• As a parent, does your teenager have angry outbursts?
• Are you a teen who has a hard time controlling your frustrations?
• Is your teenager ending up in fights at school, with siblings or with you?
• Does it seem your teenager doesn’t want to listen to you?
• Are you noticing her with unusual moodiness?
• Does he/she seem mad at you?
• Are you finding your teen shut off in his/her room for hours?

Teenagers express their emotions through their behavior. First, they may tell you that they are mad at you but pay attention to what they do or how they express themselves. Secondly, they may not even be mad at you but about something that happened between one of their friends. Also, they may be feeling emotional hurt, sadness, frustration over change, loss and may get angry over feeling shame or guilt. Fear may be a very big factor in their “acting out” with anger. Fear of loss, fear of abandonment, fear of being left alone, maybe fear of disappointing you as their parent or caregiver. Lastly, be open to listen while having a positive relationship with your teenager. This is important to them.

Finding a Solution

If you feel disconnected, out-of-touch with your her or feeling frustrated yourself in how to handle him, you are not alone. Many parents recognize things that may be bothering their teenager and express their concerns with us. They also encourage their teen to talk with our trained counselors. Over the years, we have found when a parent takes an interest in their teenager’s world they are more apt to respond. Then, seeking help for them, more often than not, helps the teen respond to counseling more favorably. Tension between the parent and teenager decreases and communication can improve greatly.

Feel free to contact us or any of our counselors listed below to learn more about anger in teenagers and/or to set up a time to meet.

Jerimya Fox, Thea Thompson, Dynell Lee, Michelle Rucker, Justin Lloyd, and  Joel Ackley have experience and training to help you and your teen through these struggles and challenges.