How mental health care works in AtlantaA short guide: who to call first and what to expect.
If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988 any time. In Georgia you can also call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 800-715-4225. A person answers day and night. They can talk with you, send a mobile crisis team to where you are, or find a place for you to be seen. You do not need insurance.
If you need to talk and it is not an emergency, call the Peer2Peer Warm Line at 888-945-1414. The people who answer have lived with mental illness themselves, and the line is open all night.
For counseling or medicine, start with your county's public mental health agency. They take people with no insurance and charge by income. In Fulton County that is the county Department of Behavioral Health. In DeKalb it is Claratel Behavioral Health. In Gwinnett it is View Point Health. At the first visit they ask what is going on and make a plan with you. A regular appointment can take weeks, so call now and ask them to tell you if an earlier time opens.
For therapy that costs less, ask any therapist whether they have a sliding scale, which means the price drops if you earn less. Nonprofit counseling centers and university training clinics usually charge less than a private office. See counseling.
For support from people who understand,NAMI Georgia runs free groups for people living with mental illness and for their families.
For children and teens, ask the school counselor first. Many schools have a therapist who comes to the school.
Covenant House Georgia helps young people ages 18 to 24 who are homeless or escaping trafficking. It has a crisis shelter, longer-term apartment housing, health care and counseling, school and job help, and street outreach. A young person who needs shelter can call the youth line.
The Center for Health & Rehabilitation is a Fulton County site on Boulevard NE in Atlanta. It offers adult mental health and substance use treatment, such as assessments, psychiatric care, counseling, and help with medicine. Fulton County residents pay nothing for treatment, even without insurance.
Hillside is a mental health treatment center for children, teens, and young adults and their families. It offers a live-in residential program, an all-day program, an online evening program, and therapy at home for young people who need more than regular weekly counseling.
This is Georgia Tech's counseling center for its students. It offers short-term counseling, crisis help, testing screenings, and peer coaching. Services are free for students who are signed up for classes this semester.
All-1-Family is an Atlanta nonprofit that offers counseling for LGBTQ+ people and their allies. They offer individual, couples, family and group counseling, plus child counseling and groups for teens and for parents. Their goal is free to low-cost care, and you can ask to book a visit on their website.
CAPS is the counseling center for Emory University students. It offers free, private short-term counseling, relationship counseling, and groups, and it helps students find longer-term care off campus. Students can call any time of day or night to talk with a clinician.
Mercy Care is a health center at 424 Decatur Street SE in Atlanta. It offers doctor visits, dental care, eye care, and mental health care in one place, and everyone is welcome no matter their insurance or income. People without insurance can pay on a sliding fee scale based on income, and walk-ins are welcome. Outreach teams also bring care to people living outside.
The Training and Counseling Center is a nonprofit in downtown Atlanta. It offers counseling for children, adults, couples, and families, with fees based on what you can pay. It also trains counselors and spiritual caregivers and runs free online support groups for chaplains and for nonprofit and spiritual leaders.
CHRIS180 is an Atlanta nonprofit that has served children, adults and families since 1981. It offers counseling, foster care and adoption help, and housing and a drop-in center for young adults facing homelessness. You can call the helpline or fill out an intake form to get started.
Community Friendship is an Atlanta nonprofit for adults who live with long-term mental health conditions. It offers supportive places to live, daily skills groups, peer support, and help finding and keeping a job. Someone can be referred with an online form or an emailed form, and walk-ins are also welcome.
Buckhead Behavioral Health is an outpatient treatment center in Atlanta for drug and alcohol addiction and related mental health needs. People live at home while they come for day or evening treatment, and some sessions are online. Levels of care include detox, a day program, intensive outpatient, and outpatient rehab, along with therapy and psychiatry.
Eastchester Family Services is a community agency with offices in Atlanta, Cartersville and Douglasville. It puts mental health care and regular doctor care under one roof for children, teens, adults and families. Services include therapy, psychiatry, primary care, substance use counseling, parenting help and a mobile health unit.
Skyland Trail is a nonprofit mental health treatment center in Atlanta. Adults 18 and older and teens 14 to 17 can stay on campus or come for day treatment. The team includes psychiatrists, therapists, nurses and primary care doctors. Families can also get education and support.
Claratel Behavioral Health, which used to be the DeKalb Community Service Board, is a public nonprofit in DeKalb County. It offers help with mental health, substance use, and developmental disabilities, for children and adults. People without insurance can pay on a sliding scale based on income and family size.
LifeGate is a Christian-based nonprofit counseling center with an office in Buckhead. Licensed therapists meet with individuals, couples, and families, and they offer play therapy for children and intensive EMDR trauma sessions. Clients can also use low-cost childcare for young children during in-person sessions.
Anchor Hospital is a 122-bed hospital near the Atlanta airport for mental health and substance use care. It helps teens, adults, and older adults with hospital stays and with day or evening programs where people go home at night. Its assessments are free and open any time of day.
Georgia Regional Hospital-Atlanta is a state hospital on Panthersville Road in DeKalb County. It has inpatient units for adults with serious mental illness and for adults sent by the courts. The hospital also runs a dental clinic. Patients are not turned away because they cannot pay.
Girassol Wellness is a nonprofit that offers low-cost mental and behavioral health care. It offers talk therapy, wellness coaching, and a monthly healing space for people who work to stop violence in Atlanta. It also offers therapy for children who survived gun violence.
Team Management 2000 is a nonprofit clinic group that started in New Jersey and now has an office in Decatur. It runs programs for substance use recovery, mental health care, HIV/AIDS testing, and support for youth, LGBTQ people, and people leaving prison. Call the Decatur office to ask which services you can get there.
Mercy Care is a health center group in Atlanta. It treats adults and children, and everyone is welcome no matter their insurance or income. Clinics offer doctor visits, dental and eye care, and mental health care, and outreach teams bring care to people living outside.
