- A group atmosphere can be great for fostering understanding and empathy in people with anger problems. Empathy is extremely important in controlling anger, especially for those with problems with violence. Listening actively to other people's problems and trying to imagine how other people are feeling are vital for building empathy. Group discussions are a great opportunity to practice and improve this skill. In a group setting, people can either work in pairs or listen and discuss problems as a group to achieve a higher level of empathy and understanding for each other which will then translate to other situations and relationships.
- One of the advantages of group anger management training is the ability to use role-playing as a training technique. Role playing is when two or more people take on fictional roles in order to practice acting appropriately in a difficult situation. Many anger management training programs teach people to respond to a stressful situation rather than simply reacting to anger or stress triggers. People are encouraged to take a period of several seconds, or longer if needed, to think about the appropriate reaction and to calm down. Taking the time to formulate an appropriate response can be the difference between working something out peacefully or having an angry outburst. Role-playing is very useful for teaching this skill and is easy to do in a group, where other members can participate or simply watch and learn.
- An anger management group can use role-playing to learn assertive, rather than aggressive, communication techniques. Communication training involves teaching people how to monitor their own levels of arousal and how to display assertive body language and speech without getting angry, hostile, or violent. A group can work in pairs, acting out anger-provoking situations and practicing communicating effectively without invoking any anger.
