Everyone gets angry. When things don’t go our way, when someone cuts us off in traffic, it’s easy to get mad and yell. Anger is a normal emotion. And expressing it can be healthy. It helps us meet our needs, and get what we want. But in doing so, it can create other problems, too.
When anger gets out of control, it leads to disrespectful behavior and discipline problems for both parents and teachers.
It takes self-awareness and self-control to learn how to recognize when you’re getting angry and how to diffuse it. That’s why the Exchange Club Family Center offers the Comprehensive Anger Management program. It teaches both parents and children new coping skills.
Comprehensive Anger Management Class
Tuesday, August 25 from 6 to 8 p.m.
Exchange Club Family Center, 2180 Union Avenue, 38104
Call 276-2200x121 to register now. • Questions? Email agallimore@exchangeclub.net
Cost: $20 per session (for child & adult)
There can be many reasons a child behaves angrily. They might be using their anger as a shield to hide behind, as a way to cope with feelings of abandonment, rejection, or loss. Or it may be a learned behavior. “Kids don’t know how to deal with trauma,” notes licensed professional counselor Amy Gallimore. “So issues of abandonment or being hurt by rejection can be acted out as anger.”
The Comprehensive Anger Management program uses group counseling to help families, giving both parents and children a better understanding of how to gain control of angry feelings and how to communicate more effectively.
Parents and children attend separate classes that sometimes meet jointly and also hear from special guest speakers. Individual classes are offered for boys, girls, parents, and Latino parents (the class is held in Spanish). The classes include:
CLUE (Children Learning Useful & Effective Skills) • Co-ed ages 8-12
TAME (Teen Anger Management in Effect) • Girls ages 13-18
MAP (Male Adolescent Program) • Boys ages 13-18
TIPS (Training Intervention for Parents, also available in Spanish) • Teaches parents strategies for coping with disruptive teens.
Gallimore says the classes are interactive, “Everyone learns about anger, communication skills, and moves towards more respectful communication.”
Class participants will learn:
• how to regulate emotions so we can think clearly;
• how to notice and name our thoughts, emotions, and triggers;
• how to communicate effectively with others; to take responsibility for our own thoughts, feelings, and behavior without blaming others;
• and how to resolve the problem (and therefore our anger) in an effective way using assertive behavior.
Call to register. Two fall sessions will be offered, August 25 and a second class that starts in late October.