“Peace At Any Price” is Often The Wrong Strategy
Jeffrey was a beleaguered husband. Married for 15 years, he reported that his wife criticized him for nearly everything without giving him any recognition or credit for the good things he did for her and the family. He felt he could do nothing right, despite the fact that he was a very good provider, he was…
How Important is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)?
In a recent session, 65 year old Dan, a retired insurance manager, was reflecting on mistakes he had made in his life. At the top of his list was an incident twenty years earlier when he received a home visit from a corporate V.P. who was vetting him for a large promotion as a district manager of a…
Anger At Home is Contagious
Have you noticed that in some homes anger spreads like wildfire. Sometimes it starts with a spark and slowly spreads. Other times it starts with an explosion and spreads quickly like an out of control forest fire. Either way, family anger often creates an uncomfortable, oppressive atmosphere in the home, like storm clouds suddenly spoiling a perfectly…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #14 – How to Tank Your Relationship: part 3
In this months episode we provide couples with suggestions on how to tank your relationship, an exciting new series offered by Dr. Tony Fiore. In part 3, we highlight a habit that can start eager couples down that path to divorce: Never ask your partner to meet you half way on an issue of disagreement….
Is Forgiveness Manly?
The following article is reprinted with permission from The Art of Manliness. Of course, forgiveness is tool #7 in our toolkit of anger management tools in both our local classes and in our online programs. Click here to watch our video of forgiveness as well as our other anger management videos, then read the following article which deals with…
Is Your Child Being Bullied?
Hardly a day goes by without a news story about the consequences of bullying in our country, especially among school children. In a national study of bullying, the researchers found that nearly 30% of sixth through tenth grade students reported moderate to frequent involvement in bullying, either as a bully themselves, the victim of bullying,…
Can’t change your partner? Try Looking in The Mirror!
Anger is an emotion. But, angry emotions often trigger a specific behavior (like yelling, throwing things, hitting, insulting someone, etc) which causes problems for you either at home, at work, on the road, or in your family. Most people in our anger classes tell us that one of the reasons they exhibit the angry behavior is because they want to change someone or…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #13 – How to Tank Your Relationship: part 2
In this months episode we provide couples with suggestions on how to tank your relationship, an exciting new series offered by Dr. Tony Fiore. In part 2, we highlight communication styles that can start eager couples down that path to divorce. The way you choose to handle arguments can sway your relationship towards or away…
Is Marriage like a Rorschach Test?
Have you ever noticed that you and your partner sometimes see things very differently? The very same things. Reminds me of the classic Woody Allen film “Annie Hall” with Woody himself (“Alvy Singer”) and Diane Keaton (“Annie Hall”), in which we see a split screen with both of them talking to their separate therapists about…
Financial Infidelity: Are you dishonest about money?
As the economy tightens, handling of finances in families is increasingly at the core of family fights and conflicts presented to therapists. Financial strain may greatly increase family stress which in turn affects all aspects of the relationship and family life. Even worse, is the introduction of what therapists are now calling “financial infidelity” –…
Is Empathy Declining?
Empathy is defined as the ability to put oneself in another’s shoes, to understand their feelings and feel them yourself, and to see the world as they do. Theodore Roosevelt said: “A very large share of the rancor of political and social strife arises from sheer misunderstanding by one section, or by one class, of another, or…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #12 – How to Tank Your Relationship: part 1
In this months episode we provide couples with suggestions on how to tank your relationship, an exciting new series offered by Dr. Tony Fiore. In part 1, we highlight three ways couples often start down that path to divorce. This podcast centers around a typical argument that couples often have and how what you say…
Dealing With Life Stress: Should We Use a Scale or a Broom?
This cartoon illustrates how stressful life can be, even in normal situations like family life. (By the way, if you enjoy mental health humor, visit (http://blogs.psychcentral.com/humor) for more.) In our anger management programs, we teach specific methods to handle stress as one of our anger control tools, because stress and anger are very much connected…
Anger Coach Online Now has 16-Hour Class
Our New 16-Hour distance learning program is now available. This should be great news for persons who are unable to attend live classes and need up to 16 hours credit for court, the workplace, or personal growth. The sixteen hour class contains all the content of the 10-hour core program (including videos) but adds six…
Single Because of Anger?
We often get calls from single people who request help with anger management because they have just lost another relationship due both to their anger AND the inability of their boyfriend or girlfriend to deal with their criticisms, angry outbursts, or sarcastic ways of communicating. Fact is, if you are used to communicating in an…
Anger in your relationship? Guys: Before Trying To Fix, Just Listen
In our local anger management classes, we regularly hear from clients as to what causes anger in their relationships. Recently a young woman revealed that “99% of our fights occur because my husband tried to fix what is bothering me.” At this point, the males in the class were astounded that this woman could be…
How To Tank Your Relationship – Lesson 3
In our latest series of blogs, we have been trying to teach you what research tells us as to how to tank a relationship, if you really want to. Marriage researchers now know with a fairly high degree if accuracy (about 91% ) which habits and traits predict marital success and which will probably destroy…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #11 – Anger and Sex
This months episode we discuss the relationship that sex and anger share. As a practicing Psychologist and Marriage Therapist, I have come across many couples who experience sexual frustrations in their relationships. Often times anger can arise from sexual frustration, and as this episode discusses, sexual frustration can result from anger. In this podcast we…
How To Tank Your Relationship- Lesson 2
In our last blog, we taught you Lesson 1 of how to tank your relationship: React to bad behavior by your partner in way that indicates that you think they are 100% wrong and you are 100% right. Then assume that there is only one way (your way) to view or look at the situation,…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #10 – Is Humor a Remedy for Anger?
This months episode we discuss the positive effects that a sense of humor can have in dealing with anger. Appropriate humor can help all of us deal with difficult situations better, and if we have a problem with anger humor can gives us new ways to respond to frustrating situations. Humor shifts the way we…
AngerCoach Show – Episode #9 – Managing Expectations
This months episode discusses the benefits of managing your expectations. Learn what your expectations are, where they come from and understand how the world around us influences our expectations. When we understand these things, then we can better adjust what our expectations are when it comes to our lives, our relationships, our families, our possessions…