New and Doable Approaches  to Anger Management

Grossman Family Counseling Center and The Fred Rogers Institute team up on another innovative project

“Use your words,” is the common watchword deployed by educators, school counselors and care givers to help young children manage anger, frustration and disappointment. Many learned this timeless piece of wisdom from Fred Rogers, creator of PBS’ long-running children’s series Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Rogers often used his platform to talk about anger, helping young viewers process their emotions and find healthy outlets for angry feelings.

The Grossman Family Counseling Center is applying principles espoused by Fred Rogers to a new realm: male teenagers. In January, school psychologists and counselors implemented a 12-week curriculum that integrates lessons and resources from the Fred Rogers Institute into the Anger Management Group that meets weekly at The Hive. Senior Associate Headmaster of Human Services and Counseling Ivan Lamourt, Psy.D., ’82 said the initiative is the next iteration of a partnership established in 2023 between St. Benedict’s Prep and The Fred Rogers Institute located at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.

Dr. Lamourt is the Fred Rogers Institute McGinley Fellow, a position that allows the counseling center to access vast resources and materials in the Institute’s archives. Stage Rage: The Fred Rogers Effect was the first iteration of the partnership, which over a two-year period demonstrated that empirically supported therapeutic approaches and Fred Rogers’ empathetic approaches can work with adolescent groups to reduce extreme emotional distress.

Next Chapter in the Partnership

“We proved what we needed to prove with Stage Rage: The Fred Rogers Effect,” said Dr. Lamourt. The goal of the Fred Rogers-Anger Management Group mash up is to test the effectiveness of the 12-week curriculum developed by school psychologist Charlsey Sheib, M.A., and produce a clinical manual or book. The Institute plans to publish the manual that will be widely utilized by school psychologists and counselors throughout the country.

“The Fred Rogers curriculum developed for Stage Rage worked. We believe that same curriculum can be somewhat altered to fit other group therapy applications,” explained Ms. Sheib. “Anger management is a great group to test it on because anger is the emotion that’s visible but there are so many underlying emotions to it. Fred Rogers can really help adolescents identify and become comfortable with being vulnerable with their emotions.”

Creating a Curriculum That Can Be Replicated

Since Anger Management meets for 40-minutes each week with regular and drop-in members, each session incorporates a focused activity or prompt designed for a fluid group. Early in the 12-week session, participants completed “What Mask Do You Wear?” a short exercise to identify the deeper feelings associated with their anger. Students proceeded to address those feelings in subsequent sessions; they examined how a change in behavior can create changes in thought and outlook in Week 6 which was followed by relaxation techniques to reduce internal stress in Week 7. Each session incorporated principles of empathy and kindness championed by Fred Rogers, while instilling a functional language Rogers believed necessary to help young people make sense of their anger.

“A cornerstone of Mr. Roger's work is helping children correctly identify their emotions in a way that they can appropriately respond to them,” said Dr. Lamourt. “At the age of adolescence, the goal is to not only help them recognize their emotions but to assist them in learning how to regulate their feelings in a more positive way. Relationships, along with community, and Mr. Rogers go hand in hand.”

Results and feedback from the 12-week session will inform the development of the clinical manual. Dr. Lamourt said the Grossman Family Counseling Center team is mindful about creating a therapeutic tool that considers the overwhelming reality of too few mental health professionals, serving too many students in underfunded schools.  “The goal is that a school counselor at Central High in Newark or any school will be able to pick up our future book. Maybe they only use one or two lessons and that’s okay if it informs their progress.”

The project receives financial support from the Institute, which Dr. Lamourt pointed out aligns with the organization’s work to advance the legacy of Fred Rogers. “How do you keep Fred’ Rogers’ memory alive,” he asked rhetorically. “If we’re using his lessons from the television show and writings to affect therapy with male teenagers, that’s part of keeping his memory alive.”