Anger Management and Counseling in Rolling Hills Estates, CA.

Anger can be a powerful and overwhelming emotion that can cause harm to ourselves and those around us. My approach to anger management focuses on helping clients understand the root causes of their anger, identifying triggers and developing healthy coping mechanisms. We will work together to find ways to express anger in a healthy and productive manner, improve communication skills and build on personal strengths to increase overall well-being and satisfaction in life. Whether it's learning relaxation techniques or exploring past experiences that may have contributed to a pattern of anger, I will support you in taking control of your anger and finding peace in your life.

I do not believe in "anger management". Instead, I believe in being in control of your emotions - including anger. My clients discover how to be in control of their feelings of anger or rage - instead of the anger or rage controlling them. My clients discover how they can feel anger, but then choose more effective and productive ways of expressing themselves - in ways that no longer lead to regret or hurt - but rather in ways they feel proud and good about.

I have a great deal of experience working with anger issues and domestic violence situations. DV is especially important to address because of the reaction of the children pulled into this dynamic. Cognitive Behavioral methods are taught which are easy to implement. We will look for the source of anger and find different redirected behaviors to replace anger. Mindfullness and various relaxation methods will be discussed. However, you will have input and final say in setting goals and in laying out our approaches to dealing with anger. We work together as equals, without judment.

Anger is often seen as a negative feeling, however anger is just as useful as any other emotion. It shows us where we feel disrespected or mistreated. While feelings can not be wished away, thoughts that impact feelings can be challenged. In my work with anger management, I help to locate the sources of anger and teach calming and regulatory exercises to help change unhealthy behaviors associated with anger into healthier ones.

Anger is one of our fundamental emotions, part of the basic machinery of our mind and personality. In some ways it is a useful tool that helps to motivate and energize us in seeking fairness and justice in the world around us. But this powerful hold-over from our primal history can also be enormously destructive if we lose control of it. If your anger is slipping out of your control and you find yourself saying or doing things that damage your reputation or your relationships, hurt those around you, or otherwise consistently put you on the outside of society's expectations for behavior, you need help to find tools or strategies to change this and I would be happy to help.

A technique I use with Anger Management is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), which looks at our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Anger is a behavior that is an expression of our thoughts and feelings. I will work with you to help unlock the thoughts and feelings causing the anger. We can often correct negative thoughts that can help alter our feelings and behaviors. We can also look into other techniques to develop other coping mechanisms for anger. We resort to anger because that is what we were taught when we were younger. When you have other tools to express yourself and different thoughts, your anger isn't as necessary as often. You are still you. Just a calmer you.

Is your anger getting the best of you? Perhaps its ruining your relationship or compromising your ability to move up in your career. Maybe its just a feeling--you're always tense, stressed, worked up, you feel "on edge." Whatever your experience is, there is health to be had and hope to be found. Something in you knows there's got to be another way to live. Together, we'll explore what your anger is really about and develop strategies to get you feeling more healthy and whole so you can have the relationship with others you want to, the internal peace that people talk about, and the ability to move well through stressful situations.

I believe anger is a secondary emotion, covering other feelings such as grief, depression, anxiety, and/or hurt. Often times anger management is a signal for a need for trauma work, which can include explore prior experiences that felt stuck or emotionally taxing. Often times when others are angry, it's the only way they can feel heard-- having anger is not the problem, it's, what we do with the anger is what needs to be explored as appropriate or not.

I have witnessed first hand the radical transformation that comes with anger management counseling. So many men come into my office suffering from anger issues. Through working together collaboratively the anger dissipates, and what is underneath is usually much more nuanced then originally thought. Men and women suffer from anger differently. Anger Management counseling is a transformative process which creates space for ones' preferred identity to emerge.

Most of us have some relationship to anger. In a world that is capable of sudden cruelty and profound injustice, anger can be a powerful ally, helping us to take action that leads to real change. But anger can also try to take over our lives by tricking us into doing things we would rather not do, or getting ourselves into trouble. When anger arrives, we will face it together. Might we flip the script? Is it possible to take control of the relationship with anger, to interrogate it and unmask its motivations, its support, and its insidious methods of taking over?