In Alabama, public mental health care is run by the Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) through its Division of Mental Health and Substance Use Services, which contracts with and certifies community providers across the state. Call or text 988 for crisis support; ADMH says Alabama calls are answered by centers in the state, and six crisis centers take walk ins at any hour. NAMI Alabama, based in Montgomery, runs free support groups and classes through local affiliates.
ADMH's crisis centers in Birmingham, Dothan, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Law enforcement and EMS can also bring someone in crisis there instead of to an emergency room.
ADMH says 55 of Alabama's 67 counties are rural, and many people there can't easily travel to a crisis center or a community mental health center. To close that gap, the department funds mobile crisis teams of two people who can meet someone at home, at work, or elsewhere in the community. Each of the six crisis centers serves a set list of surrounding counties, so it's worth checking which one covers yours before you need it. Academic psychiatry is concentrated at UAB in Birmingham and the University of South Alabama in Mobile. The University of Alabama has added a Tuscaloosa psychiatry residency aimed at training psychiatrists for West Alabama.
Crisis lines
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 anywhere in the United States, including from Alabama. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day. For chat, visit 988lifeline.org.
- 988 in Alabama (ADMH). ADMH's page on how 988 works in Alabama. Calls are answered by centers in the state, and a crisis specialist can connect you to a mobile crisis team or the nearest crisis center if you need more help.
- ADMH hot lines and warm lines. ADMH's list of state helplines, including its peer support line at 1-800-832-0952 and its substance use helpline at 1-844-307-1760. Use it to find the right number for mental health, substance use, or advocacy questions.
- 211 Connects Alabama. Dial 211, text your ZIP code to 898-211, or call 888-421-1266 for free, confidential referrals at any hour. It covers counseling, support groups, and crisis services as well as food, housing, and utility help.
Crisis care and mobile crisis
- ADMH crisis centers. Six walk in centers for mental health, substance use, or suicidal crises, open 24 hours a day, with phone numbers and the counties each one serves. They offer crisis stabilization, evaluation, psychiatric care, and referrals.
- Rural crisis care and mobile crisis teams (ADMH). Explains ADMH's mobile crisis teams, which send two trained staff to wherever the person in crisis is. The page lists the community mental health centers running teams and includes a map of the counties covered.
State mental health authority
- ADMH Division of Mental Health and Substance Use Services. The division that contracts with and certifies community mental health and substance use providers. It also runs Bryce Hospital, Mary Starke Harper Geriatric Psychiatry Center, and Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility.
- Alabama Medicaid Agency. Alabama's Medicaid program. The site has eligibility information and lets you apply online or update your information.
NAMI Alabama
- NAMI Alabama. The state NAMI organization, with local affiliates around Alabama. It offers free classes such as Family-to-Family and Peer-to-Peer; call or text the office at 334-396-4797 (not a crisis line).
- NAMI Alabama support groups. NAMI Connection groups are for adults living with mental illness, and Family Support Groups are for relatives and caregivers. All are free and confidential with no registration; the calendar lists groups in places such as Birmingham, Baldwin County, Montgomery, and Demopolis.
Community mental health centers
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (ADMH). Lists Alabama's certified community behavioral health clinic locations with each provider's access line, including AltaPointe Health, Highland Health Systems, Mountain Lakes Behavioral Healthcare, South Central Alabama Mental Health, and WellStone. Call the access number to start services.
Treatment locators
- ADMH provider directory. Search ADMH certified providers by keyword, category, and county, including community mental health centers and crisis centers. The page also links to maps of providers and regions.
- Connect Alabama app. A free app from ADMH, the Alabama Department of Public Health, and The University of Alabama for finding mental health and substance use services. It includes tap to call helplines and some information that works without a data connection.
- FindTreatment.gov. The federal SAMHSA locator for mental health and substance use treatment. Search by ZIP code and filter by payment type.
University and academic medical centers
- UAB Psychiatry adult outpatient clinics. UAB's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology in Birmingham offers outpatient evaluation, medication management, and therapy, including cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders. Call 205-934-7008.
- University of South Alabama Psychiatry Residency. The College of Medicine's psychiatry residency in Mobile, which trains residents with AltaPointe Health. The department's office number is (251) 706-5552.
- University of Alabama Tuscaloosa Psychiatry Residency. A newer residency at The University of Alabama's College of Community Health Sciences, built to train psychiatrists for Tuscaloosa and West Alabama. Residents train at sites including DCH Regional Medical Center and Indian Rivers Behavioral Health.