Overwhelming feelings of anger have become an increasing and painful reality for many people. Persistent anger is a serious psychological problem that affects people’s mental well-being, personal happiness, the quality of one’s family life and interpersonal relationships, work-relations, and physical health.

If anger isn't managed properly, it can lead to aggression and the physical, mental and emotional abuse of yourself or other people. This is shown in many different ways including: sarcastic comments, swearing, name calling, bullying, or physical violence e.g. hitting and kicking.

Problematic chronic anger or affect regulation requires professional intervention in order to be remedied. It simply will not go away with time. spiral2grow has made it a goal to work towards reducing that pain and improve your anger control.

Anger is a fundamental emotion that is a normal human emotion that can range from feeling normal annoyance to full-blown rage, which can cloud your thinking and judgment and may lead to actions that are unreasonable and/or irrational. Anger is a very powerful emotion that can stem from feelings of frustration, hurt, annoyance or disappointment.

Anger can be harmful or helpful, depending upon how it is expressed. Knowing how to recognize and express anger in appropriate ways can help people to reach goals, handle emergencies and solve problems. However, problems can occur if people fail to recognize and understand their anger. When anger isn't handled properly it can be very destructive. Uncontrolled anger can lead to arguments and in the extreme, physical fights.

Signs of an anger problem may include:

• Accumulating & Blowing-up
• Bickering & Fighting – Negative Vicious Cycle
• Ongoing Communication Breakdown
• Physical, Verbal and Emotional Abuse
• Feeling Like People Walk all Over You
• Turning Off the People (including your loved ones)
• Conflicts with Family members (partner, kids or parents)
• Conflicts at Work (employer, employees, customers)
• Trouble with the Law or Road Rage
• Short Temper causing problems in a marriage 
• Court Mandated Anger management therapy

Anger Management is a form of counseling to help you cope with any angry feelings you may have that affect your health, work, social behavior or personal relationships. Help to manage your anger may be found through Individual psychotherapy such cognitive behavior therapy, Couples Counseling, Group Therapy and other treatments programs that are specific to anger management. As such, spiral2grow, located in New York City, offers Anger Management solutions in a variety of formats: Individuals, Couples, Groups and Workshops.

Anger Management treatment assists clients understand what is driving their anger, identifying the pain and hurt underneath the anger, and how this perpetuates the reactive and dissatisfying pattern of relating with their partner and others. It designed to address basic problems in affect regulation, communication styles, conflict resolution, emotional expression, self-soothing techniques, appropriate assertiveness training, and non-aggressive behavioral change.

In the treatment clients resolve their anger by learning where it comes from, how it gets triggered, its function and by addressing its underlying cause. This process will assist the clients address their masked vulnerable feelings, change how they relate to others. By successfully completing the program, clients will be able to be themselves, and invite acknowledgement, acceptance, nurturing and intimacy into your life and relationships.

• Increased ability to communicate, mediate, and resolve interpersonal problems
• Increased affect regulation and appropriate emotional expression
• Cognitive restructuring that promotes healthy affect regulation, decision making, problem solving skills, and behavioral change
• Effective self-monitoring, defusing, and de-escalation techniques
• Decreased impulsivity and behavioral acting out
• Increased capacity for conflict resolution
• Increased inhibition of aggression
• Increased frustration tolerance
• Enhanced coping skills

Anger is a normal emotion and part of being human. Anger could be channeled negatively or could serve us as an internal guidance system. Our emotions alert us when natural human need is not being met. Yet, it is important to learn the skills to use the anger to our benefit rather than allowing the anger to control us. The following are a few Anger management techniques:

• Recognize and Reduce Stress: This anger management and control tool emphasizes the importance of understanding how stress underlies anger and how to reduce stress before it turns into anger. In this regards, it is important to pay attention to external triggers, physical and emotional signs as well as thought patterns.
• Act and Communicate Assertively: This anger management and control tool emphasizes the importance of understanding how stress underlies anger and how to reduce stress before it turns into anger. In this regards, it is important to pay attention to external triggers, physical and emotional signs as well as thought patterns.
• Respond Instead of React: This anger management technique enables one to respond rather than automatically react to anger/stress triggers.
• Change Your Thought Process: Anger management involves learning to change your thought patterns and modify inner conversations to empower you to deal with anger and negativity more effectively.
• Adjust Expectations: Anger is often triggered by a discrepancy between what we expect and what we get. Learning to adjust those expectations helps us cope with difficult situations or people or even cope with ourselves.
• Develop Emphathy: This anger management and control skill reduces anger by learning how to see things from the perspective of others.
• Exercise Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques are an essential part of quest for stress and anger management. It includes techniques such as deep breathing, progressive relaxation, guided imagery and others.

We serve a diverse clientele ranging from private individuals to referrals from variety sources such as the courts (Court-Mandated/Court-Ordered Anger Counseling), family physicians, employers, corporations, human resource personnel, youth service centers, child protection agencies, school systems etc. If needed, participants in spiral2grow programs can receive an anger management certification diploma to present to the court when they finish the class.

There were many reasons why someone might seek anger management therapy: 

• Committing violent acts. 
• Verbal abuse and short temper causing problems in a relationship or marriage. 
• Problems dealing with family members such as one’s in-laws. 
• Court mandated anger management therapy resulting from neglect or abuse of one’s children.

Books

• The Anger Control Workbook - by McKay, Matthew & Rogers, Peter
• The Anger Habit – by Semmelroth, Carl & Smith, Donald
• The Anger Habit Workbook – by Semmelroth, Carol