Helping Adolescents Deal with Anger and Conflict

Presenter: Bernardo Fernandez II

As counselors, we know that metal detectors and increased law enforcement presence will not
solve the dilemma schools face considering the increase in the frequency and intensity of
violence.
Helping young people learn to be aware of and manage anger and conflict can help prevent
violent actions. Conflict management groups and groups designed to teach adolescents
appropriate ways to express and deal with their anger are excellent means of prevention, and
these groups can be most useful in the school environment. These groups are aimed at learning
effective ways to deal with anger through interpersonal skills development, problem solving, and
learning adaptive self-talk.
A common complaint we hear is that it is easy to feel isolated on a university campus.
With the emphasis on intellectual development, students often feel that relatively little attention
is paid to their personal development.
For many students, the college experience is stressful not only academically but in their personal
lives as well.
A diversity of special needs on the college campus can be explored through a group experience.
In a group setting students can formulate goals, discuss common concerns, explore factors that
are causing them difficulties in interpersonal relating, and identify the internal blocks impeding
the full utilization of their capabilities.
By dealing with their personal problems, students are able to free themselves of certain
emotional blocks to learning and can become far better students, approaching their studies with
a sense of enthusiasm and commitment.
College and university counseling centers often have limited resources with which to address a
multitude of issues.
Although the value of group work is evident to practitioners in college counseling centers,
Parcover, Dunton, Gehlert, and Mitchell (2006) find it is often difficult to recruit members due to
client reluctance to participating in a group, staff reluctance to promote groups as a treatment
of choice, and ineffective group formats and poor marketing of these groups
A diversity of special needs on the college campus can be explored through a group experience.
In a group setting students can formulate goals, discuss common concerns, explore factors that
are causing them difficulties in interpersonal relating, and identify the internal blocks impeding
the full utilization of their capabilities.