Teenage Anger | Family Therapy
An excerpt from Child Mind Institute on Teenage Anger to help parents develop a better understanding of what healthy behaviors in a teenager may look like.
Lauren Allerhand, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, says that anger isn’t necessarily a bad thing. “Anger is an important part of our emotional lives. But anger gets a bad rap because the urges that come with it — yelling, fighting, being unkind to others — can be destructive and upsetting.”
Helping kids learn to talk about what’s causing their anger can be hugely important. True, some teenage snippiness can be chalked up to the developmentally appropriate (if annoying for parents) task of separating from parents (You like that? I hate it!).
But anger can also cause serious problems. Irritability, mood swings, or outbursts may be symptoms of disorders like anxiety and depression. Reactions to trauma or negative experiences that kids feel unable to cope can from can also present themselves as bursts of temper. Even less significant struggles, like trouble at school, or problems with friends or relationships can masquerade as anger, especially if a teenager lack the tools to investigate and articulate their feelings.
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Social and Emotional Learning is the process we go through to gain and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes we learn over time. We use it to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, to feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
Our therapists excel in parent-child interaction and family counseling, and we care greatly that each of our patients has the opportunity to develop the social skills needed to live a quality life as they process through trauma, mental health and behavioral disorders in a safe environment.
Primary Characteristics of Social and Emotional Learning:
Family Counseling
Family counseling can be useful in any family situation that causes stress, grief, anger, or conflict and many families find healing and hope at BHSA. Through healthy dialog, family members can better understand one another and learn valuable coping skills, which bring families closer.
Free Resources for Parents + Youth
We understand that working through conflict is a skill that has to be learned over time from observation and practice. Here is a free worksheet to refer to and practice to help make that process easier:
Social Awareness
Social awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
Such as: