In Arizona, public behavioral health care runs through AHCCCS, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, which is the state's Medicaid program and also oversees crisis services that any Arizona resident can use regardless of insurance. The Arizona Statewide Crisis Line answers 24 hours a day at 1-844-534-HOPE (4673), and you can also text 4HOPE (44673) or chat online with a crisis specialist. NAMI Arizona works with local NAMI affiliates around the state that offer free NAMI Connection groups for people living with a mental health condition and NAMI Family Support Groups for loved ones.
If you'd like to talk with someone before things reach a crisis, the Solari Warm Line for Central Arizona (602-347-1100) connects adults 18 and older with trained peer support specialists 24 hours a day.
Arizona's crisis system has three parts: crisis phone lines answered around the clock, mobile teams of behavioral health professionals who travel to the person in crisis, and walk in crisis stabilization centers where you can stay for up to 24 hours while next steps are worked out. Most AHCCCS members get their behavioral health care through their AHCCCS Complete Care plan, while people with a Serious Mental Illness designation are served by regional behavioral health plans, and the Navajo Nation, Gila River, White Mountain Apache Tribe and Pascua Yaqui Tribe run their own tribal behavioral health authorities. The state's academic psychiatry programs are based in Tucson and Phoenix, through the University of Arizona's two colleges of medicine. Outside the big metro areas, local NAMI affiliates serve Mohave, Gila, Pinal, Yavapai, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties and the non tribal parts of Navajo and Apache counties, though NAMI Arizona lists its Flagstaff affiliate as not active. AHCCCS also publishes crisis line numbers by county and for several tribal nations.
Crisis lines
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 anywhere in the United States, including from Arizona. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day. For chat, visit 988lifeline.org.
- Arizona Statewide Crisis Line. Call 1-844-534-HOPE (4673), text 4HOPE (44673), or chat online with a crisis specialist, 24 hours a day. The AHCCCS page also lists crisis numbers by county and for the Ak-Chin, Gila River, Salt River Pima Maricopa and Tohono O'odham communities.
- Solari Warm Line (Central Arizona). Peer support specialists who have lived through their own mental health challenges listen and help you find resources, 24 hours a day. Call 602-347-1100; it's open to anyone 18 or older, and calls are limited to 20 minutes, up to three times a day.
- Teen Lifeline. A crisis line for Arizona teens, listed by AHCCCS as its line especially for teens. Call or text 602-248-TEEN (8336).
- Be Connected (service members, veterans and families). A support line that connects Arizona service members, veterans, family members and caregivers with resources and information. Call 1-866-4AZ-VETS (429-8387), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Arizona time; in a crisis, call or text 988.
- 211 Arizona. A free, confidential line that connects you with local resources, including support groups for people with mental illness. Dial 211 in Arizona or 877-211-8661 from anywhere, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily in English and Spanish, or search the online directory.
Crisis care and mobile crisis
- Arizona's Crisis System. AHCCCS's overview of crisis phone lines, mobile teams that come to you for assessment and stabilization, and crisis stabilization centers. These services are open to any Arizona resident, whatever their insurance.
- Crisis Stabilization Centers. Walk in centers where a person in crisis can see a clinician and go home, or stay up to 24 hours until other services start. The page links to a map of walk in centers around the state.
State mental health authority
- AHCCCS Behavioral Health Services. Explains how AHCCCS members get counseling, psychiatric care and other behavioral health services, and lists the regional and tribal behavioral health authorities by area. To find a provider, search the directory on your regional plan's website, or call AHCCCS at 1-800-654-8713 to reach the Office of Individual and Family Affairs about peer and family run providers.
NAMI Arizona
- NAMI Arizona. The state NAMI organization, based in Phoenix, offering free support, education and advocacy. Reach the office at 480-994-4407 or through the contact form on its site.
- NAMI Arizona support groups. NAMI Connection groups for people living with a mental health condition and NAMI Family Support Groups for family and friends, both led by trained peers. NAMI Arizona also lists education classes such as NAMI Family-to-Family and NAMI Peer-to-Peer.
- NAMI affiliates in Arizona. Contact details for local affiliates, including NAMI Valley of the Sun (Maricopa County), NAMI Southern Arizona (Tucson and Pima County), NAMI Yavapai County, NAMI Payson and others. NAMI Flagstaff is listed as not active.
Treatment locators
- FindTreatment.gov. The federal locator for mental health and substance use treatment. Search by Arizona zip code and filter by payment type.
University and academic medical centers
- University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, Psychiatry Residency. The Tucson psychiatry department's residency trains at hospitals including Banner University Medical Center South, which has the largest psychiatric inpatient facility in Tucson and offers inpatient and outpatient behavioral health care.
- University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, Department of Psychiatry. Psychiatry faculty teach and treat patients at sites across the Phoenix area, including Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, Phoenix Children's Hospital, the Phoenix VA Health Care System and Valleywise Health. The department also runs a psychiatry residency and fellowships.