Anger Management: The Complete Treatment Guidebook for Practitioners

This book aims to serve as a broadly based clinical guide for ameliorating the experience of anger as well as behaviors that result from anger. Although many publications share this goal, Anger Management: The Complete Treatment Guidebook for Practitioners gives the reader a useful toolkit that reaches beyond the scope of previous treatments of anger and its management.

Each of the book's seven sections contains between one and five chapters that range from considerations of basic conceptualizations of anger and anger management principles through the process of change. The book explains how changes in behavior are preceded by increases in awareness and motivation and are followed by maturation of attitude and personal philosophy.

The transitions between sections and chapters are smooth. The clinical material is well rounded, with particularly astute commentary on personality factors, interpersonal dynamics, and the role and management of anger within and outside the client-treater relationship. The book is also generously referenced, facilitating further pursuit of the topic from various viewpoints.

The book's authors, Howard Kassinove, Ph.D., and Raymond Chip Tafrate, Ph.D., exceed expectations with humor and charm, prefacing chapters with a variety of quotations from sources ranging from the Buddha to Fred Allen. With the understanding and enthusiasm of excellent teachers, these authors lead the reader through a labyrinth of relevant and substantive material. I found no real shortcomings in this book and highly recommend it to every treatment professional. Far more than a simple anger management handbook, this work has the depth and readability to expand the reader's appreciation of anger in its many guises.

Dr. Davis is affiliated with Central State Hospital in Petersburg, Virginia.