20 Transformational Tips for Anger Management

    By:  Kimberly Swanson "Purpoz", PsyM, LPC

    Purpoz Counseling & Wellness Center, LLC - https://kpurpoz.wixsite.com/pcwcenter

Let’s face it, everyone gets angry at some point in their life. Anger is a natural emotion that occurs in certain situations. This particular emotion can have both positive and negative effects. An example of positive anger is when you get upset about failing an exam that you study harder to pass the second time around. The negative example of anger is getting into fights and injuring others.

During ancient times, anger was used as a form of survival. For instance, the hunter and gatherer during ancient times had to hunt for their food and often times fight to keep their food for their family and their tribe/clan. This is an example of survival and was instinctual and innate. However, we live in a modern world in which it has become more complex when it comes to the emotion of anger. There are certain times and places in which anger has to be managed and modified to fit and blend into normal society.

The following are 20 transformational tips for managing anger through a more holistic balanced approach that can be incorporated into everyday living.

1. Listen to nature
2. Listening to calming music
3. Meditation videos ( with music and nature)
4. Energy frequency vibrations
5. Affirmations (healing through words)
6. Perception means that everything from the outside comes from within.  If you want to make a change you need to change from within, in other words, everything is from inside and then projected into the world.
7. Analyze the environment (e.g. people in surroundings)
8. Focus on your triggers figure out what triggers you
9. What is causing your stress?
10. What are you eating (physically)? Bad food equals negative energy good food equals positive energy.
11. What are you saying (verbally)? Bad words equal negative energy good words equal positive energy.
12. Transform your energy (holistically)
13. Overcoming distorted mind (Mind clutter).
14. Taking things personally / letting go and releasing. Negative energy
15. Going too fast, need to slow down
16. Instead of doing what you hate, do what you love (work, hobbies, studies)
17. Tending to your inner child (past hurts)
18. Loving self
19. Self-care
20. Being balanced reaching a middle ground

Updated 03/16/2022

How Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is Used in Counseling

By:  Kimberly Swanson, PsyM, LAPC, CNA

According to Grand Canyon University (2014), reality therapy is used to assist clients with having the capabilities of being responsible and to own the consequences for their behaviors.  Reality therapy is focused on the client identifying prosperity which creates positive behaviors and the belief in personal accountability (Glasser, 1998).    Usually, this type of therapy is used when someone is exhibiting counter-productive behaviors (e.g. drug  addiction, gambling issues, etc.) 

Whereas cognitive and cognitive behavioral therapy are often used and defined interchangeably. There are many benefits when using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in comparison to behavioral therapy.  Behavioral therapy (BT) utilizes approaches that confront the clients with their issues whereas with cognitive therapy (CT) the client addresses their issues through self-discoveries about their misconceived views, counter-productive behaviors, and mental processing (Grand Canyon, 2014).  Another benefit is that with CT the client gets to see how their mental processing can cause problems and their personal directives can be the contributing factors of their pain and suffering.

There are four goals and interventional strategies that will be used to assist the client in reaching their goals. The four goals are (Archer & McCarthy, 2010):  1.  The client develops their truth; 2.  Cognition leads to causes and reactions; 3.  Cognition is knowing that there is knowledge and that it can be accessed; 4.  Cognitive transitions are the center point of changing human behavior.

Cognitive Behaviors Therapy stems from Aaron Beck’s previous study on depression which showed that clients tend to view certain situations in a negative light, which causes mental  distortions that need to be addressed in therapy (Sharf, 2008).  Cognitive therapy is an organized technique that is limited with a time and focuses on the here and now (Grand Canyon University, 2014);  this type of therapy  is  designed for short-term counseling.

Cognitive therapy is a technique that requires collaboration in which the counselor and the client work together to recognize the mental patterns and builds a therapeutic foundation for intervening through various outcomes (Grand Canyon University, 2014).  Counselor assists client in utilizing certain mental strategies; these mental strategies include bibliotherapy and assigning certain homework or tasks for the client to engage in and to be a part of (Grand Canyon University, 2014). 

For Cognitive Therapy, counselor’s roles are is to assist the client to take a look at the truths in their lives.  For instance, if a female client is overwhelmed with taking care of her newborn baby by herself due to her husband being deployed for military duty,  the counselor would help the client to see this as truth and finding alternative ways for getting support for caring for her child.  Then the counselor would introduce the client to various resources that may be available to her as well as assist with modifying lifestyle changes for transitioning behaviors.  The client's change in behavior and lifestyle would enable her to overcome anxiety and depression due to her circumstances.

With this type of therapy, the client has various roles.  First, the client starts to identify their misconceived views (Grand Canyon University, 2014).  Then they get a chance to analyze their counter-productive behaviors and see where they have gone wrong.  And next, they go through some mental processing to see how they can fix their problems.

This type of therapy is best for individuals who voluntarily seek counseling.  Cognitive Behaviors Therapy stems from Aaron Beck’s previous study on depression which showed that clients tend to view certain situations in a negative light, which causes mental distortions that needs to be addressed in therapy (Sharf, 2008).    This type of therapy works well with people who are suffering from anxiety and depression.   And this therapeutic technique also addresses the social and cultural needs of the client;  this is done by encouraging the client to self-evaluate themselves and see how their views and behaviors affect their interactions with the world.  And how they themselves can make a change and difference through their own actions.

References

Archer, J., McCarthy, C.J.  (2010).   Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: Contemporary applications.  Retrieved from http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_archer_theories_1/47/12099/3097483.cw/index.html.

Glasser, W.  (1998).  Choice theory:  A new psychology of personal freedom.  New York, NY:  Harper Collins.

Grand Canyon University (2014).  Classical psychotherapies (lecture notes).  Retrieved from https://lc-grad2.gcu.edu.

Sharf, R.S.  (2008).  Theories of psychotherapy and counseling:  Concepts and Cases (4th) Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth/Thomson

Copyrighted 2017 by Purpoz Counseling & Wellness Center, LLC

Psychopathology - What is Dysthymic Disorder?

By:  Kimberly Swanson, M.S. – Psy, CNA

Dysthymic Disorder is a low level form of depression that occurs more days than not for at least one year in kids and teens and at least two years in adults (APA), 2013).   The level and range of diagnosable disturbances is based on the clinicians’ judgement and expertise within the field of psychiatry and psychology (Butcher, Mineka, Hooley, 2013).    Patients who are diagnosed with dysthymic disorder must have at least two of the six additional symptoms that is often times found in depression (e.g. presence of depression - loss of appetite/overeating, loss of energy/tired, etc.); there are additional criterion found under persistent Depressive Disorders (Dysthymia) within the APA’s DSM-5 (APA, 2013).

Niculescu and Akisal (2001) suggested that dysthymia should be split into 2 subcategories:  anxious dysthymia and anergic dysthymia.  They defined these sub-categories of patients with anxious dysthymia as having defined symptoms of low self-esteem, restlessness, and being sensitive to interpersonal rejection (Niculescu and Akisal, 2001).  It is also categorized that these patients tend to seek assistance and are most likely to make less lethal suicide attempts, and do better with certain medications (e.g. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)).  Sometimes these patients have problems with substance abuse; the following are the drugs that tend to be these patients drugs of choice:  alcohol, marijuana, opiates, benzodiazepines, and etc. (Niculescu and Akisal, 2001).

Dysthymia occurs quite frequently, which can occur within the general public’s life span of 2.5 and 6 percent (Kessler et al., 1994; Kessler, Berglund, Demier et al., 2005).  The normal time frame for dysthymia is 4 to 5 years but it can last as long as 20 years or more (Keller et al., 1997; Klein et al., 2006). Chronic stress may be a contributing factor to the increased severity of the symptoms over 7.5 years follow-up over a certain period of time (Dougherty et al., 2004).  A 10 year longitudinal study was conducted with 97 participants with early-onset dysthymia; it was found that 74% recovered within 10 years, but  among those who have recovered, 71% relapsed, which occurred within 3 years of following up with their doctor (Klein et al. 2006; Klein, 2010).

References

American Psychiatric Association (APA).  (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5^th ed. (DSM-5).  Arlington: American Psychiatric Association (APA).
  

Butcher, J.N., Mineka, S., Hooley, J.M.  (2013). Abnormal Psychology, 15^th ed.  Upper Saddle River:  Pearson Education, Inc.   

Dougherty, L.R., Klein, D.N., Davila, J.  (2004). A growth curve analysis of the course of dysthymic disorder:  The effects of chronic stress and moderation by adverse parent-child relationships and family history.   Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 72(6), 1012-1021.

Keller, M.B., Hirschfeld, R. M.A., & Hanks, D.  (1997). Double depression:  A distinctive subtype of unipolar depression.  Journal of Affective Disorders, 45(1-2), 65-73.

Klein, D.N.  (2010). Chronic depression:  Diagnosis and classification.  Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(2), 96-100.

Klein, D.N., Shankman, S.A., & Rose, S.  (2006). Ten-year prospective follow-up study of the naturalistic course of dysthymic disorder and double depression.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(5), 872-680.

Kessler, R.C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., & Walters, E.E.  (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distribution of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.  Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593-602.

Kessler, R.C., McGonagle, K.A. Zhao, S., Nelson, C.B., Hughes, M., Eshleman, S., Wittchen, H.U., & Kendler, K.S. (1994).  Lifetime and 12 month prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States:  Results from the National Comorbid Survey. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 8-19.

Niculescu, A.B. 3rd, Akiskal, H.S. (2001).  Proposed endophenotypes of dysthymia: evolutionary, clinical and pharmacogenomics considerations. Molecular Psychiatry, 6(4):363-6.

Copyright in 2016 by ©Messenger Publishing, Inc.