the frequency of verbal aggression on a daily basis. The checklist was designed to track only the occurrence of the behavior. It was felt by the therapist that the content of the verbally aggressive message would be too open for subjective interpretation and that no meaningful data would be gained from such documentation. In addition the subject made frequent comments of significant success or failure in avoiding verbal aggression for discussion with the therapist. The weekly discussions were used to evaluate the appropriateness of the procedures used and make any necessary adjustments to the program.ProcedureFor the first two weeks of the program no intervention was applied. Given that the subject self-reported that verbal aggression was a problem it was important to determine if the frequency of the behavior merited intervention. Therefore, the subject documented the daily frequency of verbal aggression. The results of the baseline period revealed a high rate of verbal aggression. (see Appendix B) Given the results of the baseline data as well as the demanding, often stressful, nature of the subjects job, it was mutually agreed that reducing verbal aggression would be the focus of the program.Verbal aggression was defined as cursing, yelling, and screaming at others. The agreed upon goals of the program was to decrease verbal aggression by 75% of baseline for four consecutive weeks. Treatment would consist of identifying and avoiding the antecedent conditions to verbal aggression. Avoidance of the antecedents is considered less restrictive, more proactive, and most effective. During the initial consultation it was determined that the antecedent conditions included, but was not limited to: work stress, time of day, verbal behavior of others (ie. tone of voice, inflection of voice and content of conversation, etc.), and non-verbal behavior of others (ie. facial expression, body posture, eye contact, etc.). In addition, th...
