Brief report: Cool down: A procedure for decreasing aggression in adults with traumatic head injury

The application of techniques for reducing verbal and physical aggression can be problematic when the procedures are applied to high functioning adults who have sustained a traumatic head injury. In this investigation, the effect of a ‘cool down’ training procedure on two adult males with brain injuries was examined using the same strategy, which was simultaneously applied to both behaviors for 1 subject and applied only to verbal aggression for a second subject. The cool down training procedure included 2 training sessions per week, plus implementation of a modified training program in the test situation. Results revealed that the cool down training program was effective in reducing both verbal and physical aggression and therefore provides an alternative treatment for adults with head injuries.