Anger Management and Counseling in Hillsborough, NC.

I understand that anger is a secondary emotion. That anger is the result of a range of primary emotions such as sadness, anxiety, or loneliness. People struggling with angry behaviors can feel stuck and hopeless. Anger reactions can occur due to specific triggers, or seemingly out of the blue. I help clients identify their anger patterns and break unhealthy cycles that have made personal and professional life difficult. Using a combination of anger management tools, cognitive and dialectical behavior therapies, I guide clients to a life free of anger outbursts and more emotional control.

A lack of ability to manage one’s anger can have devastating effects on a person’s life, to include intimate relationships, parenting, work, and friendships. Clients often present frustrated with themselves for this inability, but feeling unable to change what feels to them like an automatic response and a normal response to stress and annoyances. At Lepage Associates we help people recognize managing anger is a skill, and like all other skills it can be leaned with guidance and hard work. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been the preferred method of treatment for anger for decades. Cognitively, clients are taught to become more aware of when and how their anger develops by identifying

Struggling with excessive anger is lonely. By the time most people are willing to admit that the problem is out of control, they have deeply hurt the people closest to them. Relationships have ended, or may be about to end. The cost of doing nothing is much to high. Many practitioners focus on teaching strategies and tools for managing anger reactions. In addition to those things, I also recognize that anger is a secondary emotion.

My approach to anger management includes a thorough psychiatric assessment, as well as ongoing self-monitoring with an anger journal. Clients learn to recognize their own unique early warning signs of anger [self-talk, physical cues] and high risk situations that evoke anger. Clients learn coping skills including relaxation, coping self-talk and assertiveness training.