You are working with Steve, who was referred because of a problem with anger.  He was at risk of losing his job because of his angry verbal outbursts towards coworkers.  He recognizes that he has a problem with what he describes as his “Hair-trigger temper” and he does not want to lose his job.  What kind of feedback would you give him, considering the following factors:

1)      Steve does not seem to have this problem at home with his wife and children.  He can stay calm there.

2)      Steve cannot think of a time when he does not have trouble with his temper.

3)      Steve thinks the problem would be resolved if his coworkers acted differently.

4)      Steve has only recently started to have this problem and is also having problems at home with his temper and does not feel he has any control over it.

You are working with Roberta, who came in for help on her own.  She is a high school teacher who has developed strong feelings of attraction towards one of her older students.  She has not acted on these feelings and recognizes that they are a problem but finds herself obsessively thinking about this student.  Roberta is in a committed ten year relationship and has not discussed this with her partner. What kind of feedback would you give him, considering the following factors:

1)      Roberta thinks the problem will resolve when the student graduates in six months but is afraid she will act on those feelings before then.  She thinks the feelings are directly related to this student, not a problem in general (she has never been attracted to a student before and does not believe there will be another student to whom she is attracted).

2)      Roberta can find exceptions, or times when she is not obsessed with this student.

3)      Roberta cannot find exceptions; she is always thinking about this student.

4)      Roberta doesn’t really want to get over these feelings (she gets something out of them) but she is afraid of where they will lead.