Marine and Family Services helps with anger

NC, UNITED STATES

02.14.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Ryan Joyner 

Marine Corps Installations East       

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. - The Marine and Family Services Center aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River held its first anger management for the Twenty-First Century workshop, Feb. 14.

The two-day workshop is open to service members, family members and retirees who want to build a solid foundation in anger management. Through the workshop, participants learn how to manage their emotions in healthier ways.

“The course is set with discussions that are organized around eight core skills of anger management,” said Tamela Bryan, Marine and Family Services Prevention and Education specialist.

Those core skills are: dealing with stress, empathy, respond instead of react, change the conversation with yourself, assertive communication, adjust expectations and retreat and think things over.

The course is designed to help participants realize why they get angry and learn steps to reduce stress and live healthier lives. The participants in the workshop collaborate and share their experiences among each other.

“They share what they know has worked to solve their problems in the short and long term and what hasn’t worked for them,” said Bryan.

The participants engage in activities that are designed to decrease the amount of stress in their lives and help them figure out what causes them to be angry. During one activity, the participants were asked to draw what they imagined they look like when they become angry.

Bryan said this helps them realize what angers them.

The workshop is going to become more in depth and longer. It is currently only a two-part workshop, but will become four parts to make sure the foundation of anger management has been set, said Bryan.

“We are trying to keep everything up to date and relevant,” she added. “No one wants to see information that is 20 years old.”

The next workshop will utilize smart boards to aid the course. The course provides stress balls and other methods to keep participants interested and attentive.

Bryan is assisted by Marilyn Nakamura, Marine and Family Services social worker. The class is very interactive, allowing the instructors to help the participants more, and it is more personal to where instructors can help individuals on a one-to-one basis, said Bryan.

While the Feb. 14 class had less than 10 participants, instructors would like to see more participants come, so they can provide more help said Nakamura.

Bryan said the workshop is a very calm place for people to come to seek help. The instructors want the participants to feel welcomed, so they can become a happier and healthier person.

“I feel like the workshop is very effective at helping the participants deal with their anger and finding better ways to handle situations,” said Bryan.

For more information and to register for the upcoming workshop, that begins April 10, contact the Marine and Family Services Center at [phone] or Tamela Bryan at [phone].

• Date Taken: 02.14.2012
• Date Posted: 03.01.2012 09:07
• Story ID: 84544
• Location: NC, US