58 The Explosive Childthat there are probably seven or eight ‘triggers’ account-
ing for most of her explosions. The list will help me
know what those are.”
DANNYDanny was a fifth grader whose mother and father had
divorced amicably when Danny was seven and still con-
sidered themselves “co-parents.” Danny and his younger
sister stayed with the father and his fiancée every week-
end. The mother described Danny as very bright, perfec-
tionistic, moody, irritable, and, as fate would have it, very
easily frustrated. The mother was especially concerned
about Danny’s “rage attacks,” which had occurred several
times a week since Danny was a toddler. During such
episodes, he would become verbally abusive and physi-
cally aggressive. The mother was also worried about how
these attacks were affecting Danny’s sister, who, at times,
seemed scared of her older brother and, at other times,
seemed to take some pleasure in provoking him. Danny
had never had a rage attack at school.
He had seen numerous mental health professionals
over the years; like many explosive kids, Danny accumu-
lated a fairly impressive number of psychiatric diagnoses,
including oppositional-defiant disorder, depression, and
bipolar disorder. His family physician had medicated