top of page

Call Us: 043 33 62041 | 043 33 62042 |     Email Us: enquiries@icps.ie  |      Ballymahon, Co. Longford

​​Duration: 10 Weeks
Class Time: 3 hours/week
Audience: Trainee therapists, counsellors, coaches, educators, social workers, mental-health professionals.

​

Week 1 — Understanding Anger: Foundations & Functions

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand anger as a normal human emotion

  • Differentiate anger, frustration, resentment, and rage

  • Recognize biological, psychological & social drivers of anger

Lecture Topics

  • The purpose of anger: boundaries, protection, unmet needs

  • Myths & misconceptions about anger

  • The anger iceberg: primary and secondary emotions

  • Basic neuroscience of emotional activation

Practical Activities

  • “Anger timeline”: identifying personal triggers

  • Emotional vocabulary expansion

Assignment

  • Reflective journal: “My relationship with anger.”

​

Week 2 — The Anger Cycle & Physiological Responses

Learning Outcomes

  • Map out the anger arousal cycle

  • Identify early warning signs & triggers

  • Understand the brain-body connection in anger responses

Lecture Topics

  • Stress response systems: fight–flight–freeze

  • Physiological cues: tension, heat, adrenaline

  • Escalation vs. de-escalation

  • The role of unprocessed emotions

Practice

  • Body-scan work for early detection

  • Trigger identification through case studies

​

Week 3 — Assessment & Formulation: Working Clinically with Anger

Learning Outcomes

  • Conduct assessments for anger-related issues

  • Understand underlying conditions (trauma, anxiety, shame)

  • Create a structured case formulation

Lecture Topics

  • Assessment frameworks for anger issues

  • Differentiating anger disorders, trauma responses & situational anger

  • Functional analysis of anger patterns

  • Identifying unmet needs beneath anger

Practice

  • Roleplay intake sessions

  • Build a 5-P formulation (Predisposing, Precipitating, Presenting, Perpetuating, Protective)

​

Week 4 — Emotional Regulation Principles & Skills

Learning Outcomes

  • Learn foundational emotion regulation skills

  • Understand the window of tolerance

  • Teach clients strategies for emotional stabilization

Lecture Topics

  • Emotional regulation vs. emotional suppression

  • Window of tolerance and arousal zones

  • Breathwork & somatic regulation

  • Basic grounding and de-escalation strategies

Practice

  • Co-regulation exercises

  • Sensory grounding

  • 4-7-8 and paced breathing

​

Week 5 — Cognitive & Behavioral Approaches to Anger

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand cognitive distortions that fuel anger

  • Learn behavioral replacement techniques

  • Practice cognitive restructuring

Lecture Topics

  • Thought–emotion–behavior cycle

  • Common anger-based distortions (entitlement, personalization, catastrophizing)

  • Behavioural activation & anger interruption

  • Assertiveness vs. aggression

Practice

  • Reframing thoughts in small groups

  • Behavioral rehearsal for assertive communication

Formative Assignment

  • 1,000 Words TBC

​

Week 6 — Working with Rage, Explosive Anger & High-Intensity Emotions

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the roots of rage

  • Recognize dissociation, overwhelm & shutdown during high-intensity anger

  • Use grounding and containment strategies safely

Lecture Topics

  • Rage as a trauma response

  • “Red zone” responses & loss of control

  • Somatic overload & sensory flooding

  • Containment, pacing & stabilization

Practice

  • De-escalation scripts

  • Containment imagery (“safe container,” “cooling wave”)

  • Therapist self-regulation during client rage

​

Week 7 — Shame, Guilt & the Anger Mask

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the relationship between shame and anger

  • Identify shame-based anger cycles

  • Teach clients self-compassion skills

Lecture Topics

  • Shame as a primary driver of anger

  • Defensive vs. protective anger

  • Inner critic work

  • Compassion-focused strategies

Practice

  • Shame-circle mapping

  • Self-compassion exercises

  • Working with inner dialogue

​

Week 8 — Anger in Relationships, Communication & Boundaries

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand relational anger dynamics

  • Teach healthy communication patterns

  • Support clients in boundary-setting

Lecture Topics

  • Conflict patterns: attack–withdraw, blame–defend

  • Communication breakdowns & emotional flooding

  • Healthy vs. unhealthy boundaries

  • Repair attempts & conflict recovery skills

Practice

  • Non-violent communication (NVC) roleplays

  • Boundary-setting exercises

​

Week 9 — Working with Special Populations

Learning Outcomes

  • Adapt anger interventions to varied client groups

  • Understand cultural, developmental & gender differences in anger expression

Lecture Topics

  • Anger in men vs. women vs. adolescents

  • Anger in neurodivergent individuals

  • Cultural norms around anger expression

  • Anger in trauma survivors

  • Anger in couples, families & groups

Practice

  • Scenario-based interventions

  • Group discussion: culturally sensitive approaches

​

Week 10 — Ethics, Professional Practice & Therapist Wellbeing

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand ethical considerations in anger work

  • Practice within boundaries of competence

  • Protect against burnout, compassion fatigue & countertransference

Lecture Topics

  • Safety, de-escalation & ethical care

  • Documentation and professional responsibility

  • Countertransference in anger work

  • Therapist self-regulation & resilience

Practice

  • Supervision-style group discussion

  • Designing a therapist self-care plan

  • Course integration and final Q&A

Summative Assignment

  • 3,000 Word TBC

PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN WORKING WITH ANGER, RAGE & EMOTIONAL REGULATION (LIVE ONLINE)
60 CPD POINTS

Description

bottom of page