Diagnosis

I've been going to family counseling with my parents and sisters recently...we've been talking about lot of things, but the elephant in the room is my dad's uncontrollable rage. He's been like that my whole life, and we're just now starting to address it very slowly. He's not very open to hearing advice right now though...
Me and my mom met with the counselor on our own, and she said she thinks he has IED, and maybe even a personality disorder. What I'm wondering is, how do people go about getting an official diagnosis, and is it even worth getting a diagnosis? Should we tell him that the counselor said that, or send him to a psych. for an official diagnosis? The thing is, I know he doesn't really recognize it as a problem...

Telling somebody that they have IED who might actually have it, might be something you would want to avoid for the time being. It might be more wise to approach this idea slowly and tread lightly. Often times, people who do have IED can be triggered with somebody telling them they have it or even *might* have it. That is because they are very sensitive to things and the anger is a "defense" to their perceived short comings and deficits... Also, you might have answered your own question, with your last statement. If somebody does not recognize they have an anger problem, then getting them to seek help would be very difficult. One way to deal with this however, might be to let your dad know how his anger might be affecting the family and yourself. If he can make an emotional connection to how his anger might be impacting everyone else, he might be more likely to see it as a problem. Its important to talk with him about this when when he is in a calmer, more relaxed or happier mood, that way he might be able to reason better, rather than letting his anger do the reasoning. Best of luck to ya!
-Dan

Alright thanks, that's helpful.