Understanding Anger Disorders

by DiGiuseppe, Raymond; Tafrate, Raymond Chip

• ISBN13: 9780195170795
• ISBN10: 0195170792
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-07
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Since classical times, philosophers and physicians have identified anger as a human frailty that can lead to violence and human suffering, but with the development of a modern science of abnormal psychology and mental disorders, it has been written off as merely an emotional symptom and excluded from most accepted systems of psychiatric diagnosis. Yet despite the lack of scientific recognition, anger-related violence is often in the news, and courts are increasingly mandating anger management treatment. It is time for a fresh scientific examination of one of the most fundamental human emotions and what happens when it becomes pathological, and this thorough, persuasive book offers precisely such a probing analysis. Using both clinical data and a variety of case studies, esteemed anger researchers Raymond A. DiGiuseppe and Raymond Chip Tafrate argue for a new diagnostic classification, Anger Regulation and Expression Disorder, that will help bring about clinical improvements and increased scientific understanding of anger. After situating anger in both historical and emotional contexts, they report research that supports the existence of several subtypes of the disorder and review treatment outcome studies and new interventions to improve treatment. The first book that fully explores anger as a clinical phenomenon and provides a reliable set of assessment criteria, it represents a major step toward establishing the clear definitions and scientific basis necessary for assessing, diagnosing, and treating anger disorders.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xi
Part I Theory and Research
1 Anger: The Forgotten Emotion	3	(15)
2 Ubiquitous and Intangible: The Problem of Defining Anger	18	(14)
3 How Anger Differs From Other Emotions	32	(27)
Part II Anger and Aggression
4 Theories of Anger and Aggression	59	(18)
5 Anger as a Mediator of Violence	77	(15)
6 A Proposed Model of the Relationship Between Anger and Aggression	92	(25)
Part III Cognitive and Behavioral Models of Anger
7 Behavioral Models of Anger	117	(16)
8 Cognitive Models of Anger	133	(30)
Part IV Anger and Comorbidity
9 Anger and Axis I Pathology	163	(22)
10 Anger and Depression	185	(17)
11 Anger and Personality Disorders	202	(27)
Part V Diagnosis of Anger Disorders
12 Objections to Formalizing Anger Disorders	229	(10)
13 Functional and Dysfunctional Anger	239	(16)
14 Proposed Criteria for Anger Disorders	255	(19)
15 Subtypes of Disturbed Anger	274	(39)
Part VI Intervention
16 A Review of the Anger Treatment-Outcome Literature: What We Know Works	313	(9)
17 Roadblocks to Successful Treatment of Angry Clients	322	(13)
18 Preparing Clients for Anger Treatment	335	(21)
19 A Comprehensive Treatment Model for Anger Disorders	356	(9)
20 Epilogue	365	(4)
References	369	(37)
Index	406