Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in Louisiana

You should consider looking into the Louisiana mental health system if you (or a loved one) are having a mental health crisis, have a severe mental health condition, have Medicaid, or have a limited income.

Everyone in Louisiana can use the state-funded mental health emergency response system. If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can call a state or local crisis line to get the help you need, quickly.

Even if you’re not in crisis, you can call your local mental health hotline for information about affordable mental health services in your area. When you call, you can find out whether you might qualify for state-funded mental health services, schedule an assessment or intake appointment, or get free information about other affordable local providers.

Other parts of the system have stricter requirements. To qualify for public outpatient services in the Louisiana mental health system, you need to have a diagnosable mental health condition and meet income-based eligibility criteria. In general, you qualify for services at a Louisiana LGE if you have a limited income and have Medicaid, are Medicaid-eligible, or are uninsured.

Specific financial eligibility criteria vary by region. If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible, reach out and call your region’s LGE. They should be able to tell you over the phone whether they think you might qualify and whether they think you should come in for an in-person assessment.

In general, Louisiana LGEs don’t have restrictive clinical eligibility criteria. This means you don’t have to have a serious mental illness (SMI) to get treatment at a LGE. You simply need to have a mental health condition that is affecting your life in any way, such as depression, anxiety, or a trauma-related disorder.

However, eligibility criteria vary by region, so it’s a good idea to contact your local LGE to ask about the clinical requirements for public mental health services where you live.

If you do have SMI, you should definitely reach out to your local LGE. You may qualify to get specialty services from them. Public mental health clinics in Louisiana specialize in intensive and community-based mental health services that are designed to address the specific needs of people with SMI.

You can also usually find affordable therapy and other basic outpatient mental health services like medication management at Louisiana LGEs.

Availability of counseling and other clinical services depends on each LGE’s funding and staff at any given time. Sometimes, when funding or staffing is low, public mental health programs have to cut or limit particular services. At other times, they may have a long waitlist.

If you’re eligible for services at an LGE, you can usually get the care you need for a very low co-pay or sliding-scale fee. Most LGEs accept Medicare, Medicaid, and a range of private insurance plans. They also offer reduced and sliding-scale fees if you don’t have insurance.

To find out how fees at your local LGE compare to fees for private providers, you can call your local clinic and ask what they charge. You can find the number for your local LGE in the directory below. We encourage you to call even if you think you might not be eligible.

The people who work at LGEs are knowledgeable about local resources and will often give you free information or even referrals to other affordable providers nearby, including non-profits that provide free or low-cost counseling.

The best way to find out about public mental health services in Louisiana is to call your local clinic directly. You can find contact information for all Louisiana LGEs in the directory in the next section.

You can also find the numbers for statewide helplines and hotlines in the information box directly below, including crisis lines, warm lines, and information lines.

Public mental health services in Louisiana are managed on the state level by the Office of Behavioral Health within the Louisiana Department of Health. For general information about Louisiana’s system, you can contact OBH by calling (225) 342-2540.

However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling your local LGE directly. You can find the numbers for local programs (and local crisis lines) in the directory below.

Public outpatient mental health services in Louisiana are provided by programs called Local Governing Entities (LGEs). There are are 64 parishes in Louisiana and 10 LGEs that serve those parishes. Each LGE is part of the state mental health system and must follow statewide guidelines, but eligibility criteria and which services are available can vary from program to program.

The Louisiana crisis response system gives you three ways to get help when you’re having a mental health crisis: the statewide 988 mental health crisis hotline, local mobile crisis teams, and regional crisis centers. You can call 988 or a local crisis line if you need help.

You can find contact information for all Louisiana LGEs, mobile crisis teams, and crisis centers in the directory below.

If you need information after hours or aren’t sure whether you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, it’s okay to call a crisis line for help. The staff who answer are trained to quickly figure out what you need and can tell you what steps you need to take to connect with the right services. And if you’re not sure which crisis line to call, you can always call 988. It connects you with local crisis services no matter where you are in the state.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are another great way to get affordable publicly-funded mental health services in Louisiana.

These federally-funded programs provide cutting-edge care in places where good primary healthcare was once hard to find. Most provide integrated care so you can get primary medical and mental health services at the same location.

Each FQHC accepts Medicaid and Medicare and offers low sliding-scale fees if you don’t have insurance. Their eligibility requirements are generally less strict than the requirements for the state-funded system.

You can search for FQHCs near you by using the online search tool on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration website.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 40 percent of people in Louisiana who have mental health conditions get treatment for them. Many of them qualify for public mental health services but don’t know about them.

You can make a difference by reaching out and connecting with local mental health resources to get the care you need. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for Louisiana state mental health services, call your region’s LGE or crisis hotline. You may find out you can get mental health services through your local program or that there’s another affordable option nearby.

The most important thing is to get started—the help you need may be only a call or click away.