Grades 6-12. A structured, video-based intervention for groups of six to eight students. Especially beneficial for working with tough-to-reach teens who have emotional and behavioral disorders. The Real Deal is an easy-to-implement, “plug and play” program that engages students in cognitive exercises for learning to recognize and correct thinking errors that lead to anger, active practice of social-behavioral skills through role-playing, and participation in progressive muscle relaxation exercises. The program features three training videos that focus on specific skills for controlling conflict.
- Takin’ It (47 min.) Receiving negative feedback or criticism from someone, usually an authority figure – a parent, teacher, or other adult.
- Givin’ It (38 min.) Expressing negative feedback such as criticism, disappointment, anger, or displeasure.
- Workin’ It Out (33 min.) Listening, identifying problems and possible solutions, suggesting alternatives, and working out a compromise.
Each video features dramatic vignettes of adolescents dealing successfully and unsuccessfully with real-life conflict situations. Also included are scenes of group training sessions in which students discuss and role-play similar situations. Two group leaders are shown working with the students as they practice the anger management skills and relaxation procedures. Student viewers are then asked to discuss and role-play conflict situations from their own lives.
Also included is a self-relaxation audio CD featuring six different scripts, male and female narrators, and a variety of background sounds. In addition to the three videos and the Audio CD, the training package includes a Leader’s Guide, a Quick Reference Guide, and a Set of 24 Skill Cards (eight copies of the card for each of the three skills).
Program Review
“Professional facilitators Lange and Gipson conduct this anger management intervention for small groups of middle and high school students. Teaching a group of teens on screen, they pause for viewers to complete skill cards and perform their own role-playing exercises with local trainers. After a dramatized confrontation, real teens on film discuss their own conflicts and rethink situations through a four-part process, followed by steps for calm communication.”
—Cathi MacRae, Youth Today, (the newspaper on youth work)
