Anger Groups for Women

The anger management groups are formatted and skills based.  For the first half of each group there is a training on a specific tool or element that is helpful in transforming your anger.  In the second half of the group session members will have the opportunity to share or hear a journal entry, which is broken down and discussed in detail. 

All groups meet weekly for 1 1/2 hours and run for 12 weeks.  They are small, 5-7 women, so that everyone has the opportunity to be heard.  They are meant to be take sequentially; level one through level three.  Each level building on the skills from the last. The participants receive a binder with pertinent information and reading assignment from the assigned text.

Level One

Stopping Problem Anger Now:

The first step in the process to managing your anger is to stop acting in ways that damage friendships, jobs and/or personal relationships.  In level one, you learn about yourself and how to slow down the anger process.  It might feel as if you go from zero to explosion without warning, but there are predictable steps in between where you can make other choices.  You will learn to separate out physical sensations, trigger thoughts, emotional responses and behavioral actions, giving you opportunities to change your reactions.  You will gain tools and learn new skills to help you respond to situations in ways you can feel good about.

Level Two

Learning Effective Communication:

Once you stop the debilitating anger, it is time to communicate in a way that is more effective.  Through the use of Non-Violent Communication, you will learn to separate evaluation from observation, identify your feelings and needs and find ways to interact so that you can possible get those needs met.  A major part of this level is to learn to talk more kindly to yourself. To do that you will learn the elements of self-compassion and start to incorporate them into your life.

Level Three

Healing the Roots of Anger:

After learning to communicate your needs and have self compassion in level two, you are ready to look more deeply into some of your reactive patterns that you use to protect yourself from vulnerable feelings of sadness, powerlessness and shame.  Through readings, journaling, mindfulness and dialogue, you gain insight into your own judgements and self defeating behaviors to be able to become free to invite intimacy into your life.