Treatment for anger, violence is subject of presentations

Peoria, Illinois . . . March 17, 2003 . . . Clinical psychologist Donald Meichenbaum will give a community presentation on April 2 and a workshop for mental health professionals on April 3 at Bradley University.

The community presentation will be given on Wednesday, April 2, at 7 p.m. in Neumiller Lecture Hall in Bradley Hall. The topic will be, "How to Make a Violent Individual: Implications For Treatment and Prevention."

In the presentation, Dr. Meichenbaum will discuss the nature of anger and aggression from childhood to adulthood and will examine factors that contribute to many diverse forms of violence including antisocial youth, domestic violence, and terrorism. He also will present a framework for change and ways to reduce violence. The presentation is free and open to the public.

The workshop for mental health professionals will be presented on Thursday, April 3, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Michel Student Center ballroom. The topic will be, "Treatment of Individuals with Anger-Control Problems and Aggressive Behaviors: A Cognitive-Behavioral Life-Span Perspective." The cost is $125 per person and includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

The workshop will focus on how to treat individuals with aggressive behaviors and related co-morbid disorders, what expert therapists do, and how they apply the core tasks of therapy to children, adolescents, and adults who are aggressive.

Dr. Meichenbaum is a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of Waterloo, Ontario, and the director of the Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and the Treatment of Victims of Violence in Miami, Florida. He is one of the founders of Cognitive Behavior Modification. In a survey reported in American Psychologist, North American clinicians voted him "one of the ten most influential psychotherapists of the century." Dr. Meichenbaum is the author of, "A Clinical Handbook on Treating Individuals with Anger- Control Problems and Aggressive Behaviors," and co-author of "Nurturing Independent Lerners."

The presentation and workshop are sponsored by the Bradley College of Education and Health Sciences, Chi Sigma Iota, Children's Home of Illinois, and Peoria District National Association of Social Workers.

For more information or to register for the workshop, call the Bradley Office of Continuing Education at (309) 677-2820.