Anger Management and Counseling in Laurel Hill, VA.

Anger is an unresolved issue from the past, which eventually ruins most relationships in a person's future. Anger is an emotion that we all experience. However, how one deals with their anger can become a big part of a problem. For some couples, anger can make it nearly impossible to figure out what the problem is or how to fix it. Counseling will decipher the root of the anger, and then how the client may manage those feelings. Oftentimes, sessions will involve the client, and the people who reside with them. Residents are encouraged to participate in counseling sessions for healing. The biggest challenge to living with a resentful or angry person is to keep from becoming one yourself.

Anger is a natural emotional response and it emerges as a combination of thoughts, statements, physical reactions, and overall physical arousal. One goal of therapy is to use anger as a helpful and constructive tool in recognizing and establishing boundaries or advocating for your needs. Another goal is to reduce agitation, aggression, argumentativeness, and tension, by learning and practicing skills that help you improve interactions with others and develop healthy ways to communicate your emotions.

Anger is a natural response to hurt and fear but it can cause more pain in our lives if we use it to hurt others, physically or emotionally. Anger that is destructive, usually comes from an old hurt that we are carrying within us. This hurt has been painfully touched by circumstances or by the actions of someone else. First we need to learn ways to stop our hurtful actions by taking a break or walking away. Then, however, we need to turn our attention to the underlying hurt and to bring compassion and care to our own hurt self. You will find that at the same time, you become more compassionate toward other people.

Life can present you with difficult situations which are hard to process and move past. These challenges are not on your timeline and affect everything. Having worked in many healthcare settings, I am familiar navigating life-changing events and grief. I understand the territory of encountering loss, coping with trauma, the complexity of the medical system and living with illness. These issues can have ripple effects on your relationships, sense of self and perceptions of the world. I know how complex things can get, and I will support you during this process.

I help clients develop strategies and techniques for managing intense anger or aggressive episodes. These techniques involve learning ways to “cool off” and validate underlying feelings so that they may be communicated more effectively. Generally speaking, difficulty with anger is typically the result of a person having difficulty regulating their emotions.Emotional Regulation is achieving a balanced emotional life where you are neither numbed out from your emotional experiences nor emotionally overwhelmed by them. Achieving emotional balance is done through both talk therapy as well as learning specific concrete strategies for managing your emotional experiences.

A lot of people struggle with feelings of anger and resentment. Instead of calling it "anger management," I prefer to talk about "anger expression." I am developing a program to help people develop healthy strategies for expressing anger in a constructive and respectful manner. You will learn the root causes of your anger, and gain practical tools to express it in ways that promote understanding and resolution. You will enhance your communication skills, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution abilities.

We treat anger with compassion, as it is our experience that anger is usually a symptom of an underlying issue or feeling that is harder to feel or cope with in life. Issues with anger can also present themselves as a part of someone versus all of them. We treat all mental health issues from a trauma-informed, strengths-based, systems model of care.

Anyone who has anger issues is a nice person because he/she always puts other people’s needs first. Hence, it’s such a shame to let other people to think you are a bad person! Now it’s about the time to clear your name! When you attend anger management, you will be able to deescalate the intensity of strong emotions, express your anger appropriately instead of being aggressive, and blow off your steam safely without hurting anyone.

We all get angry sometimes. Anger, like other emotions, is important. It signals to us that something is going on that we need to pay attention to. Chronic irritability, rage and/or violent outbursts also can be a sign that our nervous systems are stuck on high. If we don’t slow ourselves down, anger can take up a lot of space in our relationships and our lives. I work with people to help them recognize the triggers for their anger and what meaning this trigger holds for them. I also help people learn how to calm down their systems. In this way, people can express their feelings and needs in a way that leads to happier lives and better relationships.

Grey Matters International and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, Ph.D approaches issues of anger management in a very humane yet fresh perspective. You see, anger is a normal emotion but it is the valence (intensity) as well as the coupling choice of what one does with this that is the problem. Telling someone to "not" do it or modifying behavior with a trite psychological plan that only breeds a compliant response is not the way to change anger. Brainwave optimization is a new cutting edge technology that allows one to rewire circuitry responsible for reactivity driving the anger. Contact Grey Matters International, Inc now at kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.

How do you know if your anger is serious enough to need help? A quick answer is if you find that anger is your go-to, knee-jerk reaction to everyday irritants and disappointments, or if your anger is compromising your quality of life, it may be time to talk to someone. My way of working with angry clients is to both search for the causes of the anger as well as figure out concrete, common-sense ways for anger to be managed on a daily basis. Anger itself is not the problem; often it's the management (or mismanagement) of it that brings on a host of other problems. Maybe you have a right to be angry! But wouldn't it be better to be able to express that anger in a way others can really hear it?

There is a lot in the world that can leave you feeling angry, especially right now! Anger is a natural human feeling, though people don't always know how to manage or what to do with it. Some find being angry can be scary or overwhelming, or gets in the way of more satisfying experiences. Working to better understand what makes you angry and any additional feelings (hurt, sadness, etc) can help you to better be able to advocate for what you need. In therapy, we will collaboratively come to better understand your anger and develop ways of approaching it that allows you to be heard.

Anger management counseling can help to identify stressors and learn the steps to stay calm in the face of anger. The goal is to handle tense situations in more constructive and positive ways by reducing the emotional and physical arousal that anger can cause. It will provide the tools to take back your life and resolve the triggers that result in unplanned anger reactions.