Anger management, a lucrative niche market

by: George Anderson

Anger management is increasingly becoming one of the most sought after interventions worldwide. Anderson & Anderson receive requests daily from Human Resource Managers, Organizational Development Specialists, Employee Assistance Professionals as well as University Dean of Students requesting referral resources for their client populations.

As cut backs and downsizing occur in an environment of terrorist fears, employees, faculties and students are responding with fear, anxiety, depression and anger. These feelings often lead to tension in the workplace, home or educational environment. For businesses, the concern over workplace violence, sick day usage, work performance, liability, and productivity has caused a heightened sensitivity of the need to seek solutions. Voluntary and mandatory anger management as well as executive coaching is rapidly becoming the intervention of choice.

In colleges and Universities, there is an increase in tensions between students and faculty, faculty and faculty as well as between students. Traditional counseling and psychotherapy is expensive, time consuming and ineffective. Since anger is not a psychiatric disorder, psychotherapy is inappropriate and has simply not worked. Consequently, major universities are routinely making referrals to Anderson & Anderson providers nationwide.

Another major source of request for training and material is the Criminal Justice system. Probation departments, courts, jails and prisons are using anger management to teach skills in managing aggression and violence. The Canadian Bureau of Prisons has demonstrated in fifteen years of study that incarcerated defendants who are taught how to manage stress and anger using a cognitive behavior approach with client workbook show an 83% success rate. These skills are maintained when defendants are returned to their home communities. This longitudinal study reinforces the effectiveness of anger management.

The California State Board of Corrections has approved the Anderson & Anderson curricula, training and client workbooks for use in jails, prisons as well as parole and probation departments in California. Arizona, Kansas and Nevada have also adopted this curriculum for use in its Corrections Departments.

Be Oltra, Next Generation is the Anderson & Anderson affiliate in Italy. Be Oltra is working to provide Italian language dubbing for the Sony movie, Anger Management. In addition, they are offering anger management to Universities, prisons and businesses in Italy with considerable success.

Anger Management providers who are trained in the Anderson & Anderson model and actually use the client workbooks can reasonably expect to receive referrals. Our internet marketing and domination of the anger management field provides credibility and branding to our providers and affiliates.

Currently, we are negotiating with a major Canadian based ITT Corporation with affiliates in 52 countries. This organization is interested in providing the Anderson & Anderson model of intervention to its client companies worldwide. Naturally this will further enhance the number referrals for all of our providers. With our increasing prominence, it is necessary for us to make certain that providers on our list are actually presenting our model as designed. Beginning, in July, we will begin contacting each provider who has not recently purchased our client workbooks. Providers who are not using our workbooks will be removed from our provider list. This is necessary to protect the credibility of this model.