Anger Management and Counseling in Union Beach, NJ.

Anger management is a growing problem in our culture. I utilize both individual and group therapy to help people learn to deal with their own anger and the anger of others. People are often convinced their anger is a good thing, until they lose important relationships or get fired from jobs. The first thing I do is show them the many ways their anger is harming them and others. I use many techniques to do this, including analysis, confrontation, video, role play and practice with constructive communication. In time they learn to express themselves in ways that resolve rather than inflame situations.

Understanding one's own anger and feeling like you have a sense of control over it is a process. The first part is exploring the anger. Gaining a greater sense of where the anger is coming from, from its deepest roots, and how it is triggered. Recognizing what your anger is about and how it is triggered is they key to being able to achieve stability in your emotions and a sense of peace and calm.

Children and adolescents don’t usually say, “I’m having trouble with my anger right now and I need help coping”. They show us they’re experiencing overwhelming feelings with their actions and behaviors. Whether your child or teen is experiencing frequent tantrums or meltdowns or just difficulty regulating their emotions, I can help. I have extensive experience working with children and adolescents in both outpatient and school settings. Using play therapy, creative modalities, and cognitive behavioral therapy, I can help children and teens to communicate, make sense of their feelings, and begin to gain control over them so that they can overcome what’s standing in their way of happiness.

Recognizing that anger can be a complex emotion often influenced by hormonal changes, pregnancy-related stressors, or fertility challenges, I offer a tailored and empathetic space for women to explore and manage their anger effectively. Through a combination of evidence-based therapeutic techniques and a holistic perspective, clients can expect to develop personalized strategies for anger management that align with their reproductive journey.

Managing our frustrations, irritations, upsets, and angry communication is a major challenge for men and women, children, and teens. Women’s anger is often sublimated as anxiety and incorrectly treated as such. I am interested in helping empower people to work through their anger and transform it into emotional strength. After working through anger issues, clients often report unexpected benefits, including more fulfilling relationships and financial success. Once the anger is overcome and clients develop skills to cope with everyday annoyances, they find themselves able to reach goals that had been thus far unattainable.

Anger is a cover and protector for deeper emotions hiding underneath. I provide a safe space for the client to be vulnerable with their emotions and so we can understand what anger is “trying to tell us”. By exploring the anger without judgement we allow more vulnerable feelings to surface which can help us understand what the anger is protecting.

I believe children must first want to learn and perfect anger management. I have developed techniques to motivate the child or teen to develop a value system of respectful behavior toward others. Once this is achieved anger management skills can easily be obtained. Without a change in attitude and values, anger management training will fail because the child lacks the motivation to practice such techniques.

Anger is a natural reaction to a hurtful or threatening situation. When it becomes uncontrollable, constant, and extreme, unhealthy anger can wreak havoc on our lives. Some people can manage anger with self-taught techniques, reading materials, and other resources. Yet, anger management therapy is considered the most effective treatment option to address these anger issues and adopt healthy coping strategies to handle them when they arise.

During sessions I will utilize CBT anger management interventions to target the emotional and physiological elements of anger, the cognitive (thinking/behavioral) processes that drive dysfunctional anger, and/or social and communication skills. In addition, I will also use psychodynamic therapy so I can help you examine the psychological roots of your anger and your response to it, so that you can identify and correct unhealthy patterns.

Having anger is not a problem. The problem is how one deals with the feeling of anger. What does one do when one is angry? Is the anger realistic or is it not? What are the events associated with the anger? One can learn to manage one's anger effectively through the use of effective anger management skills. Is one angry because one has communication problems and cannot express oneself assertively? Is one angry because of persistent unfairness that one has experienced? Come and let us explore the source of your anger and help you manage it effectively.

Anger is an important emotion, that often gets a bad reputation because it can cause us to behave in ways that are unsafe, out of control, and/or destructive. However, there is a difference between feeling angry, and acting inappropriately. Through anger management you will develop the ability to express your needs, wants and feelings in ways that are effective, and preserve your relationships with others.

I can help you or your partner / family member with anger management. We'll start with a thorough assessment of what's going on, including the history of how anger was modeled to you in childhood, the influences of your culture and family, your own anger story, and any grief or trauma you've endured. Then we'll talk about how you want to manage anger and make a customized plan to reduce verbal conflict and eliminate physical violence as we develop a strategy to communicate your needs and boundaries to those you trust and have those needs and boundaries met and honored. I'll be with you every step of the way.

The benefit of my approach is that instead of getting angry you will learn how to think and react creatively so you are better able to find a way to prevail in the long run. People and life will sometimes do you in and obstruct you. However, you are rarely at your best when angry. It is your beliefs that lead to your self-defeating feelings of anger. I show how an angry response leads you to have far less leverage than if you felt healthy negative feelings like great annoyance, frustration, displeasure and disappointment. I teach you how to think about injustice, interference, and insult so that you stay in control of your reactions in order to creatively respond and ultimately prevail!