Anger and Aggression: A New Beginning?

• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Author: John T. Hummer,George L. Lindenfeld,Katherine Billiot
• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12538

ANGER AND AGGRESSION: A NEW BEGINNING?

George L. Lindenfeld, John T. Hummer , and Katherine Billiot

Within our civilian population, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) has become a major health problem. Consequences of anger

and aggression have resulted in incarceration rates which place the United States as the world’s leader with 2.2 million people

in prisons and jails. The current treatment of anger and aggression is based primarily on theories that were developed in the

early 1980s. Advances in neuroscientif‌ic knowledge haveexponentially added to our understanding of the underlying biologi-

cal basis and neuroanatomy of violence and aggression. Through a binaural sound-based non-verbal intervention, we have

found a key to unlock long-term memory (Reconsolidation) that facilitates rapid remediation of anger and violence issues.

Within our Pilot Study f‌indings, a number of our combat-veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) experienced

a positive transformation in their capacity to evidence empathy, intimacy and social engagement as contrasted with their prior

isolative tendencies. We extrapolate how this intervention might positively impact those engaged in Anger Management

(AM) and IPV programs.

Keywords: Aberrant Trauma Frequency; Anger Management; Binaural Beat; Intimate Partner Violence; Memory Recon-

solidation; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; TransformativeIntervention; Violence Remediation.

In this article, we present the RESET Therapy method, and describe our preliminary research

results, which tentatively suggest that it may offer promise in addressing conditions of

dysfunctionally-stored emotional memory. We further speculate regarding possible application as a

therapeutic adjunct to current interventions, specif‌ically designed to reduce Intimate Partner Vio-

lence (IPV). Unfortunately, this circumstance has attained the level of a global health issue, with a

signif‌icant negative impact on the victim’s emotional and physical health. Within this context, the

recent outbreak of Coronavirus has reported that 911 helpline calls for IPV have increased by up to

20% or more during the ongoing epidemic (Pauly & Lurie, 2020).

Currently, there is a scarcity of innovative research related to new therapeutic interventions

for those engaged in IPV (Trabold, McMahon, Alsobrooks, Whitney, & Mittal, 2018). Specif‌i-

cally, the issue of anger and aggression is a concern for those who seek to provide mental

health services to this population. Neuroscientif‌ic inquiry has revealed much about the underly-

ing biological basis and neuroanatomy of violence and aggression. Primary in this exploration

has been the role of functional neuroimagin g studies, which include fMRI, qEEG, etc. Investi-

gation of interregional brain connectivity about violence has focused on the contribution of cor-

tical circuitry involving the amygdala, hippocampus, and frontal brain regions (Rosell &

Siever, 2015).

I. RESET THERAPY

RESET Therapy is based on the hypothesis that traumatic memory circuits have a unique fre-

quency in each individual that differs from his/her normative memory circuitry. The Bio-Acoustical

Utilization Device (BAUD), is the instrument used in RESET Therapy, which produces a selective

binaural beat that is the key to long-term memory alteration (Lawlis, 2006). The BAUD was

Corresponding: glindy123@gmail.com

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 59 No. 1, January 2021 161–170, doi: 10.1111/fcre.12538

© 2021 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts