Anger Management and Counselling in McDougall, ON.

My approach to anger management first teaches clients to become expert observers of themselves their triggers, risks and "buttons". Once this is done, strategies are developed to mitigate risk and experiment with alternate, healthy forms of expressing rage. Anger can be profoundly healing and revealing, as well as destructive. Sometimes deeper reprocessing work is necessary if the source of anger is extreme or rooted in early life, or marked by great suffering, humiliation, disgust or injustice. If impulse control is a concern, practical safety agreements in addition to DBT and affect regulation strategies can be imparted. Couples can learn ways to allow safe and healthy anger expression

I help clients understand and contain anger by learning to be curious about what this part of us might be trying to tell us. Our angry parts usually are trying to protect us from pain. Perhaps they are communicating an unmet need, a boundary being crossed, or warning us to avoid similar pain from our past. Together, we can get curious and work on developing a compassionate inner voice. We can also look at what is happening to our nervous system to understand how to manage and contain anger. You don't have to figure this out alone; please reach out for the support that you deserve.

Many of us grew up in families where we were told to rate our emotions as positive or negative. Positive emotions were love, joy, and compassion. Negative emotions were sadness, fear, anger, and rage. Unfortunately, anger got placed in the harmful emotion category for many of us, which is not where it belongs. Anger is a helpful emotion that strengthens our resolve to set healthy limits in our relationships. Anger helps us communicate what we need from others. Psychotherapy is a space where you can learn the positive attributes of anger and how to express it positively and safely. Let's get together and explore some of these healthier options for this vital emotion!

Anger management is about anger understanding first. Why are we angry? I will help clients' seeking assistance with anger by creating a safe space to explore the anger, to process it, and understand it. We can't seek to manage it if we don't understand what is really happening for us. Through pattern exploration of experiences with anger, we can process and navigate the emotion and work together to manage it.

Anger can feel like an emotional experience that we have no control over. In therapy, you can explore the root causes of anger and how it impacts your life, your experiences, and your relationships. You can learn skills to effectively respond to anger, ground yourself when feeling angry, and de-escalate when anger is impacting your relationships. I work with individuals, couples and families. Book a free consultation to explore if we are a good fit for therapy.

A response to life's events falls upon a continuum from neutral to highly-reactive. At times anger, Gandhi called it "Righteous Indignation," is necessary to respond to injustices or inappropriate behaviours. However, uncontrolled, inappropriate anger is destructive to one's self and others. Mindfulness and Metta (Loving Kindness) meditations are excellent tools to deal with anger. Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) also called Tapping, along with skillful use of affirmations can help to cool the fires of anger. The benefits of anger management lead to a regulating of emotions and thus a gaining of peace of mind, positive relationships, career and family security.