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Neither New Hope nor the Education & Assistance Corp., a nonprofit agency that runs the anger-management classes for New York City, has data on whether its programs work. New Hope has just launched an after-care session for graduates of its eight-week course, since the company usually loses touch with them. And the New York agency, whose classes have more students than most but run just six hours, plans to begin collecting recidivism figures this year.
To be sure, mental-health professionals say that anger-management classes can work, that making mature decisions is a skill that can be taught. But to be effective, the courses must involve committed students over a long period. Psychologist Eleanor Cole, an expert on anger management for the American Psychological Association, says her clients typically need about a year to overcome their anger issues.
There is a tiny bit of anecdotal evidence in New York. The city's most famous graduate is Sean ("Puffy") Combs, the deposed impresario of rap. He took the course in Brooklyn that Lou and the others have completed--only Puffy had a limo waiting outside. A few weeks later, he was arrested and charged with gun possession after a nightclub shooting. Combs has denied the charges. Greenfield, the instructor, offers the Combs case as a cautionary tale, pointing out that if Puffy is found guilty this time, he won't slide by with an anger-management course. Adds Greenfield: "I don't know how well it worked on him."