Karen van Zyl, Lynnwood Manor
081 336 3828
Email: [email protected]
The Pretoria Centre services the entire Pretoria and surroundings through to Midrand and is headed up by Karen. Apart from being a highly experienced anger management consultant and a counsellor, she is also a professional facilitator in Imago Relationship Therapy.

Karen van Zyl has owned and operated the Pretoria branch in Lynnwood Manor since January 2011. She is well aware of the pressure and stress faced by many people juggling careers, relationships, financial responsibilities and family commitments. It is her passion to empower people to live happier, healthier and more balanced lives. She believes that facing personal challenges, growing as people and becoming more self-aware and mindful are some of the most rewarding things we can do in life. She enjoys the outdoors, running, cooking and hiking in her spare time.

Karen started her career 30 years ago in the travel industry. The majority of her corporate life was spent in the sales environment. She has over 10 years lay counselling experience including telephone, face-to-face, trauma debriefing and rape crisis intervention. She has completed Practitioner training in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and has a Diploma in Counselling and Communication from the South African College of Applied Psychology.

Pretoria offers an effective, personalised, structured, practical programme. Their aim is to give you some insight into your anger, stress and emotions, to sort out or clarify some of the issues you are dealing with, support you and provide some practical tools for you to use in your daily life. The methodology is based on the British Association of Anger Management (BAAM) programme and is tried and tested. Some counselling and coaching are also provided if necessary, to support you.

The Complete Programme includes:
• Understanding what anger and emotions are and how they can lead to conflict.
• Learning to recognise your triggers and how the emotional cycle works.
• Understanding the Pressure cooker concept and learning to be more assertive.
• Mastering the Old brain vs. the New Brain.
• Using Awareness to stay in control, prevent damage and combat stress.
• The 12 tools to manage emotions and boundary setting.

The Essentials Programme can be done in about 4 hours - this focuses on some of the essential tools. You could start with the essentials and then decide if you would like to continue and complete the programme. Ideally you would attend a session per week or fortnightly.

Employee Packages are available and workshops or talks on emotional management can be arranged.

Appointments can be made between 8am and 5pm on weekdays. After hours appointments are by arrangement and are subject to a surcharge.

Some recent testimonials include:

"I would recommend this to everyone with stress or anger isssues. Extremely helpful content and Karen is very knowledgeable. She makes the programme a pleasure to go through." DS
"I noticed a lot of progress by session 3 with Karen. I can recommend this to everyone who wants to control their emotions and to grow as an individual. Thanks Karen!" CD

"Karen runs the lessons professionally and with great insight. I felt very comfortable in the way she facilitated. This course has brought me a lot of peace of mind, led me to a better understanding of experiences and helped me put them into realistic context. My anxieties and fear were serious and I have found ways to move forward joyfully and full of great expectations. Things don't need to be as you first see them, they can improve and life is not a catastrophe but an exciting adventure and something to look forward to." WW

"I found it helpful to have tools to manage stress and anxiety. I could control my reactions and figure out better ways of communicating my emotions. This was way better than therapy." MAB

"I think everyone of us must attend a course like this. This can help all of us. I want to thank you for this course - it really helped me!" NC

"Karen really changed my life and the way I appproach the everyday challenges. Every person should be doing this course. It enriched my life tremendously." JJ

"Thank you. I feel I know myself better and now think twice before I react. It helped me rethink my actions and behaviours. I realized how important other's feelings are." NvO

"This programme has helped me deal with issues/ triggers that normally resulted in outbursts as well as to not bottle up emotions." JR

"This program has helped me a lot generally in life and relationships and achieving my dreams. I now manage to control myself when angry and see things in a positive manner. Thanks to Karen for helping me and being very understanding of my situation." RJM

"Was really helpful to learn how to handle triggers in a better manner. When angry now I am able to change the negative situation into a positive situation. I am trying to use my anger in a more positive way that is beneficial to me and my family." LD

"The tools were easy to practice. I found the programme extremely helpful in all aspects of my life: career, home, environment and personal. I'd really recommend everyone to do this course at least once." CK

"I think the course was well presented, the material was relevant and helpful. I have enjoyed working with Karen, feel better and more in control after completion of the programme". JV

"Thanks for sharing the knowledge and material in a comfortable and personally related manner. Thanks for the awareness and transformation". BH

"Amazing programme! Helped me so much! Before coming to the ASM I was lost, my relationships were suffering and I felt helpless. Now I have the ability to change and can do so thanks to the ASM tools. ASM has helped me so much and life is so much better when you can handle your anger appropriately." LT

"The programme helped in more ways than one and was above expectations - was also life skills and the betterment thereof. I found value and hopefully every other person would too. What I experienced and learned is making me a better person. I would recommend it to my family, friends and sceptics." SS

"What a better place the world would be if each and every one can learn what I'm learning now." And as time passed....I realised that to become aware of feelings and thoughts and possible triggers, will "make life so much easier" – especially to myself because I only have control over myself. I'm equipped with so many tools to assist me in any possible situation and what I especially try to keep in mind is stop, calm down and think. It gives me a new perspective on a situation and the fact that I'm in control of myself and can "play" all the anger management tools through my mind during certain situations, assist me in not feeling bad for days anymore after I have become angry about something. It is much more rewarding to know I can make the choice to channel emotions or feelings into a constructive and not destructive way. Karen, how will I ever be able to say thank you for assisting and equipping me with the necessary tools to better my life? I know there will still be obstacles but you really assisted me in seeing my life from a different angle and I guess....I really can only say "Thank You!!" EF

"The programme is a dynamic and effective stress management tool encompassing all facets of one's life. It really assisted me in daily challenges." LN

"The ASM Centre helped me a lot in having a clear view of human thought and how to deal with situations appropriately and how to understand yourself. Not only did this programme help me deal with the outside world and stress, but it also helped my marriage." NH

"I would like to thank Karen for the professional and efficient sessions. The subject material was related to discussions and Karen allowed for interaction relating to personal experience. This made the sessions so much more worth it then just running through the text material. I will definitely recommend this to everybody". KvZ

"People will not change (their behaviours) and we can't make them change, but we can change ourselve's, be positive and take others into consideration" P.W.

"Even if you do not have anger to the level where it is making a massive impact on your life, this course can help you to manage the often misunderstood emotion of anger. Anger happens daily in most people's lives and the advantages of managing it more effectively cannot be understated!" J.S.

"Karen and the anger management course transformed my life and relationships in my business and family in a very short time-frame, with noticeable changes and improvements. Handling conflict in business has become so much easier, building strong relationships and mutual respect. Thanks Karen!" - CK

"Karen is a very good counsellor. She explained everything in a good way. I can recommend this programme for everyone. It surely helped me" Marisa – Pretoria

"When I first started this programme I was a wreck and everything in my life felt overwhelming. My inability to handle my emotions and communicate with others properly has since disappeared. I am so grateful for this and am since a much happier person. My counsellor, Karen has been fantastic! I almost feel as if she has been my personal angel at times when I've struggled the most. Thank you Karen" Ashleigh

"Thank you for helping me to grow an providing life skills for my personal and work life. It has been a great journey" Talita

"This was a cool course. I think everyone needs to do this. Thanks Karen" Leandra

"This programme has helped me to handle situations in my marriage, my work environment and my social life" Hannes

"This programme works! It gives you tools to improve everyday in yourself. It helps you to improve your thoughts, how you feel about yourself and how to handle each situation in a calm way. You will see in the results, this works, as long as you want to make a change. I feel like a new positive person" Salomi

"The programme was very thorough and helped me a lot with the way to express myself when triggered" Percy – Pretoria

"The support Karen gave me while going through the steps in programme was excellent. Definitely not a quick fix but a life lesson. Trying to relax is often the best solution to a problem" H D

"Karen presented the course with knowledge and understanding and making presenting the tools relevant to my life / situation. I have learned a lot of myself and my way of thinking and look forward to using what I have learned to the benefit of myself and my family / friends" Marcelle – Pretoria

"Karen, I would like to thank you for the nine weeks we have spent in consultation. Not only has my daily life benefited but my outlook on life too. I am much calmer and relaxed when facing daily challenges or confrontation, due mainly to techniques learnt from your training. I am also a lot happier and positive – my colleagues and friends have noticed a remarkable change". G.K.

"This course is something anyone can benefit from. It has allowed me to become a better person, to understand myself better and to acknowledge my emotions and my feelings. I will sure use all the tools for the longest time to come. Karen, thank you so much!!" Dumisani

"Thank you Karen for being so passionate, sincere, inter-active and non-judgmental in what you do.
Essentially, my goal when I started the sessions was to take my power back. I have gained so much more. I was very well aware of the theory behind living a more balanced life. Sometimes we just need to be told same by a trained objective outsider. The tools given to deal with ANY situation where we interact with others are most helpful.
Understanding the fundamentals of what triggers me and why and how to consciously change my behaviour and reactions has ensured that I have finally taken my power back. I know that this is the start of a wonderful journey of self-discovery" Bernadette

"Many thanks Karen, for your patience, listening skills, passion and commitment to see the likes of me through the course. I wish to tell you that the course was and is a life changing experience for me at all levels i.e. family, work, friendships and social. I prefer to call it a Life-Course rather than Anger Management Course because that's just how much value I got out of the course. I will sure use the tools for the longest time to come; again I consider the experience indeed life-changing." T.N.

"Karen helped me to see the truth in every difficult situation I am faced with. Now I can work on applying myself and start to enjoy life again. So many useful tools. So much knowledge shared. Thank you!!" NJ Honiball

"You can continue with your anger problems without learning how to manage it, but why would you want to? It's so much nicer to not be angry all the time!! Thanks for changing my life." M JvR

"If you want to get to know yourself and build better relationships, this is the BEST available. The course work is very detailed and practical and can be put in use very easily" Kevin

"The anger management programme changed my life in so many ways. It made me aware of my behaviour to myself and those around me. It taught me that I can't control everything and everyone around me and to let go. Since I started the programme I could clearly see how my relationships with family grew stronger. Life makes sense again. Thank you" M H

"My life was upside down when I first came for the programme, but now I feel I am in control. I can face any challenge that comes my way. I even don't fear, fear itself." Phuti

"In the end, when you know how to use the tools, they will help you to get over that obstacle or worry that's leading to stress and anxiety. Thank you. I appreciate the help and the patience you have shown in me." Tshegofatso