New Fall Initiative
PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE. . .
A Program for Boys ages 9 - 13
Anger - the Difficult Emotion
We all remember times growing up when our emotions seemed bigger than life and we felt powerless to name them, much less to know how to express them appropriately. More often than not, anger is the hardest emotion to get a handle on. If a child does not learn how to appropriately express anger while he is young, he can develop habits that are destructive and hard to break.
Bigger Problem for Boys
While studies have shown no difference in the actual experience of anger by girls and boys, they do show gender differences in the ways that anger is typically expressed. The study, Gender Differences in School Anger by Peter Boman (School of Education, James Cook University) cites past studies that clearly show that boys are more likely to express anger using physical force. Past studies also show that a lower level of adjustment to school increases incidences of more destructive expressions of anger in boys but not in girls.
Potentially Dangerous Consequences
The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that the suicide rates of teenage girls in 2004 was 2.2 per 100,000, but for boys, the suicide rate was a whopping 7.1 per 100,000. These high rates have continued in the last few years. Although there may be many reasons for this high rate, it is believed that an inability to deal with anger and frustration in more positive ways is at least a contributing factor.
A Program to Address the Issues
Thanks to a generous grant from Long Island Lutheran Middle & High School Lutheran Crusader Fund* for 2010, LCC now has a new initiative to help boys who may need help in dealing with anger. Performing Under Pressure will help boys through a combination of grant-supported group sessions and parent education groups which will meet at the same time for six sessions beginning in October, 2010 in Mineola, NY. Financially subsidized individual sessions will also be available for boys needing more help. The goal is to teach boys how to develop coping strategies and still feel good about themselves when experiencing frustration and anger.
And the Issues are. . .
The Nassau County support group for boys, ages 9 through 13, will address coping with social pressures, such as ‘fitting in’, dealing with bullies, competition, how to win or lose with grace, dealing with peer pressure, and incorporating moral values. The group setting will serve to help the boys to bond and give them inner confidence in knowing that they are not alone in struggling with these emotions while helping them discover their inner capabilities to be in control of their own feelings. They will be encouraged to share their experiences and coping strategies.
The Facilitator of the group, Dr. David Doring, will use role play, personal interaction and sports analogies to help the boys come up with new, more positive strategies for dealing with potentially negative emotions.Dr. Doring, LCC Staff Psychotherapist, is a NY State licensed psychologist and a Certified Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Instructor as well as a School Psychologist. He is experienced in performing school assessments and has counseled extensively with children, adolescents and their parents.
Meeting Details
Support group sessions and parent groups will meet at our main site in Mineola, NY beginning in October, 2010. For more information about this program or the grant-supported individual sessions for boys available at any LCC site, click the contact image to send us an email or phone us at the numbers listed.