Non-bio treatment for criminals - anger management Flashcards
What is anger management therapy? (3 points)
A form of CBT that aims to change the way violent convicts think and therefore how they act
Used to recognise people’s anger and help them control it - may be a cause of their offending behaviour
Involves:
+ Identifying the signs (activating events) that trigger anger
+ Learning techniques to calm down and deal with the situation in a positive way
What are Novaco’s (1997) Three stages of Anger Management?
Cognitive preparation
Skills training/acquisition
Application practice
What is ‘Cognitive preparation’, the first stage of Novaco’s (1997) Three stages of Anger Management? (3 points)
The offender is encouraged to:
+ Reflect on their past behaviours
+ Identify triggers and events that make them angry
By understanding the source of the anger, the patient can learn what places, people, and situations to avoid to stop getting angry and in turn commit crimes
The therapist will identify irrational beliefs that the person has and begin to think about how to challenge them
What is ‘Skills training/acquisition’, the second stage of Novaco’s (1997) Three stages of Anger Management? (3 points)
The therapist works with the patient
to:
+ Show them that their response is irrational
+ Helps them to redefine the situations as non-threatening
The offenders are taught a range of techniques and skills, including:
+ Cognitive training (positive self-talk),
+ Physiological training (breathing)
+ Behavioural training (social skills/assertion training)
They are taught how to control their own emotions, rather than being ruled by them
What is ‘Application practice’, the third stage of Novaco’s (1997) Three stages of Anger Management? (3 points)
Offenders practice their new skills through role-play
The therapist will:
+ Deliberately provoke them to see how they react
+ Positively reinforce successful strategies
A homework diary is kept and reflected on with the therapist in subsequent sessions - details:
+ Times they feel angry
+ How they got angry
+ What they did
+ How successful their anger management was
What are the 2 strengths and 3 weaknesses of anger management as a treatment for criminals?
Strengths:
+ Howells (2005)
+ Ireland (2005)
Weaknesses:
+ Biologically reductionist
+ Doesn’t account for pre-meditated crime
+ Form of social control
How does Howells et al (2005) support anger management as a treatment for criminals? (5 points)
Gave prisoners with a history of violent crimes 10 sessions of anger management derived from Novaco’s framework
The offenders who completed the program showed significantly greater ‘Improvement in Anger Management Knowledge (WAKS)’ than the control group
The WAKS improvements were seen in the 2-month follow-up but not at 6 months after
There was also a positive correlation between ‘Treatment Readiness’ and ‘Progress made’ after course completion
Highlights that anger management programs’ impacts are not necessarily maintained nor useful for offenders who are not motivated to change
How does the effectiveness of psychological therapies challenge Howells et al (2005)? (3 points)
Psychological therapies may be unsuitable for some individuals because anger management requires the patient to discuss openly and honestly their thoughts and feelings with a therapist
Children and some adults do not have the cognitive ability to:
+ Reflect and challenge their beliefs
+ Identify triggers
+ Develop behavioural skills (e.g., assertion training)
Overall, the research is mostly supportive if the patient is:
+ Motivated
+ Competent
+ Self-aware
How does Ireland (2005) support anger management as a treatment for criminals? (4 points)
Participants were randomly allocated either to a waiting list group (control) or to a group receiving 12 sessions of Anger Management therapy following Novaco’s framework)
Self-report data was recorded and a staff behaviour checklist was used (observation):
Improvement in one measure - 92%
Improvement on both self-report and observations - 48%
Most improvements were seen in those with violent offences - AM is more effective than no treatment at all
However:
+ Self-report data might be invalid due to social desirability bias
+ Observation data may be invalid due to researcher bias
How does anger management being biologically reductionist refute it as a treatment for criminals? (4 points)
Anger Management as a standalone treatment is reductionist
Patients with anger problems may have a biologically induced personality or brain injury, therefore they can’t control aggressive impulses
Psychological treatments over-emphasize thoughts and beliefs, minimising the importance of features that the patient inherits
However, a disposition to be impulsive and anti-social doesn’t mean that with continued therapy and effort, progress can’t be made
How does anger management not taking pre-meditated crime into account refute it as a treatment for criminals? (2 points)
Some psychopathic patients could use assertion/social skills to commit further manipulative offences more effectively than before
Puts the effectiveness of AM into question - treatments should reduce criminality, not improve its efficiency
How does anger management possibly being a form of social control refute it as a treatment for criminals? (4 points)
Health Care Professional Council Guidelines (2009) state that:
+ Therapists must maintain fitness to practice
+ Professionals must know the limits of their practice
The success of the treatments depends on the patient’s ability to adopt new forms of thinking and ways of behaving that the therapist deems acceptable
Therefore, anger management is arguably a form of social control involving compliance with the therapist’s way of seeing the world
However, psychological treatments may be less invasive and controlling compared to drug treatments due to the choice to adopt the therapist’s beliefs
