Kim s Counseling Corner

50 Activities and Games Dealing With Anger

Posted by Kim Peterson on September 16, 2012 ·, 26 Comments

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Over time, I have come across many games and activities that help with anger management and anger awareness. I’,ve found these resources on websites, blogs, and more.

I decided to gather them all in one place and came up with a list of 50 anger management games and activities to share with you today.

If you have any other tools targeting anger, please share with the rest of us by leaving a comment.

Anger Awareness Activities:

4. Angry Tornado. This anger management activity shows a client how anger can build up inside a person. It also shows the client that when they feel an angry tornado building up inside of them they can use coping skills to help defuse the anger.

5. The Tower. With this activity the play therapy client will create a “visual” of their problems being locked away in a tower and come up with solutions to solving these problems. If the play therapy client is not ready to create a solution to the problem the client can still benefit by visualizing the problem locked away in the tower. The play therapy client can become empowered by separating themselves from the problem that is locked away in the tower.

6. Anger Control Problem Solving Cards. Anger control cards define problems experienced in a variety of settings and enable children to develop self-awareness and behavorial skills.

9. Calm Down Sandwiches. The ingredients –, some meat and cheese, two tomato slices and a piece of lettuce –, represent the things that we’,ve talked about trying when the worries start to overwhelm.

11. Power Cards. Power Cards are highly visual and contain short blurbs or lists of information that will help a child in various situations that he may come across.

20. Hidden Heart Group Activity. This is for people to recognize and understand that the anger they keep on the inside affects how they live their lives. It helps people recognize the good things they have in their hearts and to encourage them to share this part of themselves with others.

21. Anger Control Puppets. The Anger Management Puppet Set includes 3 puppets, a CD of recorded script, catchy, original music, and a separate guide. The two scripts and one CD are designed to help counselors, teachers, or parents teach children about how to be a good sport and how to deal with anger. These puppets are suitable for small and large hands are quite durable. They are made for long term use.

23. When Sophie Gets Angry: When Sophie Gets Angry–,Really, Really Angry …,, we played a game with the tree pictured. I gave students examples of things that made them or Sophie angry and had students put a leaf on the tree for their response.

24. Anger Management Cards. Give these cards to students to use throughout the day. Have them place their thumb behind the card and watch for the color change to reveal how calm they can make themselves. Four useful steps to anger control are provided on the back of each card.

27. Fun and Easy-To-Make Relaxation Flip Books. Kids had fun practicing these, and it was inexpensive to reproduce laminated flip books to send home with clients.

Games:

1. Escape From Anger Island. “,Escape form Anger Island™ is designed with the busy counselor in mind, and it can be played in just 15 minutes. There are six skills in total, and one skill is the focus of each 15-minute session. Kids can play multiple times to learn all six skills.

2. Anger Blob Cards. These cards depict different elements of the anger cycle. Using appropriate cards in a variety of activities discussed in the accompanying booklet will facilitate awareness of the causes of anger and help to work out ways to overcome those triggers. For use one-to-one or with small or large groups.

3. Anger Control Dominos. In this new game, players have fun playing dominoes while learning to manage their anger and problem-solve in a thoughtful, assertive, and respectful way.

4. Berenstain Bears Keep Your Cool Card Game. This game is intended to introduce the concept of anger management to children, while encouraging them to talk about things that bother them. The game is played like the familiar children’,s card game of War, but with a peaceful twist.

5. Keep Your Cool Game. The game can be introduced with two included short stories about “,Self-Control Seth”, and “,Bad Attitude Brittany.”, Also included are ideas for reinforcing the concepts presented in the game.

6. Stop That Angry Thought Card Game. Here’,s a deck of cards that teaches children how to manage their anger. Using two internal dialog techniques—Thought Stopping and Self-Talk —kids can stop anger in its tracks. By simply playing cards, they learn to envision a stop sign whenever their anger is triggered and to replace their angry thoughts with more positive responses.

7. Angry Animals. Angry Aardvark, Cranky Crab, Furious Frog, Mad Meerkat, Peeved Pig, and Raging Racoon teach children how to respond to anger in healthy ways. As they move from the Anger Volcano to Tranquility Beach—with occasional visits to the Time-Out Tent—kids answer game card questions about behavior, responsibility, sibling rivalry, conflict, and relationships. Along the way, they learn that anger is a natural feeling, neither good nor bad. It’s the way one expresses anger that matters.

8. Smart and Angry: Smart and Angry is a therapeutic and educational board game designed to teach young people specific skills that will help them look objectively at anger-provoking situations and react in a thoughtful, assertive, and respectful way. It is not the anger that gets kids in trouble, but rather the actions they take when they are angry, that determine whether they can solve the problem or make things worse. In addition, many people misread situations and become angry when it is inappropriate.

12. Positive Ways To Handle Anger Card Game. The Positive Ways to Handle Anger Card Game is played like the classic Old Maid card game. There are 20 sets of matching cards that show positive, safe ways to handle angry feelings. Each game includes playing instructions, information about anger and how to use the game as an educational tool.

17. Anger IQ (Adolescence through Adult). The Anger IQ game educates players about the hazards of irrational thinking associated with anger and gives them practice avoiding them by using a set of principles for dealing with anger. Players will translate this rehearsal of responsible decisions made under conditions of anger to the real world. This combined use of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) and Social Learning Theory is particularly effective.

18. “,I Was So Mad”, Anger Game. This game helps children learn how to stay cool and not blow up when they are angry. The object of the “,I Was So Mad”, Anger Game is to help children learn positive ways to control and regulate themselves when they are angry.

20. Mad Dragon:  An Anger Control Card Game: This fast-paced therapeutic card game helps children control their anger in the moment, practice effective anger management techniques, and understand what anger looks and feels like. Mad Dragon plays like the popular card game Uno.

For more information on my clinical practice, please visit www.kimscounseling.com .

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