Teen G.A.P. School Based Program

Do you know of any teens that have difficulty controlling their anger? Do they explode with anger, rage or unreasonable stubbornness? Are they “mean” to others? Have they alienated friends and become unpleasant to be around? Do you worry that “anger” will jeopardize their future? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Exchange Club CAP Center is here to help.

Why Teen G.A.P? The Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry reports that in a national survey of nearly 6,500 teenagers, almost two-thirds admitted that they had experienced at least one outburst that resulted in violence or property destruction. National statistics on teen violence indicate that aggression takes a severe toll on Americans between the ages of 10 and 24. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that over 700,000 young people in this age group received emergency medical treatment for injuries related to violence in 2011. Anger has also been linked to a higher rate of risk-taking behavior and suicidal ideation among teens. If we can teach our teens how to manage their anger now, they can become more productive citizens later.

The Exchange Club CAP Center offers the only Teen Grab A Pause Program (GAP) in the Birmingham/ Jefferson County area. Our Teen G.A.P Group is an educational program designed to educate and empower youth from ages 13-18 to deal with their anger, to use anger management and problem-solving skills, and to discover the coping skills they need to manage their anger appropriately. The teens in our community today are the parents of tomorrow. If we can help our teens learn to manage their anger today, we are hopeful that we can protect a child of tomorrow from being a victim of abuse at the hands of an angry adult; thus strengthening our mission to prevent child abuse.

A major focus of the Teen G.A.P Group is that anger is a natural emotion and that anger is not the problem; it is how you respond to anger. Anger management skills not only help teens avoid the dangerous consequences of aggression; they can help them avoid substance abuse and lead healthier lives. By controlling strong emotions, teenagers improve their relationships with family, peers, teachers and employers. They can also lower their risk of injuries, altercations and motor vehicle collisions. As they mature, Teens who can deal with anger in healthy ways may avoid the serious health problems associated with an explosive temper, including high blood pressure, heart disease, depression and addiction.

The Exchange Club has been conducting Anger Management Groups for approximately 7 years and our Teen G.A.P Groups for 4 years. We recently piloted our Teen G.A.P Program at Tarrant Middle/ High School in the Spring of 2015. Impressed with the program they have scheduled us well into the 2017-2018 school year. We would like to provide your students with the same opportunity.

Benefits of our program:
1. Our Teen G.A.P Groups are facilitated by a certified Anger Management Specialist.
2. We offer several options in order to bring the program to you. Teen G.A.P is an 8 hour curriculum based   program and can be taught in a number of ways:

a. Teen G.A.P can be offered at your school over a period of 2 days approximately 5 hours each day allowing for a lunch break for the Teens and the facilitators (i.e. Wednesday 9am-2:30pm & the following Wednesday 9am-2:30pm ).

b. Teen G.A.P can be offered at your school for 8 consecutive weeks during student’s study hall period or a time selected by you.

c. Teen G.A.P can be offered as a possible after-school program for 8 or 6 consecutive weeks. For an 8 week  course the group would meet for an hour. For a 6 week course the group would need to meet for 1.5 hours.

d. We are also open to discuss other options.

3. Several assessment tools will be used. Pre and Post test will be administered.
4. Teen G.A.P is an interactive  program.
5. Teens will receive a 61 page workbook.

If you are interested in bringing our Teen G.A.P School Based Program to your school, please contact Krislyn Allison at Kallison@4cap.org for more information.