My holistic approach to Anger Management helps to focus on the healthiest aspect of the personality, using more flexible ways of thinking and responding positively to changes.
You will learn the underlying physiological, neurological, & emotional bases of anger; effective techniques for controlling angry outbursts; skills for communicating your feelings and negotiating solutions. You may also be guided through a variety of processes to resolve emotional issues & traumas that may be contributing to your problems with anger.
I like to start with using CBT to determine the thoughts leading up to the anger. We also will work on behaviors to replace the angry behaviors. I can teach assertive communication skills and emotion regulation skills such as breathing. We can also determine if the anger is the surface emotion for other deeper emotions that need to be processed.
I believe that all of our emotions can serve as guideposts to help us navigate the world. When working with anger management issues, I support clients to understand and accept their anger and other emotions. I believe that anger can help motivate us to set boundaries and work for justice in the broader world when it is appropriately expressed to appropriate people.
Emotions are neutral and merely reflect whether our needs are being met or not. It is what we do with our emotions that lead to trouble. Anger is no exception. In therapy we will explore the root of anger and discover other emotions that may be hiding behind angry feelings. You will learn skills to channel the energy in feelings toward improved outcomes.
Anger is not a negative emotion to experience! Anger has a bad reputation because of how it is not managed and how one can act out in violent ways in response to that anger. I help individuals to learn how to manage that anger and surprisingly other emotions associated with that anger so that it does not feel overpowering or overwhelming. We can learn how to create space for anger, validate any secondary emotions associated with it, and eventually manage it without my assistance.