Anger Management and Counseling in Topanga, CA.

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.

I have worked with clients who have had a difficult relationship with anger throughout their lives and have found that it is often accompanied by shame, blame, judgement, or guilt. These problems have a powerful voice that works to drown out a person's preferences and unique outcomes, placing them far into the background, and deeming them unimportant. It is remarkable to find out what values clients have managed to hold onto despite anger's seemingly all consuming presence. The excavation of moments of holding onto values in the face of adversity is an opportunity to approach anger from a place of agency and empowerment versus blame or shame.

Anger is a normal emotion but how you react to it is the problem. It is important to learn how to keep your anger in check and deal with it properly in order to have a successful marriage, home life, good working environment, and overall health. I have been able to successfully treat people for anger problems and help them put that emotion in check by properly diffusing it. This makes lives more manageable and fulfilling. Why go through life always feeling angry or ready to blow because you don't like what someone said or did? Call me for a free consultation and let's get your anger under control and put that emotion in check.

Anger comes in many forms. Some of us default to frequent anger towards others, which can damage meaningful relationships and work opportunities. We can also direct anger inward towards ourselves in the form of recurrent self-criticism, negative judgment, and self-destructive behaviors. Anger is an important and healthy emotion that can bring attention to other more difficult underlying emotions and unmet needs. Such as feeling ashamed, sad, invalidated, or lonely. My approach to helping others more effectively manage anger is to better identify and understand emotions in general. Then learn to respond to difficult experiences with intentional, skillful action vs. emotional reactivity.

Anger can be a scary emotion. It can be frightening for the person expressing it and frightening for the person receiving it. Anger is a healthy emotion when used appropriately but sometimes, a person's anger feels out of control. That is when help is needed to look at ways of controlling the anger and perhaps, why such anger exists. When a person comes to see me with issues of anger management, we look ways to improve impulse control and look at why the anger is occurring in the first place. Hopefully, the client will get some insight and understanding into his/her issues, anger management skills will be taught, and, as a result, the anger be decreased and expressed appropriately.

Clients from various backgrounds take many different approaches to think about, feel and express anger. However, when anger negatively impacts one’s relationships, it is important to explore what is contributing to an unhealthy experience of anger. In my collaboration with clients, we venture out to explore the conscious and unconscious factors that may need to be brought to light, in the context of perhaps other biopsychosocial (biological, psychological or social) factors that may need attention. Clients who learn to understand, better identify and manage their impulses, cultivate insight and explore opportunities to practice developing skills to have an improved sense of self-mastery.

Anger can be one of our most powerful emotions. It is usually in response to feelings of fear, threat, or threat of loss. It helps us to survive and protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities. But it can also be dangerous to ourselves and to others. Emotional regulation is one of our most important skills, especially in social situations. In therapy, we can explore the source of anger, understand what it is telling you, and work on ways to manage it and direct its energy into something adaptive and constructive.

I use Trauma Therapy and Communication tools to find new ways of awareness to express oneself appropriately. I have been trained to find the "triggers" that mean someone may go "ballistic" because of these triggers, then find a way to change the way this energy is expressed. In my over twenty years of training I have a great many tools in my tool box. I know I can help!

Anger management counseling can help to identify stressors and learn the steps to stay calm in the face of anger. The goal is to handle tense situations in more constructive and positive ways by reducing the emotional and physical arousal that anger can cause. It will provide the tools to take back your life and resolve the triggers that result in unplanned anger reactions.

If you and your partner are feeling emotionally disconnected, you may find yourself drawn into repeated arguments with each other about seemingly unrelated issues -- such as money, parenting, chores, and sex. Hiding within these disagreements are painful questions: Can I reach you? Do I matter to you? Can I count on you if I need you? Once these deep, hidden questions are calmed, and you both feel safe and loved, you and your partner will find it much easier to resolve other issues.

Anger is a normal human emotion. When expressed appropriately anger can be both adaptive and helpful. However, when anger is expressed with inappropriate frequency or intensity or without appropriate controls it can become very destructive to one's relationships or one's self. When this happens it may be very helpful to consult a therapist with skill in dealing with anger management problems. Together we can identify the triggers to anger arousal. We can identify anger maintaining patterns of thought and learn proven methods for stress reduction and respectful assertiveness. You can learn to recognize and use your angry emotions to enhance and deepen your most meaning relationships.

We all get angry sometimes. The issue is what you do with your anger. If you act it out in ways that hurt yourself or other people, that’s where the problems lie. You may express you anger physically by hitting people, hurting yourself, or breaking things. You may also express your anger by saying things that get you in trouble or damage your relationships. Sometimes it’s what you say, and sometimes it’s how you say it. Together, we can sort it out. We’ll see what triggers the anger and how you express it. We’ll work to undo the triggers and find other ways of dealing with the anger when it arises.

We can retrain ourselves react differently to challenging situations that spawn angry reactions. With a little time and practice, we can learn to regulate our distress by tuning into the cues when we are on overload. Bringing mindfulness to our triggers and our reactions, while slowing down our thoughts, can give us more choice in how we react. Mindfulness can teach us to be the observer to our own inner dialogue and can make room for little shifts that make gradual differences. I work from a somatic place first, giving attention to the indicators of distress. Each person manifests distress differently. Does your face get hot? Does your throat feel tight? We will begin here.