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.
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.
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.
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.
River Edge Behavioral Health helps people with mental illness and substance use problems. It offers counseling, groups, medicine care, crisis help, and case management for children, teens, and adults. It has sites in Macon, Milledgeville, and Atlanta, and no one is turned away because they cannot pay.
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.
The Wellness Room is an Atlanta business led by Dr. April Brown, a licensed professional counselor. It offers wellness workshops and keynote talks for workplaces and groups, faith-based retreats for Christian women, and business consulting for therapists.
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.
LiveLikeMike Homes runs recovery (sober living) homes and transitional homes in Atlanta. The homes are drug-free and have clear rules and daily support. You can ask about a room by filling out a short online inquiry.
NAMI Northside Atlanta helps people and families affected by mental illness. It runs peer-led support groups and classes, and it offers a resource guide and a searchable list of local mental health providers. The site also has fact sheets and recordings of past education night talks.
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.
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.
Grady is a large public hospital in downtown Atlanta. It has a Level 1 trauma center and emergency care, plus primary care, women's health, stroke, heart, cancer, orthopedic and surgery care. It also has neighborhood health centers around the Atlanta area.
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.
Inheritance of Hope is a Christian faith-based nonprofit that builds community for young families when a parent has a terminal illness or has died. It says it serves all families, whatever their faith. Its help includes online support groups, Legacy Videos, Legacy Songs, retreats, and local gatherings in some cities. Families start by filling out a support application.
Georgia Parent Support Network is a family-run nonprofit started in 1989. It supports children and youth with mental health and behavior needs, and their families. It runs Youth MOVE Georgia, a peer group for young people, along with a young adult peer center, therapeutic foster care, and peer specialist training.
This is a mental health clinic at Emory University that has served the Atlanta area since 1965. Doctoral students in clinical psychology, supervised by licensed psychologists, offer talk therapy and testing of thinking skills. Fees are lower and depend on your income and household size.
