Book excerpt: Anger Management Essentials is a workbook designed to help people manage aggressive behavior. Though the term "anger" management is used in our culture, anger is a normal, healthy feeling. It is aggressive behavior that may result in physical and emotional harm. There is a wide misconception that anger management is for people who destroy belongings and punch holes in walls in fits of rage. What may come as a surprise is that anger management is invaluable to most of us. When we have moments of frustration and irritability: anger management allows us to communicate our feelings assertively, giving us the best chance at getting our needs met. Additionally, anger management teaches active listening skills, essential to healthy personal and professional relationships. The author, Anita Avedian, is an authorized trainer and supervisor with the National Anger Management Association, as well as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She wrote Anger Management Essentials with an eye on designing a program that could be customized for every reader, focusing on the individual's primary areas of concern. Though the material in this book is most effective when facilitated by a certified anger management counselor, most of the lessons are self-explanatory and can be used as self-help exercises. Many anger management programs are designed to last 26 weeks, but Essentials provides a generous number of lessons appropriate for use in a 52-week course - the most severe anger management court order. Thus, the program can be customized to use for as short as 8-10 weeks, or as long as one year. Key areas of focus include: Stress Management, as the higher the stress level, the more likely one is to become angry; Emotional Intelligence, due to the high correlation between low emotional intelligence and a high number of anger episodes; as well as Communication and Listening Skills, Developing Healthy Relationships and Boundaries, Letting Go and Forgiveness. Anger Management Essentials is for anyone interested in managing aggressive behavior and living a more peaceful, fulfilling life. Anger Management Essentials has a teen version which has also been translated into Spanish. Anger Management Essentials for adults has been translated into Spanish, Armenian, and Hebrew. After implementing the original program for five years, Anita Avedian and her team worked relentlessly to revise the original book to encompass additional material and revise most of the lesson plans in order to better benefit the reader.