Some individuals for whom behavior management is a challenge can benefit from the establishment of a focus object. By selecting a calming object, such as a feather or a stuffed animal, these individuals can channel their energy into a productive activity and calm themselves down, effectively avoiding an outburst. Effective focus objects are naturally soothing and generally soft. Additionally, these objects should be small so that the user can easily tote his with him throughout the day, allowing him to turn his attention to it whenever the need arises.
Individuals cannot effectively deal with their anger before they recognize both the frequency with which they get angry and the negative behavior to which their anger can lead. By providing students with a self-monitoring sheet, anger management course teachers can facilitate the gathering of this information. On sheets of this nature, the student must record when he becomes angry as well as what he does as a result of this anger. The teacher can then go over this sheet with the student, calculating anger frequency as well as discussing whether or not the actions that the individual takes when he becomes angry are productive.
Through the completion of a hostility log, anger-prone individuals can explore the internal processes that lead to anger more effectively. This log (for an example, see Resources) asks the individual to record information regarding what triggers cause anger in him and how long this anger lasts. By using these sheets as a way to identify anger triggers, individuals in need of increased anger control can gather more information about their anger practices and prepare to better deal with this difficulty.