8 Keys to Eliminating Passive-Aggressiveness

We tend to use the term passive-aggressive quite liberally to describe behavior we find annoying in others. “Oh, he is so passive-aggressive!” Passive-aggressiveness is, in fact, a pattern of expressing negative feelings indirectly rather than openly addressing them. It is a coping mechanism people use when they perceive themselves to be powerless or when they fear that using their power will lead to a bad outcome, such as anger, conflict, or separation.

Surprisingly, though passive-aggressiveness is designed to avoid provoking anger in others, the opposite occurs. Behaviors ranging from the meekly non-assertive to the outright hostile surreptitiously give hidden anger a voice, inciting those on the receiving end to react with frustration, anger, and resentment. With repeated occurrences, relationships erode and often are ultimately destroyed.

As damaging as this pattern is, behaving passive-aggressively doesn’t make a person bad, nor does the anger that lies beneath this behavior. Rarely is passive-aggressiveness a conscious or deliberate choice, but rather it is a complex mechanism that derives from childhood experiences, causing great suffering to those in its grip. We need to have as much empathy for the perpetrators as for the confused and angry partners who are injured (romantic partner, friend, co-worker, boss, employee, parent, adult child, or sibling—any substantial relationship), until the perpetrators understand their problematic behavior and bring an end to its reign over their lives. Awareness of how the behavior is in play is half the battle in making a better choice.

In this web conference, we will explore passive-aggression in detail and look at its sources. I’ll introduce eight keys to helping those with passive-aggressive tendencies find new ways to relate to their anger and to express their needs and feelings more directly. I will also offer reliable strategies for the partners who inadvertently find themselves caught up in a passive-aggressive dance. These methods will help both types of clients to disengage from the cycle and to start taking effective steps to eliminate passive-aggressiveness from their lives.

This web conference is intermediate instructional level and designed to help clinicians:

1. Describe what passive-aggressiveness is, how it is formed, and how the ingrained personality pattern is different from the isolated passive-aggressive behaviors we all sometimes exhibit;
2. Outline common but often misdiagnosed symptoms of a passive-aggressive personality type;
3. Explain the eight keys that make up a holistic approach to transforming the pattern and creating a life of effective assertiveness and greater authenticity and joy;
4. Discuss strategies to “disable the enabler,” helping people who are the partners in the passive-aggressive dance to stop exacerbating the condition and to replace accommodation with a healthy expression of negative feelings.

If you have any questions or concerns about this web conference, or would like more information, please contact us here.

Event Reviews from Members

"The information was detailed and helps to identify characteristics of people with passive aggressive behavior." - Elaine Zachrel, LCPC

Continuing Education (CE) Information

Two CE credits will be provided by GoodTherapy.org for attending this web conference in its entirety.

GoodTherapy.org is also an Approved Education Provider by NAADAC, The Association for Addiction Professionals (provider #135463). Of the eight counselor skill groups ascribed to by NAADAC, this course is classified within counseling services.

GoodTherapy.org is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEPTM) and may offer NBCC-approved clock hours for events that meet NBCC requirements.

GoodTherapy.org is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. GoodTherapy.org maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

GoodTherapy.org, SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0395.

To receive CE credit hours for an archived event, you will need to complete a survey as well as a 12 or 15-question exam, verifying that you listened to or watched the event in its entirety. Archived CE events generally are considered "homestudy" by licensing boards.

Registration Information

Premium and Pro Membership with GoodTherapy includes access to this web conference at no additional cost, as well as other member benefits such as a profile listing in GoodTherapy's Therapist Directory. Not yet a member? Sign up for a Premium or Pro Membership, here.

Just want CE credits? Sign up for a monthly or annual CE Subscription with GoodTherapy to get unlimited access to our CE Program, including this event, other live CE web conferences, and hundreds of hours of homestudy courses.

Mental health professionals who are not members can attend this live web conference for $30.95 or access the homestudy recording for $15.50. Sign up here to purchase this CE course and earn a CE certificate.

If the event is canceled by GoodTherapy, registrants who purchased the event will be notified and the charge for the event will be refunded

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