DETROIT, MICHIGAN - April 11, 2001 - University Psychiatric Centers (UPC) has launched two new programs to add to its array of growing clinical services.

The Conflict/Anger Management Program - launched April 10 - and the Learning Enhancement Addictions Program (LEAP) - started in late 2000 - were both created by UPC clinician John Vetrano, M.A., C.S.W., L.P.C., as a way to fill needs he saw reflected in the community.

"We seem to have a need for [an anger management group]. We get a number of calls from employee assistance programs, employers, supervisors, and other community resources asking for this service. LEAP began as an intensive outpatient program and was revised to meet current patient needs and the population," Vetrano said.

Vetrano, who has been with UPC for two years, said that the programs stand out among other substance-abuse and conflict management groups in the area because of the use of cognitive behavioral therapy.

"For LEAP, we focus on abstinence-based treatment, but we also use a cognitive behavioral therapy approach and really emphasize that the individual focus on changing their thoughts, feelings and behaviors as part of the lifestyle changing process. In the conflict management group, we also teach a cognitive behavioral approach to understanding feelings of anger, connecting it to thinking and then to behaviors. Actual hands-on skills are taught for individuals to use outside of the group," he said.

UPC is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Wayne State University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences. It has been providing mental health and substance abuse treatment services throughout the Detroit metropolitan area since 1994.

For more information on the Conflict/Anger Management Program, the LEAP Program, or any of UPCs clinical services, please call (888) 362-7792.