In Washington, public mental health care is run by the Health Care Authority's Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, and crisis care is organized county by county through regional Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organizations. Calling or texting 988 from Washington reaches one of four in state 988 contact hubs, and every county also has its own crisis line that's open 24 hours a day regardless of insurance. NAMI Washington runs free peer and family support groups statewide, most of them online.
American Indian and Alaska Native people in Washington can reach the Native and Strong Lifeline, staffed by Native crisis counselors, by calling 988 and pressing 4. For nonemergency support, the statewide Warm Line at 877-500-9276 connects you with a peer who has lived experience.
Washington's 988 calls are answered by four in state contact hubs: Volunteers of America Western Washington, Crisis Connections, Olympic Health and Recovery Services, and Frontier Behavioral Health, and most wireless calls are routed by the caller's location. Each of the state's 39 counties is served by a regional crisis line run through a Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organization, and these lines work alongside the state's mobile crisis teams and designated crisis responders. Academic psychiatry is concentrated in Seattle, where the University of Washington's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences provides care at Harborview Medical Center and UW Medical Center. The Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning, a 150 bed facility on the UW Medical Center Northwest campus, adds long term psychiatric beds for people living with serious mental illness.
Crisis lines
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 anywhere in the United States, including from Washington. Free and confidential, 24 hours a day. For chat, visit 988lifeline.org.
- 988 in Washington (Department of Health). The state's 988 page explains which of Washington's four contact hubs answers calls from each county and how calls are routed. It also lists options in Spanish, ASL and for veterans.
- Native and Strong Lifeline. A crisis and help line for American Indian and Alaska Native people in Washington, answered by Native crisis counselors. Call 988 and press 4, or text N8V to 988.
- Washington Warm Line. A statewide peer support line staffed by volunteers who have lived through mental health challenges, for when you need to talk but aren't in crisis. Call 877-500-9276, 2pm to 9pm, seven days a week.
- Teen Link. A free, confidential helpline where Washington teens can call, text or chat with trained teen volunteers. Call 866-833-6546 from 6pm to 10pm, seven days a week.
- Washington 211. A free, confidential, multilingual helpline that connects you with local services, including mental health supports, food, housing and utilities. Dial 211 or call 1-877-211-9274, or search its statewide directory online.
Crisis care and mobile crisis
- Regional crisis lines by county (Health Care Authority). HCA's list of each county's 24 hour crisis line, run through regional Behavioral Health Administrative Services Organizations. These lines are open to everyone regardless of insurance or income and can request in person crisis help for you or someone you care about.
State mental health authority
- HCA Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery. The Health Care Authority division that oversees Washington's public mental health and substance use services, including the crisis system and 988 implementation. Start here for state programs and policy.
- Native Resource Hub. A statewide resource line for Native American and Alaska Native people, developed with HCA, the Department of Health and tribal partners. Call 1-866-491-1683 for help finding behavioral health care, coordinating care or reaching tribal crisis services.
NAMI Washington
- NAMI Washington support groups. Free NAMI Connection groups for adults living with a mental health condition and family support groups for their loved ones, mostly on Zoom, plus groups for specific needs. Call the Seattle office at (206) 783-4288; note it's separate from NAMI Seattle.
- Local NAMI affiliates in Washington. NAMI Washington's map and contact list for its local affiliates, from Bellingham to Spokane to Vancouver. Local affiliates offer free resources, classes and support groups.
Treatment locators
- FindTreatment.gov. The federal SAMHSA locator for mental health and substance use treatment. Search by Washington address or ZIP code and filter by payment type.
- Washington 211 online search. WA 211's statewide directory lists more than 17,000 local resources, including mental health services. Use the search link on its homepage or dial 211 for help.
University and academic medical centers
- UW Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. UW Medicine psychiatrists and psychologists see patients at Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center Montlake and Northwest, and the Roosevelt outpatient psychiatry clinic in Seattle. The page links to each site and to UW Medicine's appointment tools.
- UW Psychiatry Residency Training Program. Washington's university psychiatry residency, with fellowship tracks in addictions, child and adolescent, geriatric and integrated care psychiatry.
- Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning. A 150 bed UW Medicine facility on the UW Medical Center Northwest campus in Seattle with geropsychiatry and long term civil commitment units. It also offers ECT, TMS and other neuromodulation treatments to outpatients and inpatients.