Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients - A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Manual

Oct 22, 2026

Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients presents a structured cognitive behavioral therapy manual for clinicians working with clients who experience anger alongside substance use and trauma histories. The foreword highlights links between substance abuse, violence, and traumatic life events, noting the limited availability of targeted treatments. It introduces a group anger management treatment design used with many clients and lays out sessions covering conceptual frameworks, anger control plans, aggression cycle change, cognitive restructuring, thought stopping, review, and assertiveness and conflict resolution.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages66

Reading Time2 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Foreword

Introduction

How To Use This Manual

Session 1 Overview of Group Anger Management Treatment

Session 2 Events and Cues: A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Anger

Session 3 Anger Control Plans: Helping Group Members Develop a Plan for Controlling Anger

Session 4 The Aggression Cycle: How To Change the Cycle

Session 5 Cognitive Restructuring: The A-B-C-D Model and Thought Stopping

Session 6 Review Session #1: Reinforcing Learned Concepts

Sessions 7 & 8 Assertiveness Training and the Conflict Resolution Model: Alternatives for Expressing Anger

Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Manual Patrick M. Reilly, Ph.D. Michael S. Shopshire, Ph. D. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Treatment 1 Choke Cherry Road Rockville, MD 20857 Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients Acknowledgments Numerous people contributed to the development of this manual (see appendix) . The document was written by Patrick M. Reilly, Ph. D. , and Michael S. Shopshire, Ph. D. , of the San Francisco Treatment Research Center. Sharon Hall, Ph. D. , was the Treatment Research Center’s Principal Investigator. Disclaimer This document is, in part, a product of research conducted with support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Grant DA 09253, and the Department of Veterans Affairs to the San Francisco VA Medical Center, San Francisco Treatment Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco. The document was produced by Johnson, Bassin & Shaw, Inc. , under Contract No. 270-99-7072 with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) . Karl White, Ed. D. , served as the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Knowledge Application Program (KAP) Project Officer. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CSAT, SAMHSA, or DHHS. Public Domain Notice All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA or CSAT. Citation of the source is appreciated. However, this publication may not be reproduced or distributed for a fee without the specific, written authorization of the Office of Communications, SAMHSA, DHHS. Electronic Access and Copies of Publication This publication can be accessed electronically through the following Internet World Wide Web [connection: www.kap.samhsa.gov. For additional](connection: www.kap.samhsa.gov. For additional) free copies of this document, please call SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 1-800-729-6686 or 1-800-487-4889 (TDD) . Recommended Citation Reilly PM and Shopshire MS. Anger Management for Substance Abuse and Mental Health Clients: A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Manual. DHHS Pub. No. (SMA) 08-4213. Rockville, MD: Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2002, reprinted 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Originating Office Quality Improvement and Workforce Development Branch, Division of Services Improvement, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD 20857. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4213 Printed 2002 Reprinted 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 Foreword Substance use and abuse often coexist with anger and violence. Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, for example, indicated that 40 percent of frequent cocaine users reported engaging in some form of violent behavior. Anger and violence often can have a causal role in the initiation of drug and alcohol use and can also be a consequence associated with substance abuse. Individuals who experience traumatic events, for example, often experience anger and act violently, as well as abuse drugs or alcohol. Clinicians often see how anger and violence and substance use are linked. Many substance abuse and mental health clients are victims of traumatic life events, which, in turn, lead to substance use, anger, and violence. Despite the connection of anger and violence to substance abuse, few treatments have been developed to address anger and violence problems among people who abuse substances. Clinicians have found the d

FAQs

What clinical problems does this manual target?

It targets anger and violence issues among people who abuse substances, especially when anger is linked to traumatic life events and substance use.

What therapy approach does the manual use?

The manual is designed as a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach, focused on group anger management treatment.

How is the treatment delivered?

It is delivered as a group program across multiple sessions, using structured concepts such as anger cues, control plans, and cognitive restructuring strategies.

Oct 22, 2026

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