I'm brand new to Buddhism and to meditation. I struggle enormously in general with bad memories and anger about them. (I have a good counselor.) I would like to ask opinions on guided vs non-guided (is that the correct term?) for a beginner. If I listen to a guided meditation, I think about what the teacher is saying, and that mostly keeps thoughts and anger at bay. However, if I need to learn to just be in the moment, and practice observing thoughts and letting them go, it seems as if I'm not learning that in a guided meditation. So - may I ask for folks' opinions and experiences?

It,s better to learn meditation guided. Without a proper guide, you won't be able to learn it in a better way and there will be much lag in your meditation. So the meditation will be useless and a waste of time. But if you learn it with a proper guide and with a good teacher this could be very helpful to you. Anyways I learned it from https://manifestrich.com/. I haven,t joined any online class or directly from a teacher. I learned it from online courses. And it,s working for me, learning very well.