Understanding Anger Management Treatment Programs for Teens

From temper tantrums to outbursts of violent rage, adolescents are vulnerable to the effects of this powerful emotion. In one national survey, 63% of teenage respondents admitted that they had experienced at least one outburst of anger that resulted in violence or property destruction. For many people—especially teens—drugs and alcohol provide the fuel for angry behavior.

Anger management treatment programs for teens provide an alternative to this kind of behavior. During treatment, teens learn about anger and emotional regulation. They are also given tools for healthy coping strategies. Regardless of the ways that anger manifests in your teen, they can learn how to regulate and manage their anger in healthy, nonviolent ways.

Why Teens Need Anger Management 

Anger is normal for teenagers. However, when left unchecked, it can cause significant problems. Uncontrolled or unmanaged anger can lead to violent outbursts. It can ruin friendships or family ties. Unchecked rage can also lead to alcohol or substance abuse, which can exacerbate anger and result in feeling out of control or lead to behaving in ways that put people at risk. With support, teens can learn to process anger in a safe and manageable way. 

How Do Teenagers Deal With Anger? 

Every teen is different; therefore, the ways teens express anger will vary from person to person. For example, a teen may scream, slam doors, or use hurtful language in the heat of an angry moment. In more intense situations, a teen may cope with anger by lashing out physically (hitting, pushing) or engaging in self-sabotaging, risky behaviors.  

When teen anger management strategies are not in place, teens often cope with anger and stress by trying to escape it. A teen may attempt to escape uncontrollable anger by hurting others or themselves, taking drugs, using alcohol, or being sexually promiscuous. These activities mask frustration and pain, but in almost every instance, these attempts to escape anger only make the situation worse.  

Anger management therapy for teens offers alternative, healthy coping techniques such as assessing feelings, communicating these feelings with others, and engaging in productive activities that can offset anger. With these tools, a teen is better equipped to cope with bouts of rage and anger.

What Causes Explosive Episodes?

In adolescence, the areas of the brain that control logic, decision-making, and self-discipline are still in development. Meanwhile, the areas responsible for basic survival needs like hunger, sleep, and sex exercise a strong influence. It takes a lot of time and effort for teens to learn how to curb anger and other forceful emotions for the sake of their long-term good. But, brain development isn’t the only reason some teens have trouble controlling their anger. There are other influences that contribute to a lack of emotional control.

Hormones

As the teen body grows and changes, so does the balance of hormones. Hormonal changes can produce strong emotions, ranging from love and affection to anger and rage.

Parental Influence

Young people who grow up in an environment of uncontrolled anger may emulate that model and have trouble controlling their own emotions. By the same token, teens who see their parents handling anger in healthy ways are more likely to model this behavior. 

Personal History

Traumatic experiences like sexual abuse, physical abuse, or bullying make teens feel vulnerable and more likely to experience episodes of explosive anger.

Mental Health Issues

Mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and impulse control disorders have a strong influence on emotional regulation. In teens, depression often manifests itself as anger or irritability.

Substance Use

Drug and alcohol abuse interferes with normal adolescent brain development, encouraging high-risk behavior at the expense of long-term benefits. At the same time, substances affect the brain chemistry that regulates emotions, making it harder to control angry outbursts and aggressive episodes.

The Stages of Anger

Identifying and acknowledging the different stages of anger can help parents and teens address anger in healthy ways. Whether in therapy at home or at a residential treatment center, teens can work through these stages of anger, step by step, to learn more about their anger responses.

1. Triggering Event

Understandably, the first phase of anger erupts as a response to a trigger. This could be a situation, event, or occurrence that prompts a teen to become angry.

2. Negative Thoughts

This stage is when a teen turns over a triggering event in his or her mind or stews about what happened. Teens can have obsessive thoughts about the event, formulate beliefs about why it happened, or consider who is to blame. Essentially, teens begin to process negative thoughts about the trigger and formulate interpretations (whether true or false) about the situation, which can result in an accumulation of negative thoughts. 

3. Onset of Emotions

When the negative thoughts continue to run rampant, they begin to manifest into emotions. Ultimately, these emotions bloom from negative thoughts about the trigger, exploding into emotional turmoil driven by anger.  

4. Physical Symptoms

In this phase, the anger has swelled to the point of causing physical disharmony. This may manifest in an increased heart rate, hyperventilation, clenched jaws or fists, perspiration, or other physical demonstrations that anger has boiled to the surface. 

5. Behavioral Reactions

Anger has culminated to such an extent that a teen may lash out. Behavioral reactions could manifest into a physical fight, throwing or destroying objects, shouting, uttering threats, or using other harmful language.

6. Escalation 

Without anger management strategies, a teen can quickly find themselves in this final stage of anger. This is when a teen’s anger has grown to the point that it could lead to the destruction of property or physical altercations. They could be getting into a physical altercation with a family member, friend, or foe. 

This final stage of anger is a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break alone. Anger therapy for teens disrupts the cycle, allowing the stages of anger to be diffused before reaching the point of escalation or irreparable damage. 

When Does Anger in Teenagers Become a Problem?

Anger itself is not a problem; it’s a natural human emotion. Anger can be a sign that you need to take action about something that’s going wrong in your world. If someone is harming you, taking advantage of you, or threatening someone you love, anger is a healthy response. But when rage feels uncontrollable, and the results are destructive, then this powerful emotion can have devastating effects on everyone in your teen’s life—including themself.

How can you tell when anger has become a problem? Here are a few warning signs that a healthy emotional regulation has spun out of control:

• Your teen’s anger frequently has negative consequences, such as injuries, accidents, or deliberate destruction of property.
• When they are angry, your teen threatens to harm themselves or others.
• Your teenager’s outbursts are triggered by apparently minor incidents or seem to have no justification at all.
• When they are not having an angry outburst, your teenager acts depressed or spends a lot of time alone.
• Your teenager seems to undergo a total transformation in appearance, emotional affect, and behavior when in the grip of anger.

National statistics on teen violence indicate that aggression takes a severe toll on Americans between the ages of 10 and 24. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that emergency departments treat over 800 young people for physical assault-related injuries every day. Anger has also been linked to a higher rate of risk-taking behavior and suicidal ideation among teens.

Anger and Mental Illness

A repeated pattern of explosive behavior may be more than the effect of adolescent hormones; it could be a sign of a psychiatric condition or a neurological disorder.

The National Institute of Mental Health states that up to 16 million Americans may suffer from a condition called intermittent explosive disorder (IED) at some point in their lives. This disorder, which usually begins in adolescence, is characterized by a complete loss of control over one’s anger. Outbursts usually involve the destruction of property, bodily injury, or some other form of serious damage.

In addition to IED, other psychiatric conditions can fuel episodes of angry behavior in teenagers, including:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Bipolar Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Substance Use Disorders

Learning disabilities like dyslexia or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can trigger aggression or violence in teens. Teens who feel alienated from their peers because of academic challenges have a higher risk of destructive behavior, juvenile delinquency, and substance use. Because mental illnesses and learning disorders often go undetected in teenagers, alcohol and drugs may be used as a form of self-medication or a way to gain social acceptance from peers.

The Influence of Substance Use on Anger

When combined, substance use and teenage anger are as volatile as sparks and gasoline. Substance use disorders impair judgment, distort perceptions, and fuel unstable adolescent emotions. Teenagers who haven’t learned how to cope with anger frequently turn to drugs or alcohol as a way to curb overwhelming emotions. Unfortunately, this dysfunctional coping mechanism can make the anger worse and trigger physical violence.

Research indicates that alcohol and drug abuse is a driving factor in many episodes of adolescent aggression. Teens who engage in binge drinking—the consumption of five or more drinks on a single occasion—are at high risk of aggressive behavior. Substance use is strongly linked to adolescent suicides, homicides, sexual assaults, and accidents.

Alcohol impairs the mechanisms in the brain that prevent people from acting on aggressive impulses. Even without being provoked, a person under the influence of alcohol is more likely to lash out in anger than a sober individual.

Illicit drug abuse is another common trigger for anger in teens. Stimulants like meth, cocaine, and Ecstasy accelerate the activity of the central nervous system, while hallucinogens like LSD can cause severe emotional disturbances. They can also cause anxiety, panic attacks, aggression, and violence. Unprovoked, unjustified anger is one of the warning signs of drug abuse in teenagers.

For teens with anger issues and substance use disorders, getting help for addiction must be the first step in the recovery process. As long as teenagers are exposed to the influence of alcohol or drugs, they are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled anger.

Anger Management Skills for Teens

Anger management skills not only help teens avoid the dangerous consequences of aggression; they can also help them avoid substance use and lead healthier lives. By managing strong emotions, teenagers can improve their relationships with family, peers, teachers, and employers. It can also lower their risk of injuries, altercations, and motor vehicle collisions. 

An anger management program for teens may include the following core components:

Behavioral Modification

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helps teens identify and change thought patterns that lead to aggression. Teens learn how to prevent outbursts by thinking through the consequences of their anger before acting on their emotions. CBT interventions for anger may include: 

• Relaxation training, which allows the teen to recognize and calm their physiological reactions
• Communication skills, which allow the teen to more effectively participate in healthy conflict resolution instead of anger-driven outbursts
• Cognitive interventions that allow the teen to recognize their triggers and adapt the maladaptive cognitive processes surrounding their anger 

Many anger management programs utilize one or more of these interventions in conjunction with peer support and stress management techniques. 

One-on-One Counseling

Anger is often rooted in mental illness, family conflict, or a history of abuse. Through intensive psychotherapy, teens can explore the roots of their anger in a safe, non–judgmental environment, one on one, with a therapist who specializes in adolescent recovery. During talk therapy, teens can practice verbal processing or explore specific therapeutic modalities like CBT. 

Peer Group Support

Teenagers who have anger management issues often have trouble making friends or sustaining relationships. Anger management group therapy for teens helps them learn coping skills and allows them to relate to other adolescents and build meaningful connections with their peers. Strong social connections help teens develop relationship-building and conflict-resolution skills. 

Stress Management Training 

Anger often erupts when a teenager is under physical or psychological stress. Stress management training can help teens learn how to calm their emotions and relax in high-risk situations. Activities such as mindful breathing, meditation, journaling, or listening to music can be excellent tools for stress management.

In a residential treatment setting, alternative therapies like adventure therapy, exercise therapy, and guided visualization can help young people learn how to release stress in healthy, self-affirming ways.

Family Counseling

Family therapy, such as that provided at Muir Wood, provides education and support for parents or guardians and siblings of teens. Through intensive counseling, family members can learn how to communicate more effectively, manage their own emotions, and set healthy boundaries for behavior. When the whole “family system” works together to develop emotional regulation and relationship management techniques, the teen has healthier models and support.

When to Seek Help

A clear pattern of uncontrollable anger or outbursts indicates the need for professional intervention. You may also consider seeking professional help if: 

• Your teen’s outbursts have gone beyond normal levels of anger
• Your teen has injured themselves or others during an angry episode
• Your teen’s aggression threatens the welfare of other family members
• Your teen has had repeated complaints from teachers or other authority figures about angry behavior
• Your teen has had legal problems because of anger or violence
• Your teenager is also using drugs or alcohol

When exploring treatment options, you should consider programs that offer anger management techniques as well as treatment for any underlying causes or contributors, such as substance use or mental illness. Learn more about how to choose the right treatment program for your teen.

Anger Management Treatment with Muir Wood

Located in serene settings throughout California, Muir Wood is the ideal place for teens to learn how to cope with the stress and frustration that fuel their anger. We are committed to helping adolescents overcome unhealthy anger that keeps them from meeting their potential.

Muir Wood offers intensive one-on-one therapy, family counseling, and experiential therapies as part of our comprehensive residential treatment programs for teens. Typically, treatment duration is around 30-45 days, and we are an in-network treatment provider for many insurance companies, including Aetna, Anthem, Blue Shield, Cigna, Kaiser, Halcyon, Magellan, MHN, Simple Behavioral, Optum, and TRICARE.

To get started, learn more about our admissions process, fill out a pre-assessment form, or contact us with any questions.