Emotion Regulation
How do you cope with intense emotions? When you get stressed, how do you typically react? Do you ever struggle with aggression or compulsive behaviour or poor communication?
If so, these issues are likely rooted in poor emotional regulation. Regulating emotions is a complex skill that requires identifying your emotions, recognizing the urges you have to deal with that emotion (ex: the urge to yell when you feel angry), and determining whether you respond to that urge.
To begin therapy to improve emotion regulation, book with:
Amy Parsons
Dayirai Kapfunde (virtual only)
Kim Cardinal
How Do You Know if You Struggle With Emotion Regulation?
People sometimes believe that they feel too deeply, or that their emotions are too big. But it's important to remember that emotions are natural reactions to internal or external stimuli. Rather than the emotions themselves, it's more about how you respond to your emotions that determines your mental health.
Problems with emotional regulation can start in the early years, and they may progress through adolescence and adulthood. Nearly every type of mental health issue coincides with emotional regulation difficulties, although these difficulties exist on a large spectrum.
When someone struggles with their emotional reactions, they often face difficulties in their relationships. Other people may describe them as hostile, temperamental, moody, or unpredictable. They may also face problems in school or in work, and their physical health may suffer because of the excess stress.
You perpetually feel overwhelmed: No matter what's going on in life, you feel like you can't manage the stress. It always feels like things are falling apart, and you often don't know how to cope when something is outside of your control.
You have high levels of shame: You don't feel like you're good enough, and you experience ongoing self-doubt and low self-esteem. When you make a mistake, you assume it's because you're fundamentally flawed. Concepts of self-compassion or forgiveness often feel foreign to you.
You often feel angry with other people: You often feel disrespected or as if other people don't understand you. Even well-intentioned feedback can make you feel upset, and it's hard for you to open up or trust others.
You don't treat yourself kindly: Emotional dysregulation often goes hand-in-hand with issues like substance abuse, eating disorders, self-harm, and violence. These strategies are all methods for dealing with strong emotions.
You often self-sabotage: People who struggle with their emotions may harm themselves before the outside world causes them more distress. The self-sabotage pattern acts to maintain a status quo and avoid undesirable outcomes associated with change or growth.
How Can You Learn to Regulate Emotions Better?
Familiarizing yourself with your own emotions often feels strange at first. You've probably spent most of your life trying to avoid, suppress, or change how you feel. The idea of sitting with or even accepting uncomfortable emotions may seem overwhelming.
It's true that emotional regulation skills may first feel awkward. But the more you practice them, the more intuitive they become.
Stop labelling emotions as good or bad: We're conditioned to believe there are positive and negative emotions. But all emotions have a functional purpose. Even guilt, anger, and fear are necessary, and they help us understand our values and needs in life. Instead of thinking of emotions as either good or bad, remember that they are all valid.
Practice pausing: We often respond automatically to our emotions. Maybe you eat ice cream when you feel sad, or scream at your mom when you feel angry. But what if you could increase the space between your feeling and your action? When you practice pausing between an emotion and an emotional response, you have immense freedom over your next action.
Increase mindfulness: Healthy emotion regulation often means getting more in touch with your emotions. If you want to feel emotionally well, you need to feel your feelings! Try to get in the habit of recognizing how emotions feel in your body. When you notice an uncomfortable sensation, acknowledge it for what it is, rather than trying to pretend it doesn't exist.
Nurture yourself when you experience emotional distress: Consider changing how you talk to yourself when you feel angry or upset. Emotional control often comes down to self-kindness. When you can affirm that you're only a human having an emotional reaction, it's easier to let go of perfectionism, rigidity, and excess stress.
Therapy for Emotional Regulation Skills in Fort McMurray
How to Start Therapy for Emotion Regulation
Beginning therapy with Boreal Therapy Collective is easy and requires no referral. You can book your initial assessment here.
Understanding Length of Therapy and Treatment
Your first appointment will be 90-minutes long. For all future appointments, you can choose to book for 1 hour or 90-minutes. During your first appointment, your therapist will ask you questions to better understand you and your areas of struggle. This is known as an assessment. Depending on how much you share, the assessment phase can last anywhere from one to three appointments. The assessment is critical. It helps you and your therapist understand your goals, and it helps your therapist develop a treatment plan to support you in achieving these goals.
After the assessment is complete, treatment begins! In the treatment phase, you will be introduced to a variety of skills to practice and implement to better manage your symptoms. Most people will have a therapy session every two weeks, and we recommend this for optimal treatment. Effective therapy typically takes somewhere between six to twelve appointments (for some more, others less). Many choose to continue therapy once formal treatment is complete. This is referred to as maintenance. People who do this typically have an appointment once every six to eight weeks. This is not a requirement and is a matter of personal choice.
Therapy for Emotion Regulation Skills at Boreal Therapy Collective
Where We Are Located
We’re located at 8530 Manning Avenue, Unit 104. You’ll find us in the Service Canada building (on the side of the building that faces the Clearwater River). To check out our space, click here.
Parking is located at the front and back of the building. The front parking lot is closer to us but tends to fill up quickly. There is also an empty dirt lot adjacent to our office that many use for parking. If you park at the back (where Service Canada is located), you can walk around the building to reach our office. To learn more about parking, click here.
Importantly, you do not need to be in town for treatment. We offer in-person and virtual therapy and our therapists are happy to provide whatever option works best for you!
Rates & Benefit Coverage
Initial assessments are billed at a rate of $300.00 for a 90-minute appointment. Follow-up sessions are billed at a rate of $200.00/hour or $300.00/90-minutes (you can choose your preferred appointment length when booking). We offer direct billing to 25+ benefit providers. With your consent, we will always direct bill first. If we are unable to direct bill, you can pay via email money transfer or credit card. You will be given a receipt once payment has been collected. For more information, click here.
