Free printable understanding anger triggers worksheet
Improve your client’s anger management by understanding anger triggers
Understanding anger triggers
Clients might be able to identify instances or scenarios that make them angry, but true change occurs only after they have taken the time to understand their anger triggers. Connecting a trigger to an underlying issue or problem is the next step in the journey to improved anger management.
How to understand the root causes of anger triggers
Anger commonly manifests as a cover up for other emotions. Life experiences that at one time resulted in emotions such as embarrassment, insecurity or fear often result in anger when similar experiences occur later in life. Below is an example of a prompt that can lead to greater understanding of anger triggers:
| Incident | Example Prompt For Understanding The Root Cause | Example Responses | Emotions Uncovered |
| The client insulted their professor when she corrected him in front of the class. | Who and what did you think about immediately after the professor corrected you? | My classmates thinking I was stupid | Insecurity |
| How much I didn’t understand about the subject. | Fear | ||
| How many people in the class laughed at me. | Embarrassment |
Understanding anger triggers to pick the right coping strategies
Once you are able to help your clients understand the emotions underlying their anger triggers, they can learn to apply the correct coping strategies. If the root cause of an outburst is fear, but coping skills for embarrassment are applied, the client will have difficulty understanding why their coping strategies don’t make them feel more calm. Encourage clients to complete the worksheet below to understand their anger triggers, and gradually learn to manage their anger.
Scan and save the completed worksheet to your computer then upload the file to the client’s documents in Ensora Mental Health (formerly TheraNest) for safe keeping. Your clients can also send their therapist completed forms as an attachment via Secure Messaging in the Client Portal, where the therapist can then download the form and upload to the client’s file.
Related resources
Encouraging clients to get involved in their anger management therapy is a great way to ensure they are as invested in their positive outcomes as much as you are. Our anger management resource center is full of free, downloadable worksheets, and activities designed to help your clients take charge of their anger management journey. Each worksheet, template, and activity is easy to print or download and email to save both you and your clients time.
