“I am not my anger”: An interview with Shalanda Jackson, LCSW

For today’s Counseling Awareness Month post, I’m excited to share an interview that I did with Shalanda Jackson, LCSW. Shalanda is the owner of J Group Counseling Services, a private practice for psychotherapy where she offers individual counseling and group counseling.

I understand that you do group therapy for anger management. Tell the readers about what that group is like and what it covers.

First and foremost, group sessions are interactive and fun! Sessions are for 4 weeks and are geared towards individuals learning their triggers, learning new coping skills to replace old coping skills, and learning to maintain those skills after sharing what brought them into anger management classes.

While keeping all identities anonymous, share a success story from your anger management courses.

We had an individual who typically did not have an issue with anger. However, over a period of time, she began to become angry and frustrated with her significant other due to unmet needs and him not understanding her frustrations. This lead to her becoming physically and verbally aggressive towards him. After, taking my course she began to realize that her anger was due to poor communication skills and issues with self-esteem/ self-worth. She needed to begin to let go of the relationship and began to reflect on what she truly needed and wanted out of life.

Wow! That’s an awesome success story. For readers who struggle with anger or who love someone that does, what are five steps that they can take to help?

1. Become aware of yourself (triggers, biases, etc.)

2. Learn to replace old coping skills with new coping skills.

3. Accept yourself and maintain those learned skills.

4. Seek outpatient therapy if needed.

5. Locate a good support network (personal or group) to help hold yourself accountable for your actions.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share with our readers today, Shalanda!

You can learn more about Shalanda Jackson, LCSW at http://www.jgroupcounselingservices.com

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