Anger management help: who to call now and how to find treatment

This page is for you if your anger is hurting you or the people around you, or you’re afraid it’s about to. It gives anger management help in two parts: who to contact today, including if you’re worried about hurting someone at home, and how to find a therapist or programme.

I’m Andrew. I make Kettle, and I’m not a clinician. Every number was read on an official website on 10 October 2026. Services change, so confirm on their site.

If you or someone else is in danger right now

Call emergency services first, including if you think you are very likely to hurt someone else, as Canada’s 9-8-8 site says.

• United States: 911
• Canada: 9-1-1
• United Kingdom: 999, or go to A&E
• Australia: Triple Zero (000)

Crisis lines in the United States

Each line says it is free, confidential and open 24/7. Most don’t list anger by name as a reason to call. The Veterans Crisis Line does list rage or anger among its warning signs.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: call or text 988, or chat through its site. Crisis counsellors for anyone in the US and its territories. It says “People do not have to be suicidal to call”.
• Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741. A trained volunteer replies, and can’t give medical advice. For anyone in the US and Puerto Rico. Some carriers charge standard text rates.
• Veterans Crisis Line: dial 988 then press 1, text 838255, or chat. For veterans, service members, National Guard and Reserve members, and those who support them. No VA enrolment needed.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or text START to 88788. Message and data rates may apply to texts. For people being harmed and people worried about their own behaviour.
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: call 1-800-662-HELP (4357). A US government referral line to local treatment and support groups. SAMHSA says “we do not provide counseling”.

If you’re outside the United States

United Kingdom

• NHS 111, in England: call 111 and select the mental health option, or use 111 online. The NHS lists services for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Samaritans: call 116 123, free from any phone, day or night, 365 days a year.
• Shout: text Shout to 85258. Confidential, 24/7, for anyone in the UK, and free on the major UK mobile networks.

Canada

• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 9-8-8, 24/7, in English and French. Calls are toll free. Texts are free on an unlimited plan, and otherwise your provider may charge for them. It’s a suicide crisis line, and its site says it is never wrong to call or text 9-8-8.

Australia

• Lifeline: call 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, 24/7, or chat through its site. Crisis support for anyone in Australia in emotional distress or thinking about suicide.

Anywhere else

Find A Helpline is a directory of helplines by country. The International Association for Suicide Prevention sends people there, and says it gives no direct support itself.

If you’re worried you might hurt your partner or someone in your family

Anger and abuse aren’t the same thing. If you’ve threatened or hurt your partner, if you control what they do, or if they seem afraid of you, that needs a different kind of help than an anger class or a journal.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline doesn’t recommend anger management as the way to deal with abusive patterns, though it says it can supplement a specialist programme. It points to certified batterer intervention programmes, which focus on behaviour, reflection and accountability.

You can call about your own behaviour. The Hotline says it is frequently contacted by people concerned about how they act, and that it treats everyone with dignity and respect.

• United States: National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or text START to 88788. Advocates can offer ways to calm down and help you find local services.
• United Kingdom: Respect Phoneline, 0808 8024040, Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm. Free from UK landlines and mobiles, confidential and anonymous.
• Australia: Men’s Referral Service, 1300 766 491, 24/7. For men who have chosen to use violence and want to change.
• Canada: I haven’t verified a line of this kind, so none is listed.

If someone is hurting you

• United States: the same Hotline, 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). It warns that internet use can be monitored, so call if that worries you.
• United Kingdom: National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge, 0808 2000 247, freephone, 24 hours. For men, the Men’s Advice Line, 0808 8010327. Its own site gives its hours as Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm. An NHS page lists longer hours, so check before you call.
• Canada and Australia: I haven’t verified a helpline for either, so none is listed.

What kind of help works for anger?

A 2009 meta-analysis of 96 studies of psychological treatment for anger found an overall effect size of 0.76, which its author says “suggests that psychological treatments are generally effective in treating anger”. A 2018 review of meta-analyses, which I’ve read only in abstract, reported at least moderate effectiveness in non-clinical and psychiatric groups.

The 2009 author warns that undergraduate student volunteers are overrepresented, which limits how far the findings apply, and that there’s no clear consensus on the best treatment. These are averages, so they can’t tell you how likely you are to improve.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is the most studied approach. In CBT, the American Psychological Association (APA) says, you learn to identify unhelpful thought patterns and change inaccurate beliefs. The 2018 review calls it the most widely used treatment, which isn’t the same as the most effective.

Anger management classes and therapy

The NHS says a typical anger management programme may involve one-to-one counselling and group work, may last a day, a weekend or a couple of months, and that most include CBT. The APA cautions that “not all anger management classes are based on the latest scientific evidence”, and suggests a trained mental health professional with experience treating anger. It adds that psychologists can treat PTSD, depression or alcohol problems alongside anger.

Where the sources disagree

Mayo Clinic suggests a brisk walk or run when you feel anger escalating, and the NHS anger page lists running as a way to relax. A 2024 meta-analysis of 154 studies found that calming activities such as deep breathing and meditation decreased anger and aggression, while activities that raise arousal, such as jogging, were ineffective overall. Its authors conclude that the findings don’t support going for a run as effective anger management. I’ve read only the abstract, which calls that second result “heterogenous and complex”. Ohio State University’s news release about the study says jogging was the most likely to increase anger.

How to find a therapist or programme

NIMH, the US National Institute of Mental Health, says a primary care provider can do an initial mental health screening and refer you on. Its advice for the appointment: raise it yourself, say when the problem started, how severe it is and how often it happens, and tell them everything you take.

In England, the NHS says a GP may be able to refer you to a local anger management programme or counselling, and that you can refer yourself to NHS talking therapies.

Three official US tools can help:

• FindTreatment.gov: a confidential, anonymous government directory of treatment facilities for mental and substance use disorders.
• APA Psychologist Locator: licensed psychologists who are APA members and have made a profile.
• SAMHSA’s guide to finding a professional or programme: advice sorted by your type of health insurance, including none.

The directory I’ve found most useful is Psychology Today’s, which lets you search for therapists near you who list anger management. It isn’t a government service. Professionals pay a monthly fee to be listed and write their own profiles, so ask any therapist about their training and licence. It has the same search for the UK, Canada and Australia.

The APA suggests telling a prospective therapist that you have problems with anger you want to work on, and asking about their approach.

If cost is in the way

• Ask about a sliding-fee scale. SAMHSA says many professionals offer one, where the price depends on your income.
• Use Find a Health Center. HRSA, the US Health Resources and Services Administration, says these clinics treat mental health needs, adjust fees by income, and must serve everyone, even if they cannot pay.
• Ask HR about an Employee Assistance Program, which NIMH describes as a free, confidential service your company pays for.

When to see a doctor first

A sudden change in personality or behaviour should be seen by a health care professional as soon as possible, according to the Merck Manual Consumer Version. Its other warning signs include attempts or threats to harm yourself or others, confusion, fever, a severe headache and a recent head injury.

I’m applying that to anger that is new or came on suddenly. The manual is a physician-written reference from a pharmaceutical company, and it doesn’t mention anger by name.

What Kettle is, and what it isn’t

Kettle, the app I make, is a daily anger journal for iPhone. It isn’t treatment or a crisis service, and it’s no substitute for any of the help on this page. If you’re unsure your anger is at that point, read signs of anger issues.