Anger Management

Anger management teaches you to find, control, and manage stressors. The leading psychiatry specialists at Spectrum Behavioral Health in the Chicago area provide patient-centered anger management to help you understand and triumph over your challenges. Anger management is available in the New Lenox and Hinsdale, Illinois, offices, and telehealth is available too. Book your first appointment today online or by phone.

What is anger management?

Anger management is a therapeutic approach to managing unhealthy anger. The goals of anger management include:

• Recognizing anger triggers
• Learning how to avoid your anger triggers
• Managing anger flare-ups
• Preventing anger flare-ups

Spectrum Behavioral Health’s team of knowledgeable psychiatric care providers designs personalized anger management plans for every person. The goal of anger management isn’t to remove your emotions or eliminate all anger. It’s to eliminate unhealthy and damaging anger so that you can enjoy your life.

What does an anger management evaluation consist of?

An anger management evaluation determines whether you have an anger problem that needs treatment. The Spectrum Behavioral Health team uses a variety of diagnostic and assessment tools to do this.

One example is discussing anger incidents in the last week. For example, you might answer questions about feeling: 

• More irritated than you showed outwardly
• Angry or enraged
• Like exploding
• Grouchy
• Annoyed 

The team might ask you to say how often you felt that way in the last week:

• Never
• Rarely
• Sometimes
• Often
• Always

These questions help pinpoint the treatment path you need. 

What can I expect from anger management?

Anger management usually involves therapy designed to recognize, cope with, and avoid anger. One example is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) called stress inoculation. This therapy involves confronting imaginary anger triggers so that you learn how to manage your anger by using coping methods.

Spectrum Behavioral Health also offers alternative therapies like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), somatic experiencing, and neurofeedback. These techniques provide innovative ways to cope with anger and other negative feelings.

Although medication isn’t usually the first-line approach to anger management, it’s sometimes needed when other methods aren’t working. Or, you might need antidepressants, anti-anxiety medication, or some other medication if you have a mental health disorder like depression, anxiety, or another condition.

Your dedication to handling your anger is essential to your anger management treatment. You bring your willingness to change, and the Spectrum Behavioral Health team provides the pathway to recovery.

Call Spectrum Behavioral Health today or book your appointment online to learn more about anger management and how it can help you get back to a healthy place.