Adult Psychotherapy Homework Planner. Arthur E. Jongsma, Jr.
Take time to talk to yourself in calming, reasoned, and constructive sentences that move you toward anger control and away from hurtful expressions of anger.
8 “I” Messages: Speak to the target of your anger, describing your feelings and needs rather than attacking, labeling, or describing the other person's behavior, motivations, or goals. Begin your sentences with “I feel . . .” or “I need . . . .”
9 Other: Describe your own or your counselor's alternative to rage.
APPLICATION TO DAILY LIFE
In the columns that follow, describe the date and time, the situation that prompted the angry response, the destructive response, and the alternative constructive response that might have been used. In the final row, instead of writing a full description of the alternative, you may simply enter the alphabetical indicator of the constructive alternative, A through I.
| Entry 1 | Situation | |
|---|---|---|
| Day/Date | ||
| and Time: | ||
| __________ | ||
| __________ | ||
| Response | ||
| Alternative | ||
| Response | ||
(NOTE: Please make additional copies of the next page for later entries.)
| Entry | Situation | |
|---|---|---|
| (# of entry) | ||
| Day/Date | ||
| and Time: | ||
| __________ | ||
| __________ | Response | |
| Alternative | ||
| Response | ||
| Entry | Situation | |
|---|---|---|
| (# of entry) | ||
| Day/Date | ||
| and Time: | ||
| __________ | ||
| __________ | Response | |
| Alternative | ||
| Response | ||
Therapist's Overview ANGER JOURNAL
GOALS OF THE EXERCISE
1 Develop an awareness of current angry behaviors, clarifying origins of and alternatives to aggressive anger.
2 Keep a daily journal of persons, situations, and other triggers of anger; record thoughts, feelings, and actions taken.
3 Decrease the number, intensity, and duration of angry outbursts while increasing the use of new skills for managing anger.
ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS FOR WHICH THIS EXERCISE MAY BE MOST USEFUL
Antisocial Behavior
Borderline Personality Disorder