Anger Management and Counseling in Dayton, MN.

Anger Management therapy is often very structured for me. I use a curriculum to address the following: Anger. (What is it? What triggers anger? What makes it better/worse?) Quick Control of Anger. (Recognizing anger and learning ways to calm your emotions.) Strategies to Manage Anger. (What stops it? What is frustration? What is rumination? Strategies for managing unhealthy rumination.) Relationships. (Communication strategies) Challenging Angry Thoughts and Beliefs. (How our thoughts affect our anger) Challenges to Managing Anger.

I offer individual and group training in anger management. I am certified as a CAMS 1 (Certified Anger Management Specialist) by the National Anger Management Institute. My program consists of 8 to 12 sessions using the curriculum "What's Good About Anger?" This course of training directs participants in learning to identify triggers, take time to think about consequences rather than to lash out, self-soothing practices, and much more.

There's no shame in asking for help with anger management. What causes shame is the damage you cause others when your anger spills out onto them. In any healthy relationship, disagreements are to be expected. But decisions need to be discussed and negotiated, not forced or made on the sly. Anger management is about learning how to regulate negative emotions, ask directly for what we need, and tolerate the frustration and disappointment that come with being in relationship with others. If you are struggling to hold it together without blasting people you care about, you need help with anger management.

Feeling out of control, frustrated, stressed...impulsively reacting to situations? Anger is a powerful emotion that can either help or hurt us. I believe that if we learn to listen and effectively communicate the underlying emotions (such as our feelings of being trapped, disrespected, pressured or scared), we can enrich our own lives as well as those around us. I can help you build awareness and develop skills that help you speak "for" your anger instead of "from" it. Anger is a universal emotion...and when we learn to express it effectively, we find greater personal health and happiness as well as enriched relationships.

Are you having trouble keeping your anger in check? This is a common challenge for a lot of people. Anger is what I call an umbrella emotion, which means that it often covers up other emotions that are harder to share with others. It is really useful to take a look at what might be underneath the anger, such as hurt or fear. Anger is a very useful protection, and it might have served a very valuable function for you in the past. However, it is important to take a look and decide if it is useful to you NOW. If your anger is pushing people away, it might be time to learn a new way to express your feelings.

I see anger as a secondary emotion. In order to heal the anger it is important to look beyond anger and search for the primary emotion. Building a trusting therapeutic relationship is very important so you will feel comfortable revealing how you are hurting underneath that angry exterior. Understanding what can trigger you anger is important also. Some education about the brain and how it works is generally helpful in understanding and conquering your anger. I want to show you how you control your emotions. Emotions do not control you!

I believe anger is the most misunderstood emotion. Anger is neither good or bad. It's perfectly normal to be angry it's HOW we express our anger that gets us in trouble. Another troublesome issue with anger is dealing with those angry feelings that get trapped inside. Anger turned inward can lead to depression so we have to be careful that we just don't stuff our anger. The good news is that getting our anger under control is easier than we think. There are two primary tools to effectively managing our anger: first is gaining insight into the underlying reasons for our anger, and next is learning effective ways to manage our anger. Do not live with unresolved anger, call today.

Anger is not a primary feeling. While it might feel like the only thing you're aware of in the moment, anger is actually a secondary feeling, or a composite of other feelings that get wrapped up and compounded into something familiar. I will help you break your anger down into its smaller parts, such as sadness, fear, embarrassment, and/or hurt. We will also identify your triggers, interrupt unhealthy patterns, and figure out the tools that work for you in the moment.

I approach anger management as a basic emotional skill. Like all skills, it can be taught and with practice it can be effectively developed in a short time. Some of the specific techniques I may use in teaching anger management are: identifying early signs of anger, breathing exercises, thought stopping, avoiding triggers, and teaching healthy emotional expression of a full range of feelings. I also use a variety of other techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help my clients learn to effectively manage anger. Beyond the behavioral approach to managing anger I sometimes find it useful to explore the sources of the anger.

Anger doesn't have to rule your life. I recognize that people who struggle to manage their expression of anger are hurting. It doesn't feel good or empowering to lose control. I can help you take back the power anger has stolen from you and make the changes you are looking for. I believe that if you're coming to therapy you are ready for change. Let's work together to make it happen.

Do you often lose your temper with family, friends or strangers? Does it feel like rage sometimes “takes over”, leading to physically or emotionally hurting yourself or someone else? Do you always feel angry? All kinds of people struggle with anger: adolescents who feel “out of control,” parents who regret angry behavior toward their kids, former spouse abusers that never want to relapse, veterans with unresolved anger about deployment experiences, people with legal histories due to actions taken in anger. Together, we will work to identify your anger triggers, to provide tools to interrupt your triggers and to help you heal relationships that have been damaged as a result of your anger.

We do not offer "anger management" in the usual sense of the term, but we do offer counseling for people who have feelings of anger. Most often, anger is a masking emotion hiding what is really going on under the surface. In counseling with us, we can begin to uncover and understand where the anger is coming from, and in doing so, begin to heal the wounds that are causing the anger to boil to the surface.

I'll help you understand the choices you have to manage and express your feelings in constructive ways. You'll become more aware, accepting, and assertive rather than reactive and misunderstood. Anger is a powerful emotion that needs to be expressed like any other emotion. Anger itself isn't bad - in fact, it's a useful signal that something's wrong and we need to take action. However, the way it's expressed can be either helpful or hurtful. Learn to center yourself and be proactive in expressing your anger in a way other people can hear.