Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Child Anger Management
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a method of treatment that is prescribed for various childhood and adult psychological conditions. It is also a common choice of therapy in child anger management. Find out how you and your child can benefit from CBT.
Benefits of CBT in Child Anger Management
There are many advantages to CBT, including the following:
Improving Your Child’s Emotional Awareness
Before anything else, the first step in helping a child deal with anger issues is guiding them towards emotional awareness. Under CBT, a child explores particular scenarios – often involving the trigger for anger, the thoughts that form, the emotions that follow, and then the actual behavior that he shows off. In most cases, when a child behaves aggressively or disruptively, his parents will give off a negative response. This can exacerbate the problem, reinforcing his negative opinion about himself. CBT aims to increase his awareness of his emotions and understand situations in a more mature manner.
Teaching Parents How to React When the Child is Angry
Even if you don’t notice it, kids are very sensitive to your emotional state. If you are feeling anxious or stressed, he feels insecure and unsafe. If you are angry, he may feel scared or threatened. These can lead to even more anger outbursts, escalating the situation at hand. In CBT, you will be taught to spend quality time with your child when both of you are relaxed and calm, among other things.
Accepting Anger and Exploring Avenues to Channel It
We all feel anger, it is a normal human response to certain stimuli. In CBT, you are taught to recognize that your child is feeling angry. You will learn how to teach them to explore the reasons for this emotion. Then, you and your child will learn about healthier and safer ways of channeling this anger instead of throwing tantrums and aggressive behavior.
More on CBT and Child Anger Management
To find out more information or to book an assessment, please contact Positive Kids Canada. We are here to help you and your child deal with anger issues and find better ways to cope as a family.
To learn more about the use of CBT in child anger management, check out the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies website.