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Anger Management

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Stress Management


Today's Date: Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Anger Management

Anger is a basic and useful emotion that is part of the experience of being human. Anger is energizing, it is the emotion that allows us to fight injustice, right wrongs, face challenges. But like many powerful things it is also caustic and dangerous when misused or over used.

It is not anger that creates problems in people’s lives; it is angry, impulsive behavior. People in our lives don’t much care if we feel angry but when we act on that anger in a way that hurts them, breaks the rules, or infringes on their rights the problems start to mount. In relationships, work, or in society, we are held accountable for the things we do or say regardless of how justified we feel in our anger. We are ultimately responsible for our words and actions.

When we change the pattern of reacting impulsively, without thinking, then the problems caused by our angry behavior start to dissipate. The first step is learning to observe ourselves more closely and recognize the situations where we are full of emotion and prone to acting without thinking clearly.

As we start to observe the process of feeling out of control it becomes clear, angry behavior is not just triggered by the emotion of anger. We like to talk about feeling angry, but the feelings of anger have other emotions building along with them. The term “worked up” can be used to describe this state, because often it is hard to describe what we are feeling, but we know it is uncomfortable.

The more uncomfortable or worked up we get the more we have the urge to act, to do something to change the situation. It is amazing what we will do if we let ourselves get uncomfortable enough. Building awareness of what we are feeling, understanding what triggers those feelings, and learning to change our patterns of reacting to life is what anger management is all about.

Professionals Serving Adults - Professionals Serving Children


Amy Louden, MA
Psychologist

Amy is a licensed psychologist whose primary goal is to assist her clients in actualizing their greatest potential. She helps children, adults, and families in their efforts to cope with a wide range of mental illnesses, including everyday psychosocial stressors. She enjoys a special emphasis on working with adolescents in their journey toward individuation. Amy is a member of the West Virginia Association of Professional Psychologists and the American Mental Health Counselors Association.


Greg Syner, M.A., LPC
Counselor

Greg Syner has experience in a variety of child, adolescent and adult individual counseling issues, including anxiety and depression. He is an elementary school counselor. Greg also provides marriage and family therapy, bereavement and pastoral counseling. He facilitates our free Grief Group several times a year.


Priscilla Leavitt, Ph.D.
Psychologist

Dr. Leavitt is a counseling psychologist with special training and certification in marriage and family counseling, grief and bereavement, hypnosis, stress and Christian counseling. She speaks and conducts seminars, offers EAP services to businesses and does counseling and Executive Coaching in addition to the extensive individual and group counseling she does at the Center. She is a charter member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.


JoAnne F. Vrabel, Ph.D.
Psychologist

A practicing Psychologist for over 17 years, Dr. Vrabel provides psychotherapy and counseling in areas including bipolar illness, depression and anxiety. She also performs psychological testing and diagnostic assessment for individuals age 6 and older. Dr. Vrabel offers Quotient Testing for ADHD, and has recently added PCIT (Parent/Child Interactive Training) to her practice. This interactive program teaches parents effective relationship skills followed by skills for creating lasting behavioral change.


Jim Wells, MA, LPC, RPT
Counselor

Jim is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Social Worker, and Registered Play Therapist with over 20 years' experience. He uses CPRT (Child-Parent Relationship Training) to teach parents Play Therapy Attending Skills. This is done with a bug-in-the-ear device by which parents can receive immediate coaching and feedback while learning to connect with and help their child resolve issues. He also sees teens, adults and couples. He counsels in a well-equipped play therapy room with an adjoining office with a 2-way mirror and a separate area for his work with families.


Mollie Haught, MA, LPC
Counselor

Mollie has experience in outpatient, inpatient, individual and group work. She also has multicultural experience, having counseled in Turkey with several nationalities. She works with children from age three, using Play Therapy. She also treats adolescents and adults, individuals with mood and anxiety disorders and other mental health issues. Her special interests are children, couples, and Christian counseling.


Richard E. Stanley, MEd, LPC, NCC
Counselor

Mr. Stanley is an experienced mental health provider, having worked in both inpatient and private practice settings. His specialty areas include adolescents, families, couples, adults and groups. A Veteran himself, Rick facilitates groups for Veterans at the Center. For several years, in cooperation with Wood County Juvenile Probation, he led teen groups focused on reducing family violence.


Osric Malone-Prioleau, FNP,BC,MSN,CRC,MSRC,RN
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Director

Mr. Malone-Prioleau ("Os") is a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner who is currently seeing teens and adults. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing/Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling at Winston Salem State University in 2006. He graduated from the Ohio University in 2010 with his Master of Science in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner. He earned his Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Certification in 2012. Os has recently come to the Parkersburg area with his wife who is an ER physician at Marietta Memorial Hospital. He enjoys helping individuals who are dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, other mental illnesses and life issues. His goal for his patients is to help them live meaningful lives that are not controlled by anxiety or depression. Os is certified to interview patients, perform mental and behavioral health diagnosis, order lab work for the monitoring of a patient’s condition, provide treatment, prescribe and manage medication, wellness and health education, behavioral therapy and counseling, and initiate referrals.


Stephen Givens, MA
Intern

Stephen has his Master of Arts in Mental Health, with Emphasis in Marriage, Couples and Family, and is currently building up his required hours of supervised practice. He has background as a residential counselor for teens, as well as work at a treatment center for addictions. He sees people of all ages, and his special interest is family systems work. Stephen is fluent in ASL and Signed English.


Julia Kramer, PhD
Psychologist

A practicing Psychologist for over 17 years, Dr. Kramer provides psychotherapy and counseling to children, adolescents and adults in areas including depression, anxiety, and adjustment to life stressors. She also performs psychological testing (including Quotient Testing for ADHD) & diagnostic assessment for clients age six to adult. She has recently added PCIT (Parent/Child Interactive Training) for children from 3-7. This interactive therapy program teaches parents effective relationship skills, followed by skills for creating lasting behavioral change



Amy Louden, MA
Psychologist

Amy is a licensed psychologist whose primary goal is to assist her clients in actualizing their greatest potential. She helps children, adults, and families in their efforts to cope with a wide range of mental illnesses, including everyday psychosocial stressors. She enjoys a special emphasis on working with adolescents in their journey toward individuation. Amy is a member of the West Virginia Association of Professional Psychologists and the American Mental Health Counselors Association.


Greg Syner, M.A., LPC
Counselor

Greg Syner has experience in a variety of child, adolescent and adult individual counseling issues, including anxiety and depression. He is an elementary school counselor. Greg also provides marriage and family therapy, bereavement and pastoral counseling. He facilitates our free Grief Group several times a year.


Richard E. Stanley, MEd, LPC, NCC
Counselor

Mr. Stanley is an experienced mental health provider, having worked in both inpatient and private practice settings. His specialty areas include adolescents, families, couples, adults and groups. A Veteran himself, Rick facilitates groups for Veterans at the Center. For several years, in cooperation with Wood County Juvenile Probation, he led teen groups focused on reducing family violence.


JoAnne F. Vrabel, Ph.D.
Psychologist

A practicing Psychologist for over 17 years, Dr. Vrabel provides psychotherapy and counseling in areas including bipolar illness, depression and anxiety. She also performs psychological testing and diagnostic assessment for individuals age 6 and older. Dr. Vrabel offers Quotient Testing for ADHD, and has recently added PCIT (Parent/Child Interactive Training) to her practice. This interactive program teaches parents effective relationship skills followed by skills for creating lasting behavioral change.


Jim Wells, MA, LPC, RPT
Counselor

Jim is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Social Worker, and Registered Play Therapist with over 20 years' experience. He uses CPRT (Child-Parent Relationship Training) to teach parents Play Therapy Attending Skills. This is done with a bug-in-the-ear device by which parents can receive immediate coaching and feedback while learning to connect with and help their child resolve issues. He also sees teens, adults and couples. He counsels in a well-equipped play therapy room with an adjoining office with a 2-way mirror and a separate area for his work with families.


Mollie Haught, MA, LPC
Counselor

Mollie has experience in outpatient, inpatient, individual and group work. She also has multicultural experience, having counseled in Turkey with several nationalities. She works with children from age three, using Play Therapy. She also treats adolescents and adults, individuals with mood and anxiety disorders and other mental health issues. Her special interests are children, couples, and Christian counseling.


Gary Battin, M.A., LPC
School Psychologist

Mr. Battin is a licensed school psychologist and licensed professional counselor with Masters degrees in both psychology and counseling. His primary interest is working with children, adolescents and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Mr. Battin is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors.


Osric Malone-Prioleau, FNP,BC,MSN,CRC,MSRC,RN
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Director

Mr. Malone-Prioleau ("Os") is a board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner who is currently seeing teens and adults. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Nursing/Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling at Winston Salem State University in 2006. He graduated from the Ohio University in 2010 with his Master of Science in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner. He earned his Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Certification in 2012. Os has recently come to the Parkersburg area with his wife who is an ER physician at Marietta Memorial Hospital. He enjoys helping individuals who are dealing with issues such as anxiety, depression, other mental illnesses and life issues. His goal for his patients is to help them live meaningful lives that are not controlled by anxiety or depression. Os is certified to interview patients, perform mental and behavioral health diagnosis, order lab work for the monitoring of a patient’s condition, provide treatment, prescribe and manage medication, wellness and health education, behavioral therapy and counseling, and initiate referrals.


Stephen Givens, MA
Intern

Stephen has his Master of Arts in Mental Health, with Emphasis in Marriage, Couples and Family, and is currently building up his required hours of supervised practice. He has background as a residential counselor for teens, as well as work at a treatment center for addictions. He sees people of all ages, and his special interest is family systems work. Stephen is fluent in ASL and Signed English.


Julia Kramer, PhD
Psychologist

A practicing Psychologist for over 17 years, Dr. Kramer provides psychotherapy and counseling to children, adolescents and adults in areas including depression, anxiety, and adjustment to life stressors. She also performs psychological testing (including Quotient Testing for ADHD) & diagnostic assessment for clients age six to adult. She has recently added PCIT (Parent/Child Interactive Training) for children from 3-7. This interactive therapy program teaches parents effective relationship skills, followed by skills for creating lasting behavioral change


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