In Missouri, public mental health and substance use care is managed by the Department of Mental Health's Division of Behavioral Health, which contracts with community providers across 25 service areas. Call, text, or chat 988 and you'll reach one of seven Missouri 988 centers that together cover every county, and mobile crisis teams can respond in person at any hour. NAMI Missouri, based in Jefferson City, offers free classes and support groups statewide.
Missouri also runs walk in Behavioral Health Crisis Centers with an open door policy. No one who needs help is turned away because they can't pay or don't have insurance.
The Division of Behavioral Health divides Missouri into 25 service areas, and each area has contracted providers who decide eligibility and deliver psychiatric services for its counties. DMH says mobile crisis response is available across the state around the clock, and its teams can meet a person wherever they are in the community. Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics serve regions from the Bootheel and the Ozarks to northwest Missouri, St. Louis, and Kansas City. Academic psychiatry is concentrated in St. Louis at WashU Medicine, in Columbia at MU Health Care, and in Kansas City at UMKC.
Crisis lines
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 anywhere in the United States, including from Missouri. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day. For chat, visit 988lifeline.org.
- Missouri 988. The Department of Mental Health's 988 site explains what happens when you call, text, or chat, including an ASL videophone option. Calls are routed to a crisis specialist in Missouri, and you can press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line or 2 for Spanish.
- United Way 211. Dial 211 or 1-800-427-4626 at any hour for free referrals to counseling, crisis help, and basic needs anywhere in Missouri. You can also search the directory at 211helps.org or chat on weekdays.
- Missouri AgriStress Helpline. Farmers, ranchers, and rural families can call or text 833-897-2474 for free, confidential support from people who understand agriculture. The Missouri Department of Agriculture page also lists farm stress resources.
Crisis care and mobile crisis
- DMH crisis services. Explains Missouri's crisis system: 988 to talk, mobile crisis teams that can meet you in the community at any hour, and Behavioral Health Crisis Centers for short stays of up to 23 hours. The page links to maps of mobile crisis coverage and crisis center locations.
State mental health authority
- Missouri Department of Mental Health, Division of Behavioral Health. The division manages mental health and substance use prevention and treatment, mostly through contracted community programs. Costs are based on ability to pay; call (573) 751-8017 for information.
- MO HealthNet behavioral health services. Missouri Medicaid covers medically necessary behavioral health care for eligible people, including outpatient, psychiatry, psychology, and counseling services.
NAMI Missouri
- NAMI Missouri. The state NAMI organization in Jefferson City, with local affiliates and free classes such as NAMI Basics, Family-to-Family, Homefront, and Peer-to-Peer, many offered online statewide. Call the office at 573-634-7727 (not a crisis line).
- NAMI Missouri helpline information. Lists the national NAMI HelpLine, family caregiver line, and teen and young adult line, all weekdays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern. NAMI Missouri says it does not run its own warmline.
Community mental health centers
- Community mental health centers by county (DMH). Pick your county to find the contracted provider for your service area. That provider decides eligibility and delivers psychiatric services.
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics list (DMH). Lists each clinic with its address and the counties it serves, from Bootheel Behavioral Health in Sikeston to Family Guidance Center in St. Joseph. These clinics treat both mental illness and substance use.
Treatment locators
- DMH Locate Treatment Services. Links to state directories for community mental health centers, behavioral health clinics, substance use programs for adults, women and children, and teens, and peer run programs.
- 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
- Behavioral Health at WashU Medicine. The WashU Medicine Department of Psychiatry sees adults and children at several St. Louis locations and offers virtual visits. Call 314-286-1700 and choose option 2 to schedule.
- MU Health Care Adult Psychiatry. Outpatient clinics in Columbia offer medication management and therapy, including CBT for anxiety and depression, plus perinatal psychiatry. Call 573-882-2511 for appointments.
- UMKC Psychiatry Residency. The UMKC School of Medicine psychiatry residency trains at sites in downtown Kansas City and Lee's Summit.