Inside Our Anger Management Program: Notice, Name, Tame

“Anger management” sounds like it should be a single session — a lecture on counting to ten, followed by a certificate. The reality, at least in our Capalaba practice, is a structured six-session program built around a simple idea: you can't change what you don't first notice, and you can't tame what you haven't learned to name.

Anger Isn't the Problem — It's a Signal

The program starts by separating anger — a normal human emotion everyone experiences — from aggression and violence, which are behaviours and choices. Confusing the two is one of the most common reasons people either over-suppress anger until it leaks out sideways, or assume anger itself is something shameful to get rid of entirely, rather than a signal worth listening to.

The Framework: Notice → Name → Tame

The first two sessions build awareness — recognising your personal ‘warning lights’ before anger escalates, understanding your own anger style, and mapping what we call the Cycle of Anger: the build-up, the trigger, the explosion, and what happens after.

Sessions three and four go deeper, using the idea of the ‘Anger Iceberg’ — the feelings sitting underneath anger that often go unnamed, like hurt, fear, or shame. Research consistently shows that simply putting an accurate name to an emotion reduces its intensity. This phase also covers triggers, including the less obvious psychological ones, and practical tools for ‘unhooking’ from unhelpful thought patterns in the moment.

The final two sessions bring it together: evidence-based breathing and de-escalation techniques, planned time-outs that actually work, assertive — not aggressive — communication, and a relapse-prevention plan for staying on track once the structured sessions end.

Built on Real Research, Not Generic Advice

The program draws on established frameworks — including the Window of Tolerance model, Gottman's research on the ‘Four Horsemen’ that predict relationship breakdown, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) — alongside Australian research on masculinity and anger (sometimes called ‘the Man Box’) that looks at how social expectations of men shape how anger gets expressed in the first place.

Who It's For

This program suits people who recognise their anger is costing them something — a relationship, a job, their own peace of mind — and want a structured, skills-based path rather than an open-ended conversation about feelings. It runs alongside our general anger management counselling for people who want a less structured, one-on-one approach instead.

If anger has started running the show more than you'd like, the full program details are on our Anger Management page — or get in touch directly to talk through whether it's the right fit.