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Therapy Chat

Welcome to Therapy Chat podcast! Whether you're a therapist or not, you'll be fascinated by the discussions on this podcast, which focuses on emotions and well being. Baltimore area clinical social worker Laura Reagan, LCSW-C, specializes in trauma related to family of origin issues and trauma. Laura interviews psychotherapists, authors and other experts about psychotherapy, mindfulness, trauma, worthiness, perfectionism, self compassion, attachment, parenting, self care and much more. Find more about Laura at www.therapychatpodcast.com . 

 

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  2. 32. Getting Up Close & Personal With Anger - Mindfully

32. Getting Up Close & Personal With Anger - Mindfully

May 12, 2016

Welcome! My guest for this episode is Dr. Andrea Brandt, a psychotherapist, speaker, and author who has much knowledge and experience to bring to the table. Her book, Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedom, explores revolutionary thinking on the topic of anger. Join us as we discuss mindful anger.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

  • Mindfulness and anger are not usually thought of as partners.
  • Anger is almost always viewed as a negative emotion.
  • “The Pleasure Principle” that humans live by teaches us to avoid anger.
  • The goal? To get wisdom from your anger
  • Anger helps us set boundaries, meet needs, and accomplish change.
  • Andrea shares a personal example from her own family, where a passive-aggressive approach to anger stemmed from the murder of her grandfather by the Chicago mob in the 1920’s!
  • Andrea later went through therapy and learned to get in touch with her feelings.
  • She remembers being startled by the power of the energy in tandem with anger.
  • “Anger is a very corrosive emotion if you don’t have the tools to deal with it.”
  • Conflict and anger CAN strengthen relationships and don’t have to destroy them.
  • Andrea shares how she uses snowglobe imagery to help clients deal with anger with mindfulness.
  • “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”: how our anger belief systems are learned during childhood.
  • Andrea’s book can help with anger in the following ways:
    • Deepening your understanding of anger
    • Learning new ways of perceiving and dealing with anger
    • Using exercises to learn to benefit from anger
    • Learning how to catch the impulse of anger
    • Realizing what your triggers to anger are
    • Learning to use assertive communication
    • Using mindfulness and meditations in response to anger
    • Helping passive-aggressive people deal with anger more directly
  • “It’s not ANGER that needs to be managed, but the impulse that precedes the anger.”
  • “Passive-aggressive people are deeply committed to INACTION.”
  • Andrea discusses the mind-body connection to anger.
  • How sensorimotor psychotherapy can be effective and powerful in dealing with anger
  • Connect with Dr. Brandt at abrandtherapy.com or email her at abrandt@abrandtherapy.com. Find her book on Amazon!