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By Mayo Clinic staffPreparing to look for anger management help can be challenging, but there are many resources available to help you in your search. Here are some steps you can take to find a counselor specializing in anger management, an anger management program or other resources:
- Ask your primary care doctor for a referral
- Ask family and friends to give you recommendations based on their experiences
- Check with your health insurance company, employee assistance program (EAP) or church
- Ask state or local agencies for recommendations
- Search the Internet
- Check with your district court
- Search your library for traditional and online resources, such as blogs, support groups or books
When you start working on anger management, identify your particular triggers and the physical and emotional signs that occur as you begin to get angry. Pay attention to these, and write them down:
- Identify any stressors that commonly trigger or worsen your anger. Examples include frustration with a child or partner, financial stress, or issues with a co-worker.
- Pay attention to physical signs that your feelings of anger are rising, for example, clenching your fists or your jaw or driving too fast.
- Take note of emotional signs your anger's on the rise, such as the feeling you want to yell at someone or that you're holding in what you really want to say.
- Barbara Woodward Lips Patient Education Center. Understanding anger. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2004.
- Controlling anger — before it controls you. American Psychological Association. http://www.apa.org. Accessed May 27, 2009.
- Scott CL, et al. Psychotherapeutic approaches to treating chronic aggression. In: Hales RE, et al. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com/content.aspx?aID=319794&searchStr=aggressive+behavior. Accessed May 27, 2009.