a healthy and positive way.

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