Anger Treatment for People with Developmental Disabilities - by John L Taylor & Raymond W Novaco (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

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.

From the Back Cover

'It represents the state of the art in anger treatment for individuals with developmental disabilities and I would expect to see a significant effect from this text on the development of treatment services.' Bill Lindsay, The State Hospital, Carstairs; NHS Tayside and University of Abertay, Dundee

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, which can be accessed online.

This is a must-have resource for practitioners and clinicians in the developmental disability and forensic fields (psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists and psychiatrists), across a range of settings, such as NHS, independent health provider, social care and criminal justice sectors. It will also be of interest to academics and trainees in the developmental disability and forensic fields.

Review Quotes

"...a valuable addition..." (PsychCRITIQUES, April 05)

" ... there are a great many stimulating ideas in the book for psychologists who work with non-disabled clients with anger problems ..." (Clinical Psychology Forum, March 2006)

"...comprehensive, fascinating and extremely helpful" (The British Journal of Forensic Practice, March 2006)

"The book is a valuable ready-made resource for practitioners working with people anger problems generally, as well as clinicians working with people with developmental disabilities and is highly recommended." (Forensic Update, May 2006)

About the Author

John L. Taylor is Professor of Developmental 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 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-behavioral therapy for anger was pioneered by Ray Novato, 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 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 disability 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 Scotland and for many years served on the Advisory Board of Atascadero State Hospital In California.