Last week we briefly talked about the difference between ‘managing anger’ and ‘understanding anger but managing aggression’.
One activity you can use to help young people understand how they can make better choices when it comes to aggression management is the Vicious Circle.
Vicious Circle Activity
- Give each young person a large piece of paper and a marker
- Have them draw (or write words if they’re really uncomfortable drawing) a time where they were angry and what happened
- Have them draw the images in a circle on the paper, going through the steps of what happened (See Figure 1 from the downloadable example below, but remember to have them draw – it’s been written for ease of use)
- Once they’ve drawn their pictures, go over each story with them. Allow them to share what happened
- Then ask them to think about each stage. Have them try to identify where they could have stepped out of the cycle and changed how they reacted. Explore what the alternative outcomes might have been
You can download a free copy of what the Vicious Circle looks like here. This is a very basic example, but it really helps young people reflect when it’s their story and their experience.
The red outlined examples are the Vicious Circle, while the blue arrows and outline examples are how they might reflect on changes they could make to manage their aggression and step out of the circle.
Question: What aggression management technique do you use to help young people learn to manage their aggression? Share your ideas and best practice in the comments below.
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