Emotional dysregulation is a problem for many teens. During adolescence, teens experience physical and emotional changes that impact their mood. Imagine feeling constantly confused about why you have certain feelings. It can be overwhelming for teens to experience new and stressful emotions associated with growing up.
When you feel your kid is overreacting, remember that they have limited experience with feelings like frustration and anger and do not know how to regulate their emotions. As an adult, your experience in life has taught you how to regulate your emotions. Teenagers struggle with finding balance, as they feel like they are being pulled in many different directions.
It is important that parents, guardians, and educators help teens manage their anger. When left unaddressed, anger issues can negatively impact your teen’s life. In cases where your teen’s behavior becomes difficult to manage at home, reaching out to professionals like NexStep Teen Academy can be helpful.
Understanding Teen Anger
Teenagers can be notoriously moody. This leaves many parents asking whether it is normal for their teen to behave that way. Anger is a normal emotion that everyone experiences. However, left unmanaged, it can have a negative impact on your teen’s life. Teens struggling with rage can find it difficult to function normally in their day-to-day lives.
Several things can cause anger issues. They include the following:
Underlying Mental Health Conditions: Teens with mental health conditions like borderline personality disorder (BPD), disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can have a hard time managing their anger.
Life Stressors: Major and minor life challenges can overwhelm your teen. Situations like family arguments and divorce cause a lot of turmoil in your teen’s life. These overwhelming feelings can cause them to have violent or angry outbursts.
Relationship Problems: When teens have relationship problems, they tend to become irritable. They have trouble processing such feelings and may express frustration through angry outbursts.
Academic Pressure: Pressure to perform well in school can make your teen feel irritable and easily frustrated.
Substance Abuse: Teens who abuse drugs and substances can have a hard time controlling their emotions. They become moody and irritable, especially when confronted about their negative behaviors.
The Impact of Unmanaged Teen Anger
Unmanaged teen anger can have a profound effect on your teen’s life. Some effects of unaddressed teen anger include the following:
Academic decline
Worsening of mental health conditions
Trouble with law enforcement
Breakdown of interpersonal relationships
Getting into frequent physical fights
Suspension or expulsion from school
Drug and substance abuse
Having trouble keeping a job
Becoming socially withdrawn
Professional Therapy Options for Teen Anger Management
Professional teen mental health treatment providers like NexStep Teen Academy use various approaches to help teens with aggression. We pride ourselves on identifying and addressing the root cause of your teen’s anger. Our highly experienced staff provides high-quality outpatient mental health treatment for teens in Arizona. Our family-centered approach seeks to improve family dynamics and help teens quickly overcome their emotional struggles.
At NexStep Teen Academy, we provide the following therapy options:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that has been effective in helping teens with emotional regulation issues. It is based on the idea that thoughts affect emotions and behavior. CBT helps teens recognize negative or distorted thoughts that ultimately lead to negative behavior. By isolating and recognizing these thoughts, teens can react appropriately when faced with difficult situations.
CBT aims to help teens shift from negative thoughts to more positive ones. It can help your teen recognize negative patterns such as all-or-nothing thinking, fortune-telling, or magnification. Teens with these negative thinking patterns react extremely to small inconveniences. They may also jump to conclusions as they are likely to make assumptions about the situation.
CBT uses several interventions to help teens shift negative thoughts to more positive ones. These include the following:
GuidedDiscovery: This intervention helps the therapist understand your teen’s point of view. It involves asking questions about how your teen would react when faced with difficulties. If your teen makes assumptions about the situation, the therapist guides them to dispel those assumptions or beliefs. Guided discovery also helps teens understand others’ actions since they can see their point of view.
Cognitive Restructuring: It involves exercising the brain to reframe negative thoughts into positive ones. It helps teens identify destructive thoughts and reframe them into positive ones.
Journaling: Cognitive journaling helps teens identify situational triggers that lead to destructive thoughts. It is useful in stressful situations since it helps your teen react appropriately to negative stimuli.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
DBT is another form of evidence-based treatment and is similar to CBT. It was developed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder, an emotional regulation disorder that affects many teens. The main idea behind DBT is to help teens get out of denial that they have a problem. Denial can be a hindrance to successful treatment. DBT helps teens accept that negative thoughts are part of life but can be changed through mindfulness.
DBT helps teens with emotional regulation issues by using several interventions to help them regulate their emotions. These include the following:
Mindfulness: It allows teens to appreciate and be aware of what is happening in the present. Mindfulness also reduces anxiety since the past or the future will not preoccupy your teen’s mind. Additionally, it helps teens acknowledge their emotions instead of getting lost in them.
Distress Tolerance: DBT teaches teens radical acceptance to enable them to accept the situation as it is. When they learn to accept the situation, they can control the feeling of anxiety associated with the situation.
InterpersonalEffectiveness: DBT helps teens understand how their actions affect others. By gaining a different perspective, they can be more aware and empathetic toward those around them.
Individual Therapy
This type of psychotherapy involves one-on-one sessions between your teen and a therapist. It helps teens get comfortable with identifying and addressing troubling emotions. A one-on-one session can help your teen work through difficult emotions without fear of judgment or the social anxiety of a group session.
Aggressive teens can benefit from individual therapy. One of the benefits of individual therapy is that it is completely customizable to your teen’s needs. The therapist can modify appropriate interventions to accommodate your teen’s personality or thinking. It also helps teens learn self-awareness as they understand why they behave as they do. The confidential nature of individual therapy can also help your teen feel comfortable about sharing their intrusive or disturbing thoughts.
Family Therapy
Family dynamics can cause teen aggression. Teens who grow up in dysfunctional or abusive homes are more likely to have problems regulating their emotions. Family therapy allows family members to learn how to communicate and build stronger relationships. Involving family members addresses the root cause of anger issues and helps teens recover faster.
The goal of family therapy is to create a positive home environment. A safe and supportive environment helps teens learn how to regulate emotions when faced with difficulty.
Group Therapy and Counseling
This type of psychotherapy involves treating multiple teenagers at once. In a typical session, six to twelve teenagers share their problems with a facilitator. Group therapy helps teens build strong emotional connections with their peers through a sense of shared experience. It also helps teens take charge of helping each other deal with difficult emotions.
The supportive environment created during group therapy helps many teens recover quickly. It allows teens to be comfortable interacting with their peers and solving each other’s problems. When combined with activities like art or exercise, group therapy helps teens develop healthy coping mechanisms while learning from others.
Choosing The Right Treatment Option for Your Teen
There are several considerations you need to make while choosing a treatment option. Some of these factors include the following:
The severity of the Issue: Mild and severe emotional regulation issues require different treatment options. If your teen has mild anger issues, they can benefit from fewer therapy sessions compared to teens with severe anger issues.
Flexibility of the Program: Ensure the treatment option is flexible to accommodate your teen’s everyday activities. Unless it is necessary, choose a program that does not clash with your teen’s academic or extracurricular activities.
Underlying Mental Health Conditions: Teens with underlying mental health conditions may require more specialized care. If your teen has a history of depression, anxiety, or trauma, choose a program that will address these underlying conditions.
Cost: Parents should check the program’s cost before enrolling their teens. Mental health treatment can be very costly. NexSteps Teen Academy works directly with insurance to ensure you stay focused on what matters: getting your son or daughter help. Call now to verify your insurance.
Long-Term Strategies for Sustained Anger Management
There are several techniques parents can use to help their teens regulate emotions. These include the following:
Creating a Safe and Supportive Environment: Provide a safe and supportive environment for your teen to express themselves freely. When teens feel safe and secure, they are more likely to share their problems with their parents.
FosteringOpenCommunication: Communicating openly with your teen about mental health can help them manage negative emotions. It helps teens verbalize their issues and have a judgment-free outlet. Teens who openly communicate with their parents are less likely to have emotional regulation issues.
Building Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence: Self-aware teens understand how their actions affect others. Teaching your teen to be emotionally intelligent teaches them how to manage negative emotions.
Enabling Healthy Expression of Emotions: One of the most important things you can do to help teens manage anger is teaching them how to express their emotions healthily. Foster positive coping mechanisms like journaling or art to help them have an outlet for negative emotions.
Teaching Problem-Solving Skills: Many teens struggle with emotional regulation because they lack problem-solving skills. As a parent, you should teach your teen how to navigate through and solve difficult problems.
If you need help, call NexStep today. Tell us about your situation, and we can walk you through the treatment process and how you can get your teen the help they need.
Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are some of the most effective treatments for teens with emotional regulation issues. They help teens recognize negative thought patterns and shift their mindset to a more positive one. That said, what may be most effective for one individual may not be as helpful for another. This is why individualized treatment programs, like those you find at NexStep, are so important.
Teens with severe emotional regulation issues may need professional help. Teens who exhibit severe physical aggression, self-harm, or pose a safety risk to their siblings may need professional help.
While typically, there are no pharmacological interventions for teens with anger issues, mental health providers may administer medication to teens with underlying mental health conditions.
You can support your teen by creating a safe and secure home environment. Make your teen feel safe and understood. Openly communicate with them and encourage positive coping mechanisms.
Teen Anger Management Treatment Options
Table of Contents
Emotional dysregulation is a problem for many teens. During adolescence, teens experience physical and emotional changes that impact their mood. Imagine feeling constantly confused about why you have certain feelings. It can be overwhelming for teens to experience new and stressful emotions associated with growing up.
When you feel your kid is overreacting, remember that they have limited experience with feelings like frustration and anger and do not know how to regulate their emotions. As an adult, your experience in life has taught you how to regulate your emotions. Teenagers struggle with finding balance, as they feel like they are being pulled in many different directions.
It is important that parents, guardians, and educators help teens manage their anger. When left unaddressed, anger issues can negatively impact your teen’s life. In cases where your teen’s behavior becomes difficult to manage at home, reaching out to professionals like NexStep Teen Academy can be helpful.
Understanding Teen Anger
Teenagers can be notoriously moody. This leaves many parents asking whether it is normal for their teen to behave that way. Anger is a normal emotion that everyone experiences. However, left unmanaged, it can have a negative impact on your teen’s life. Teens struggling with rage can find it difficult to function normally in their day-to-day lives.
Several things can cause anger issues. They include the following:
The Impact of Unmanaged Teen Anger
Unmanaged teen anger can have a profound effect on your teen’s life. Some effects of unaddressed teen anger include the following:
Professional Therapy Options for Teen Anger Management
Professional teen mental health treatment providers like NexStep Teen Academy use various approaches to help teens with aggression. We pride ourselves on identifying and addressing the root cause of your teen’s anger. Our highly experienced staff provides high-quality outpatient mental health treatment for teens in Arizona. Our family-centered approach seeks to improve family dynamics and help teens quickly overcome their emotional struggles.
At NexStep Teen Academy, we provide the following therapy options:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that has been effective in helping teens with emotional regulation issues. It is based on the idea that thoughts affect emotions and behavior. CBT helps teens recognize negative or distorted thoughts that ultimately lead to negative behavior. By isolating and recognizing these thoughts, teens can react appropriately when faced with difficult situations.
CBT aims to help teens shift from negative thoughts to more positive ones. It can help your teen recognize negative patterns such as all-or-nothing thinking, fortune-telling, or magnification. Teens with these negative thinking patterns react extremely to small inconveniences. They may also jump to conclusions as they are likely to make assumptions about the situation.
CBT uses several interventions to help teens shift negative thoughts to more positive ones. These include the following:
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
DBT is another form of evidence-based treatment and is similar to CBT. It was developed to treat Borderline Personality Disorder, an emotional regulation disorder that affects many teens. The main idea behind DBT is to help teens get out of denial that they have a problem. Denial can be a hindrance to successful treatment. DBT helps teens accept that negative thoughts are part of life but can be changed through mindfulness.
DBT helps teens with emotional regulation issues by using several interventions to help them regulate their emotions. These include the following:
Individual Therapy
This type of psychotherapy involves one-on-one sessions between your teen and a therapist. It helps teens get comfortable with identifying and addressing troubling emotions. A one-on-one session can help your teen work through difficult emotions without fear of judgment or the social anxiety of a group session.
Aggressive teens can benefit from individual therapy. One of the benefits of individual therapy is that it is completely customizable to your teen’s needs. The therapist can modify appropriate interventions to accommodate your teen’s personality or thinking. It also helps teens learn self-awareness as they understand why they behave as they do. The confidential nature of individual therapy can also help your teen feel comfortable about sharing their intrusive or disturbing thoughts.
Family Therapy
Family dynamics can cause teen aggression. Teens who grow up in dysfunctional or abusive homes are more likely to have problems regulating their emotions. Family therapy allows family members to learn how to communicate and build stronger relationships. Involving family members addresses the root cause of anger issues and helps teens recover faster.
The goal of family therapy is to create a positive home environment. A safe and supportive environment helps teens learn how to regulate emotions when faced with difficulty.
Group Therapy and Counseling
This type of psychotherapy involves treating multiple teenagers at once. In a typical session, six to twelve teenagers share their problems with a facilitator. Group therapy helps teens build strong emotional connections with their peers through a sense of shared experience. It also helps teens take charge of helping each other deal with difficult emotions.
The supportive environment created during group therapy helps many teens recover quickly. It allows teens to be comfortable interacting with their peers and solving each other’s problems. When combined with activities like art or exercise, group therapy helps teens develop healthy coping mechanisms while learning from others.
Choosing The Right Treatment Option for Your Teen
There are several considerations you need to make while choosing a treatment option. Some of these factors include the following:
Long-Term Strategies for Sustained Anger Management
There are several techniques parents can use to help their teens regulate emotions. These include the following:
If you need help, call NexStep today. Tell us about your situation, and we can walk you through the treatment process and how you can get your teen the help they need.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy are some of the most effective treatments for teens with emotional regulation issues. They help teens recognize negative thought patterns and shift their mindset to a more positive one. That said, what may be most effective for one individual may not be as helpful for another. This is why individualized treatment programs, like those you find at NexStep, are so important.
Teens with severe emotional regulation issues may need professional help. Teens who exhibit severe physical aggression, self-harm, or pose a safety risk to their siblings may need professional help.
While typically, there are no pharmacological interventions for teens with anger issues, mental health providers may administer medication to teens with underlying mental health conditions.
You can support your teen by creating a safe and secure home environment. Make your teen feel safe and understood. Openly communicate with them and encourage positive coping mechanisms.
Many teens outgrow their anger issues. However, it is important to seek professional help if your teen has severe anger issues.