Many of you received recent notice that our webpage has been updated. We hope that you've had a chance to check out some of our new features and the descriptions of all of our services.

We are pleased to announce that all back issues of our newsletters will be posted on our website. Also, our registration page for trainings is easier to use. We will also be adding video clips from our DVDs to our website as well as sample pages from our articles and manuals. Be sure to stop by and visit!

In the near future we will be linking our website to a new discussion forum where we will answer questions about the Emerge model. We will continue discussions that begin during trainings as well as start new ones. If you are interested in getting started at the ground floor, check it out by clicking on the link under our "quick links" to the right.

As a part of this forum, we will also be collecting information on abuser education programs throughout the world, so if you are interested in making your program become a part of a larger community of abuser education programs, it is an excellent opportunity to let others know you're out there!

In 2002, Emerge started providing "anger management" classes for people who were acting in a violent or abusive manner toward others in a non-intimate partner relationship. We did this for a few different reasons:

• Emerge would often receive calls from men looking for anger management, who really needed abuser education. They would most often just hang up once we explained we only provided services for abusers.
• Having this service gave an opportunity to screen general violence out from domestic violence.
• The program allowed us to see women referred to anger management. We were concerned that women being abused would not receive support and counseling from agencies or individuals who were not sensitive to the effects of domestic violence.
• We could develop a program which would use some concepts similar to what we provide in abuser education services.
• By providing this service, we could also consider how such activities might sometimes be appropriate for our abuser groups.

The program is structured as a 14-session group using a workbook with weekly activities that address physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of anger as well as thoughts leading up to and contributing to anger.

The groups have three stages:

1. Discussion on the topic of PREVENTION of harmful behavior when angry
2. Addressing how to CONTAIN anger once it occurs
3. Learning conflict RESOLUTION as well as how to make amends for prior harmful choices

We tend to put the term "anger management" in quotes due to our recognition that anger is an emotion like any other. If it could be "managed" then other emotions would need to have similar courses. There is no such thing as a "happiness management" group. If there were, you'd see a similar pattern where someone would feel happy, but stuff it. After a certain amount of holding back, that person would EXPLODE with happiness, falling down laughing, unable to control their behavior due to this outpouring of happiness.

This does not happen with other emotions, so why do people tend to blame their behavior on anger? Anger is nothing but an emotion. What we look at during sessions at Emerge is that anger is caused and controlled by people's thoughts and beliefs during challenging situations.

If you are interested in learning more about Emerge's anger management program, e-mail or call our office. When we begin our online discussion forum, we will also have an area that will be dedicated to discussing the differences between anger management and abuser education.