Anger Management and Counselling in Alberton, ON.

Anger is often considered a negative emotion. However, it is a healthy emotion that is sometimes expressed in an unhealthy way. By exploring what's under the anger emotionally and where it stems from, I help my client become aware of their anger and help them develop skills to better express and mange it. I work in a non-judgmental and compassionate manner as I join my client in their journey of better understanding of themselves and their experience.

Anger is neither good nor bad, but just one of the many emotions individuals are capable of feeling. Problems can arise from what happens after anger has been felt. Our attitude and response to feeling angry is often learnt from others as we grow up which, in turn, influences our thinking about the situation that resulted in us feeling angry. These then combine to determine if we respond in favourable or unfavourable ways. Exploring how an individual views the situation that lead to feeling angry and his/her subsequent thinking can uncover unrealistic attitudes and thought patterns. This can then be replaced with more appropriate attitudes and thought patterns.

I have spent hundreds of hours working with clients who struggle with managing anger/rage. There are specific, step-by-step techniques that can be taught, that are very effective at helping people deal with this issue. Based on reports from clients I have worked with, I have found that if clients are committed to their process, most people make significant improvement within 6-12 sessions. Drawing from polyvagal theory, AEDP and mindfulness techniques, clients can learn healthy ways to manage and experience their anger.

I often hear from clients that when the “anger switch” turns on, they’ve lost all control. I work with clients to recognize what triggers that switch and keeps the anger in control. I help clients learn to become less reactive and more responsive to their anger which means that they are in control and have the ability to choose how they respond to their anger. Clients learn how to communicate in more effective ways allowing them to build healthier relationships, handle challenges and conflict with confidence and feel empowered to work towards their goals.

It can be difficult to control our emotions, especially in these challenging times. Anger can also be an expression of other emotions that are lying beneath the surface. Psychotherapy can help identify tools that work for you in learning to regulate your emotions, as well as approaching your anger with preventative strategies such as learning to recognize when you begin to feel angry, and regular activities that can help alleviate stress and build up your stress tolerance. You are not defined by your anger, and your anger doesn't control you. By learning to identify your triggers and the purpose your anger serves for you, therapy can help you make a shift bring more peace into your life.

Being angry when something goes wrong, or somebody annoys you is completely normal. The question is: do you like to feel that way? Sometimes the anger is extraordinarily strong, and it can make you lose control. Do you like the consequences of being angry? - headaches, regrets of words you said, and actions you did? Anger is complicated and it often has deep roots. For this reason, it can be difficult to “just control it”. My experience of working with jail inmates shows that digging deeper into the past can help to find connections between trigger events and such strong reactions. When you have better understanding of your anger, the reaction can change and no strong control will be needed.

Anger is a completely normal, often healthy human emotion. But if it gets beyond your control, it can be very destructive in your work and interpersonal relationships and can drastically devastate the quality of your life. Fortunately, anger can be 'managed' which is very different than 'suppressing' it. Unexpressed anger leads to a host of other problems including high blood pressure. However, when we learn how to 'manage' our anger, we can learn to diminish both the emotional feelings and the physiological arousal that anger causes. We can learn to avoid triggers and develop strategies. We can learn how to problem solve, change our thinking and relax our bodies.

All human beings feel and express anger, and thus anger itself is not necessarily bad or good. It's a normal emotion which can sometimes be harnessed to motivate us towards our goals. At times, unhelpful thinking patterns make us vulnerable to being triggered into angry behaviors impacting our relationships and well being. There are many useful tools available to help address the causes of anger, helping clients to understand themselves and their motivations better. Better understanding often translates into more control and an increase in emotional regulation.

Having a short fuse and getting angry easily is often symptomatic of a lack of emotional regulation and being overwhelmed by stressors. When we understand our emotions and seek to dial down the intensity rather than supressing or trying to change our emotional state, we can make better decisions and avoid "hulking out." Together, we can explore causes and preventative approaches to stress management, build emotional awareness (including how other emotions sometimes present as anger), and self soothing strategies to feel more prepared to handle whatever life throws at us.

Our experiences of anger vary greatly. While I don't offer therapy services for anger management, at Psychotherapy Collective, our online clinic, we have many therapists who offer support for clients seeking help with anger. Visit our website to schedule a free 15-minute consultation with a therapist who specializes in anger management https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/areas-of-focus/anger

Anger is a natural emotion. In moderation it empowers us, allows us to draw boundaries, and protect our rights. On the other hand, excessive anger has the power to be destructive, damage relations, and affect health adversely. Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) can assist with uncovering sources of destructive maladaptive anger and interchange them with more adaptive emotions necessary for emotional needs to be met, alleviate hurt, and begin the process of healing. As a practitioner of EFT, providing vital skills to resolve old wounds and allowing for more effective emotional communication to facilitate unmet needs is my ultimate goal for the client.

Anger is often thought of as a negative emotion, but I like to think of Anger as the part of you that loves you and wants to stand up for you when you’ve experienced something “unfair.” Anger does not always make the best decisions about when to stand up for you, so I work collaboratively with clients to identify and explore how anger shows up in their lives, and to strengthen and develop strategies to minimize the impact it has on living the life you want to live. Book a free consultation to learn more about my approach and explore if we are a good fit.

Anger is a difficult emotion to control once it gets started. Stopping anger is like stopping a runaway train after it has a full head of steam. Managing one of the most powerful emotions takes preparation, awareness and containment skills. I have personally written the book on the Eight Steps to Conquering Chronic Anger. It is used monthly at our centre in anger management classes. Anger can be conquered!