Written by Brian Hickey

On Wednesday the Counseling Center hosted a seminar entitled “Controlling Your Anger” from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Counseling Center Conference Room in Powell Hall.

The seminar was led by Dr. John Grotgen, director of the Counseling Center, and focused on anger control strategies through activities and relaxation techniques.

The seminar was open to the entire student body, and included an in depth interactive discussion between Dr. Grotgen and a few students.

“The ideal group size is six,” Dr. Grotgen said. “It allows for more interaction and people learn from other people.”

Major key points that Dr. Grotgen touched on were understanding your anger, anger control and learning to manage and control angry feelings. Through these topics student grasped understanding of the tools that went towards learning to control their anger and interpret their feelings.

Dr. Grotgen began the seminar by asking the students “What made you guys come out?” Answers varied from pure curiosity to a true desire to understand their feelings.

Students were able to openly communicate their feelings and opinions on the subject, as Dr. Grotgen made sure to touch on each person’s expressed idea. Several handouts were given to students which allowed for them to have sources to reflect on and taught them how to use tools throughout their everyday lives.

“I liked that we were able to hear each other and truly be able to understand one another’s emotions,” Tremaine Genias, a sophomore political science major, said. “The handouts helped me realize the source of my anger and that some of my emotions were more so anger directed at myself.”

The seminar mainly focused on showing students that they were capable of preventing such strong feelings.

“I like to focus on each individual’s experience of anger in a specific situation because anger is individual,” Dr. Grotgen said.

Several students had strong lasting impressions as they expressed what they took from the session.

“The most I took from this was realizing me being angry in myself,” Genias said. “I didn’t know that was a source of anger. I thought it was a different emotion all together.”

“What I took was learning I could control my anger from deep down within,” Nicole King, a sophomore criminal justice major, said. “I over exaggerate the situation by making myself angry from past situations and bringing it to the present.”

Dr. Grotgen concluded with expressing his want for students to attend the many seminars the Counseling Center provides.

“This is the last seminar before midterm but after we will set up flyers for the 2^nd part [of the semester],”Dr. Grotgen, said. “They are usually normal developmental issues that all students encounter.

“It’s educational and this is an education institution,” Dr. Grotgen said.