Anger Management and Counseling in Orono, MN.

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.

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.

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.

Many times I have discovered that unresolved anger can be a result of something that happened in younger years and needs to be worked through. By exploring underlying triggers on when the anger overflows, we can work on the issues that have never before been addressed and therefore never healed. EMDR can be a very effective tool to address the core issues and then with new coping skills for the client to implement, a new way to respond rather than react to situations is the result.

It is interesting that often we find that anger issues stem from early childhood issues. It can come from previous times we felt we were not heard, we were hurt, had negative things happened or were generally in an environment where we were not given a chance to develop a way to deal with anger. The physiological qualities of anger can make it harder to manager. During anger our brain sends signals to our bodies, temporarily, that the situation is life-or-death, and our flight-or-flight mechanism kicks in.

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.

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.

Anger itself is not bad, but many of us have not learned how to handle it or channel it in healthy ways. I will work with you to identify the triggers that challenge you and help you come up with a plan of how to talk yourself into a calmer place. Then when you speak, you will feel confident that you are representing yourself in a clear, strong way.

I prefer the term trigger management. Anger stems from frustration, hurt, annoyance and disappointment. We will work together to control your feelings and actions that may have been getting you in trouble at school, home, the community or at work. Recognizing your triggers can help use appropriate ways to reach goals and solve problems. You can overcome those outbursts and lead the life you desire.

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 have a number of clinicians that specialize in dealing with anger issues whether it is with children, adolescents, or adults. Figuring out healthy ways to cope with feelings is key. Often clients need help dealing with other emotions and/or need help examining their expectations of themselves and others. Our clinicians are able to help get to the root of anger issues and help resolve those problems.