Anger Management and Counselling in Mill Bay, BC.

Anger is a natural human response and perhaps the most misunderstood emotion. It can both serve and protect us - but left unchecked, it can lead to serious problems – damaging relationships, jeopardizing careers, and leaving us feeling out of control. Many of us were never taught what to do with anger, aside from bottling it up or acting it out. But there is another way. In my work, I help people to develop insight into the roots of their relationship with anger, and learn skills to authentically express it. Anger is often compared with fire, and as the saying goes, ‘fire is a good servant but a bad master.’ Together, we can work toward getting the fire under control.

I am honoured that you are interested in my services and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been described as slightly non-conventional in the counselling world, which suits me perfectly, and also tends to suit youth who are trying to stand up to the force of the problems in their life. I am very comfortable working with this population, and I feel fortunate that I can connect with teens the way I do, conventionally or in a way that makes sense to them.

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 will guide you to make that first step and help you to move beyond your current experience of anger using relevant therapeutic insights and my own experience. If your anger is hurting those close to you or gets you in trouble often, you have to get ahead of your anger. You need to identify what makes you angry, your challenging situations, your thinking and feeling before you explode, and to create a plan to respond appropriately. Managing your anger is an important first step, moving beyond your anger to forge positive outcomes will greatly improve your life. It may take time and perseverance, but fundamental change is possible.

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.

Anger is ultimately a healthy emotion that can be an adaptive and appropriate response to our circumstances. It can let us know what we need and be a helpful guide in taking positive and proactive actions. Yet, in some cases it can control and motivate us to take actions we regret or that lead to negative consequences. Developing an empowering relationship with anger is a skill that can be learned. In order to do so, our individual contexts need to be considered—our personalities, values, life histories, and underlying psychologies. There is no one size fits all approach. Anger can fulfill different functions in each of our lives.

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.

Anger is an emotion that can be necessary to protect yourself in life threatening situations or when being treated in hurtful and harmful ways. Yet other times, underlying emotions or misunderstandings may be causing your anger. Your emotions are natural and normal, but you may be acting on them or acting out because of them. In these times, anger can be destructive and alienate you from significant people and life opportunities that you desire. Learning about anger, developing strategies to manage anger and exploring the other emotions and causes of your anger, are ways that we can work together to manage anger.

Anger is a natural emotion, but when it feels overwhelming, it can impact your well-being and relationships. In therapy, we’ll approach anger with curiosity and understanding, exploring its roots and what it’s trying to communicate. Together, we’ll build practical tools and skills to help you manage your responses, express yourself effectively, and transform anger into a source of strength and healthy connection.

The more you feel out of control in your life, the more likely you are to feel angry. Unless you can identify and share your sense of powerlessness. This often takes a retraining of values but leads to personal empowerment once you learn that you can have "power with" rather than "power over" another person. There are a number of techniques to promote postiive changes fairly quickly including the recognition of one's negative self-talk and replacing it with self-soothing inside,

Anger is our strong feeling of annoyance or displeasure when something doesn’t go our way. The reasons we get angry can be perfectly plain – or they can be a mystery. Anger can also become a habit, a stance we hold. Life puts us in difficult situations – anger may be an understandable response to your situation. But you can develop some choices about how you respond. I work with people to identify what sets them off, and to find ways to redirect situations and feelings. Do you turn your anger outwards or inwards? We consider the factors involved (relationship, family issues, life stress, job, habits, etc.), and figure out what needs to change to let you live with more satisfaction.

It sucks to be angry and loose control of our emotions. Anger can have a devastating impact on the people we love the most. I will support you in addressing the emotions, trauma and pain underneath anger and learn to identify your triggers and patterns. I will teach you tools to address your stress and help you learn to better deal with your emotions. Learning to communicate our needs in a way that will be received is also a part of how I address anger issues.

If you're struggling with anger management, our team of Registered Clinical Counsellors can help! Your counsellor can help you identify your triggers, understand what is happening in your anger cycle, learn to slow down your reactivity, improve your communication skills, develop strategies you can use when you are feeling angry, and how you might repair relationships that have been damaged as a result of anger outbursts. Even if you avoid anger outbursts, instead keeping the anger bottled up inside you, anger management counselling with Gravitate Counselling Inc. can help.

Olivia is skilled in helping clients work through anger issues, guiding them to understand the underlying causes and triggers behind their emotions. She uses a cognitive behavioural approach to help clients manage their anger in the immediate moment, offering practical strategies to respond constructively. Olivia collaborates with clients to identify support networks that can provide ongoing care. Her compassionate and non-judgmental approach fosters self-awareness and empowers clients to channel their anger in healthier ways, promoting personal growth and stronger relationships. Through her guidance, clients develop tools to manage their emotions and build a foundation for lasting change.

Anger, like other emotions, helps us to respond to our experiences and to meet our needs. However, we can get into trouble in our relationships and with the law if we express our anger inappropriately. Anger may be used to control others by frightening them. Anger can be destructive and can make us physically unwell. In anger management counseling we will try to identify the triggers to your anger and I will coach you in methods of appropriate anger release. To understand the pattern of your anger and where your anger comes from we will look at the story of your life from your earliest memory. With better control of your reactions when you are upset you will be much happier and healthier.

Anger is a normal, natural response to perceived threats. Learning to manage our anger can be difficult at times. You will want to seek help with your anger if it seems uncontrollable, causes hurt or regret, or is impacting your relationships. Working together, we can collaboratively explore what your anger looks like, what triggers you and the signs that your anger is building. We can learn how to work with your frustration and anger in healthy ways.

Isn't it interesting how anger can motivate us and make us stuck all at the same time? Study the anatomy of anger in order to learn how to control it and use it in healthy ways. Anger is not "bad"; it is an essential emotion. Learn how to choose what to do with your anger in order to let it do it's job and then be let go. Explore what also masquerades as anger!

Anger often masks other emotions such as sadness, and shame. I work to uncover what is behind acting out in anger to address the root cause. At the same time, I provide ample opportunity for the learning of new skills in order to master how to regulate intense emotions. Benefits include no longer feeling burdened by anger and resentment as well as improved relationships with those around you.

If you find yourself snapping at loved ones and feeling awful afterward, I help you step back, understand what’s underneath your reactions, and respond with greater clarity and control. When you keep saying, “I should be able to handle this,” but can’t, I help you stop hiding and start healing. And if your relationships feel like walking on eggshells, I guide you toward deeper trust, safer communication, and genuine connection. Real change begins here.

Anger can feel like a sudden and overwhelming force within us or it can be experienced as a persistent, festering feeling that never seems to go away. Often anger is an indication of unmet needs that can stem from as far back as early childhood. I provide a space to explore these hidden emotions and needs within and offer practical tools and strategies for managing anger productively.

Have you found that anger has started to ruin relationships, interfere with your job, and negatively impact your life? Anger has a way of spreading and infecting day-to-day interactions. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. I work with many people who are controlled by their anger. Typically, anger is influenced by other underlying causes. In counselling, we will work together to learn new coping mechanisms to limit anger while also looking at what is causing anger. If you want to take the next step, reach out to me, and we can begin to change how you react to anger.

Dr. Sloat's approach to Anger Management is twofold. She provides tools and strategies for use when you are actually in the throes of anger. And, she helps you look at the big picture as well. The best way to manage your anger is to have nothing to be angry about. Dr. Sloat's therapeutic methods help you get at the source of your anger so that you can better manage it.

If things just never seem to be going your way, it can be easy to get frustrated. Discover how to make different decisions and manage the things that cause such feelings in your life. Counselling can help you with changing the root of your anger rather than just applying coping skills for that anger. Contact me today for a free initial consultation. Heal, Grow, Thrive! www.soulsilhouettehealing.com

Anger is a way many of us protect ourselves from being overwhelmed by scary emotions like sadness, loneliness, insecurity, or grief. While anger is justified in certain contexts, it begins to be a problem if we’re angry all the time and keep having uncontrolled outbursts. When dealing with anger, I take an Internal Family Systems approach: I believe it’s important to listen to the part of you that’s angry. What is it protecting you from? What does it need? Entering into a better relationship with the angry part of you will help you to have better relationships with others. Ready to explore your anger with compassion and curiosity? Let’s get started.