Anger Treatment for People with Developmental Disabilities : A Theory, Evidence and Manual Based Approach

Anger and aggression are prevalent problems among people with developmental disabilities and constitute primary reasons for them to be admitted and re-admitted to institutions. They are also a key reason for the prescribing of behaviour control and anti-psychotic medication to this client group. Stimulated by growing research in this area, mental health and criminal justice professionals have begun to see the benefits of anger assessment and cognitive-behavioural anger treatment for people with developmental disabilities.

There is no prior text to guide anger treatment provision to this client group.  This text presents a manual-guided cognitive-behavioural anger treatment protocol, grounded in a solid theoretical framework and empirical evidence for its efficacy in clinical practice.  The assessment and treatment approach is designed to engage and motivate patients with recurrent and deep-rooted anger problems and their manifestation in serious aggressive behaviour.  Accompanying the treatment protocol are a number of worksheets, handouts, and exercise sheets for clinicians and clients that can be accessed online.

John L. Taylor is Professor of Development Disability Psychology, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne; Head of Psychological Therapies and Research and Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust, Northumberland, UK. Since qualifying as a clinical psychologist from Edinburgh University, John Taylor has worked mainly in developmental disability and forensic services in community, medium secure, special hospital and prison settings in the UK. In 1999 he received a Department of Health Sir Kenneth Calman Bursary Award to develop his research interests in the area of anger treatment. In recent years he has published work related to his clinical research interests in assessment and treatment of offenders with developmental disabilities in a range of research and professional journals. He is currently Chair of the British Psychological Society’s Faculty for Forensic Clinical Psychology and the Learning Disability Steering Group of the NHS National Forensic Mental Health Research and Development Programme.

Raymond W. Novaco is Professor of Psychology and Social Behavior, University of California, Irvine, USA. Cognitive-behavioural therapy for anger was pioneered by Ray Novaco, for which he received the Best Contribution Award in 1978 from the International Society for Research on Aggression. Funded by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mental Health and the Law in 1991-1993, he developed new procedures for anger assessment for use with mentally disordered persons, which are here being extended to the developmental disabilities domain. He received the Distinguished Contributions to Psychology Award from the California Psychological Association in 2000. In addition to being programme consultant for the Northgate Hospital anger project, he serves as Research Consultant to The State Hospital in Scotland and for many years served on the Advisory Board of Atascadero State Hospital in California.