College dean develops anger management classes to help kids cope
While anger management may seem like a relatively niche field, the skills that these programs teach are invaluable at any stage in life. And, in an effort to prevent the sort of violent outbursts that lead to irreversible tragedies, administrators at at middle school in Ohio have decided that even 11- and 12-year-olds can benefit from anger management classes.
The woman behind this student-focused program, which is called Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment (COPE), is Bernadette Melnyk, chief wellness officer at Ohio State University and dean of its College of Nursing. According to PBS, her anger management course was put into practice earlier this year at Huntington Middle School.
Terri Eldridge, a health teacher at the school, incorporates COPE coursework into her regular classes. The source reports that they focus largely on helping children identify and handle negative emotions, in part to help prevent them from developing into more substantial psychological problems like anxiety and depression.
Huntington Middle School Principal Alice Kellough gave the official OK to introduce COPE to the classroom. She referenced the fact that many students clearly struggled with difficult emotions, but the school had not previously had the tools to help them.
“They come to us and they just don’t know how to think in a healthy way about themselves and about others, about their relationships. It’s a recipe for disaster,” she told PBS.
Anxiety and depression can take a heavy toll on an individual, and make it all the more difficult to respond to problematic situations in a calm, rational and effective way. So, by helping kids deal with the stressors that can lead to these negative sentiments, the coordinators of COPE expressed the hope that they would be less prone to violent or aggressive acts later on.
If you have difficulty handling your emotions, it can affect all aspects of your private and professional life. But, with online anger management courses like the ones we offer at Conflict Coaching & Consulting, you can learn new techniques to navigate contentious scenarios without turning to aggression. We also provide teen anger management classes for young adults who need help with this issue.
Dr. Carlos Todd PhD LCMHC specializes in anger management, family conflict resolution, marital and premarital conflict resolution. His extensive knowledge in the field of anger management may enable you to use his tested methods to deal with your anger issues.
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