Anger Management and Counseling in Dayton, MN.

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.

Anger is not a bad emotion. Anger out of control is bad. I work with people who struggle with controlling their anger by helping them recognize early warning signs, learn techniques that will help divert their emotions toward healthier outlets, and then allowing them the freedom to come back and revist the event and process it in a way that allows for relational growth and unity. If you are ready to start getting control over your anger issues then give me a call!

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.

Anger is something that every human being experiences, and it isn't always bad! I believe that an understanding of what anger is and where it comes from helps us respond to it in healthier ways. It is also essential to learn calming strategies to use when feeling your anger rise. When responded to appropriately, clients often report feeling heard in ways they never have before. I offer home-based therapy, or the more traditional office setting.

Learning how to control your anger can improve your relationships, self-esteem and reduce the amount of stress you feel. Anger is a sign that something has hurt you. It is important to deal with that hurt in an effective way. Anger in of itself is not a bad thing. It is what a person does with that anger that makes all of the difference. Anger management is good for your health and all of those around you. Learning how to use your anger effectively will have a great imact on all parts of your life.

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.

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.

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 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.

Do you feel overwhelmed at time by people who push your buttons and bring out the worst in you? Would you like to be calmer and more in control when under stressful and challenging situations. Anger is a challenging emotion which can be managed with easily learned skills and strategies to help improve your interpersonal relationships and get the results you want!

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.

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.

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.