Anger Management and Counselling in Maple Ridge, BC.

Anger can be understood as a secondary emotion. This means that oftentimes, there is another emotion, such as sadness or fear underlying our anger. Anger can feel strong and uncomfortable for many and my hope is that through our work together, clients can learn to regulate their anger so it doesn't feel as consuming in their life. I believe that whatever is under our anger is still important to express and by learning regulation, we can achieve this and ultimately be responsive rather than reactive. We will do this by identifying triggers and building coping strategies as well as connecting with underlying emotions that can bring further awareness and healing.

In anger management, we start with your story: understanding your concerns, what triggers your anger, and how it's impacting you and your loved ones. Often anger affects relationships, work, or your wellbeing in ways that feel out of control. Together we'll build awareness about the patterns and underlying emotions driving your anger. Sometimes it masks hurt, frustration, or feeling unheard. Then we work on practical strategies: recognizing early warning signs, reframing triggering situations, and developing healthier ways to express feelings. Our therapeutic relationship provides the foundation where you bring knowledge of yourself and I bring clinical perspective. You'll learn to respond rather than react, communicate more effectively, and regain control of your emotions.

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” Ambrose Bierce Anger is often an intense emotional response that can negatively affect people’s lives. Many people struggle to manage and express their anger effectively due to often intense and overwhelming feelings. Families, work, friendships and one’s personal well-being can be destroyed unintentionally along the way. Although we cannot control anger provoking situations, we can learn step by step techniques for successfully and efficiently managing them. Through counselling we will work to access the issues provoking anger and outbursts, and develop tools to identify and effectively manage emotional triggers. When needed, we will also work with families and...(view profile to read more)

When anger gets the best of us, we can say and/or do things that we later wish we could change or take back. Anger is an instinctive universal emotion, one in which we all have, but not all expressions of anger have to be hurt. In fact, anger works as a great informant and can motivate us to take action to improve our own lives and the lives of people that we care about.

I believe anger management ultimately comes down to emotional regulation and finding an alternative way to still express yourself, but in a more safe and effective way. The goal is not to get rid of the emotion, but to work with it before it overcomes you. What is underneath the anger? What message are you trying to get across when you feel angry? How was anger expressed to you growing up? What emotions did you feel safe to express growing up? How did you learn to deal with your anger over the years? These are questions that I would explore and build skills from here to help you reach a better understanding of the processes behind the intense anger that you are feeling.

Our anger can be a sentry, a protector and a wise indicator that our boundaries have been transgressed or that something vitally important to us is threatened. It can also be a raging tyrant, a short fuse, a simmering internalisation that off-gases through passive aggression, or a childish tantrum. Becoming intimate with our anger is synonymous with becoming intimidate with our power. In anger therapy, we will work to understand the unique way your anger process happens through somatic awareness, mindfulness and emotional intimacy. We will look at your history with anger, your family lineage, and you will learn tools to channel this fire in ways that support rather than hinder your life.

Many people struggle with anger management. Anger management counselling can help you identify where these feelings are coming from and identify when they are about to happen in order for you to learn to control these strong feelings. Counselling is a great way to tackle these struggles as the therapy is tailored to you and your specific issues while in a confidential, supportive and non-judgemental environment.

Anger often stems from feeling so many emotions all at once. You lose a sense of control. You go from 0 to 100 in a blink of an eye. By getting angry you’re attempting to regain control that’s presumed lost. But instead, you’re full of guilt and shame. Feeling angry and reacting in anger, is simply exhausting. I’ll help you learn how to regain control, in a healthy way.

I offer counselling for anger management to help clients manage difficult situations. The treatment process is rooted in CBT with a focus on identifying triggers and recognizing body sensations that indicate emotional dysregulation. Developing coping skills and strategies to manage anger and associated emotions can improve conflict resolution, communication, and problem solving abilities while showing individuals how to express emotions such as anger in a healthy way.

Anger is often a reaction to something deeper. It can be experienced as a quick event, from nothing to an explosion, but there is something valuable to understand between these two extremes. In working with anger, I focus on this in between by helping to connect the mind to the body’s experience and what we may notice is going on before anger arises. By building an awareness of what is going on, we can build better ways to understand the reasons behind the response and to intervene in more helpful ways.