Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in Nevada
There’s a way to get affordable mental health care that you might not know about. That’s Nevada’s mental health system.
If you qualify, you can get mental health care at a public mental health clinic for a small co-pay or a low sliding-scale fee. But even if you don’t qualify for services at a state-funded provider, Nevada’s system can still give you information, referrals to affordable local providers, and other essential help for free.
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If you’re in a hurry and want to get the most important information about what’s available in the Nevada mental health system and who it’s for, you can read our quick start guide below.
Quick Start Guide
Quick facts about Nevada’s mental health system:
- Nevada has recently made significant investments in its mental health system, increasing funding for mental health workforce development, inpatient facilities, community mental health services, and mobile crisis response teams.
- Public outpatient mental health services in Nevada are provided by public mental health clinics run by the state mental health department.
- All Nevada public mental health clinics accept Medicaid and offer low sliding-scale fees to people without insurance coverage.
What services are available?
- Nevada’s mental health system offers specialty and intensive mental health services that can be hard to find anywhere else, like case management, day treatment, and community-based services.
- Outpatient mental health services including psychiatric evaluation, medication management, and group and individual therapy are also available at most public mental health clinics.
Who’s eligible?
- Some services, such as the state mental health crisis and information hotline, are available to any Nevada resident without exception.
- Some services are only available to people who have severe conditions like major depression or schizophrenia. However, more people have one of these conditions than realize it! In fact, 1 in 10 Americans experience major depression each year.
Where can you get started?
- You can reach local mental health crisis and information services from anywhere in Nevada by dialing 988.
- You can find numbers for your local programs and mental health hotlines by scrolling to your region in the directory below.
To learn more about public mental health services in Nevada, keep reading. We’ve done the research to uncover essential facts about who’s eligible, what services you can get, when to go, where to call, and how it works so you can decide if Nevada’s mental health system might be right for you.
Who Is Eligible?
You should consider looking into the Nevada 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 Nevada can use the state-funded mental health emergency response system. If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can call the Nevada crisis line to get the help you need, quickly.
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Use the State System When You're in Crisis
Public mental health services are usually the best option if you’re having a mental health crisis and need help right away.
State mental health programs are required to provide mental health crisis response services and are one of the fastest ways to get care when you’re having a mental health emergency.
The people who answer the Nevada crisis line can provide caring attention and support as they help you determine the best response to a crisis, whether it’s inpatient treatment or an appointment with a counselor.
Even if you’re not in crisis, you can call the state 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.
You can get publicly-funded outpatient mental health care in Nevada from clinics run by one of the three regional divisions of the state behavioral health department: Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (NNAMHS), Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (SNAMHS), and Rural Counseling and Supportive Services (RCSS).
Each regional program provides a full range of outpatient and community-based mental health services including crisis intervention, medication management, outpatient therapy and counseling, psychosocial rehabilitation, case management, and assertive community treatment.
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Check Out the State System If You Need Specialized Services
Public mental health clinics in Nevada are great places to find specialized and intensive mental health services like case management and day treatment that can be hard to find anywhere else. These specialty programs can give you extra help when you’re dealing with severe symptoms.
Whether you can get the services you’re looking for at a public mental health clinic in Nevada depends on how well-funded and staffed your local program is at the time. Nevada doesn’t have strict statewide eligibility criteria for public mental health services, but it does prioritize admission for certain groups and may restrict admission when resources are low and demand is high.
You get priority admission to the Nevada public mental health system if you have or are eligible for Medicaid, have a serious mental illness, or have a mental health condition and are involved with the criminal justice system.
If you are not in one of these groups, whether you can receive services through the public system will depend on where you are trying to access services and their staffing and funding at the time.
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What Is Serious Mental Illness?
You don’t necessarily have to have a serious mental illness (SMI) to be eligible for public outpatient mental health services in Nevada, but you get priority admission if you do, and some services are only for people who have SMI.
So, what is SMI? Serious mental illness is usually defined as a condition that causes you severe distress, limits your ability to function, makes it hard for you to live independently without support, or puts you at risk of hospitalization. Conditions that can qualify as SMI include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.
Public mental health clinics are a great option if you’re a local resident with a public insurance plan.
All public mental health clinics in Nevada accept Medicaid and Medicare and offer affordable sliding-scale fees to people who don’t have insurance. Most also accept a range of private and commercial insurance plans.
They’re also an important option if you live in a rural area. Rural counties in Nevada that don’t have many mental health resources or local private counseling offices are served by public mental health clinics run by Rural Counseling and Supportive Services.
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Check If You're Eligible for Medicaid
Medicaid is a great way to access the public mental health system in Nevada. Not only do most programs in the public system accept it, but you can also use it to get services from many other programs and private practitioners.
Nevada accepted federal Medicaid expansion in 2014, so you’re eligible for Medicaid if your income is 138 percent of the federal poverty level or less. You may also qualify based on a combination of your income, your medical history, and your mental health condition.
If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible, it’s worth looking into. You can apply for Medicaid in person, by phone, or online. To learn more, you can go to a Welfare and Supportive Services office or fill out an online application on the Access Nevada page or Healthcare.gov.
You can find the number for the public clinic that serves your area in the directory below. You can call the clinic (or the statewide mental health hotline) to learn more about what services they offer, whether you’re eligible, and whether there’s a waitlist. We encourage you to call even if you think a public mental health clinic might not be the right fit for you.
Even if you’re not eligible, or if the program doesn’t offer the service you want, they can probably still help you. Community mental health workers are knowledgeable about local resources and will often give you free information or even referrals to other affordable providers nearby, including local non-profits that provide free or low-cost counseling.
Where Do You Call to Get Started?
The easiest way to learn more about state mental healthcare in Nevada is to call the state mental health crisis and information hotline or to call your region’s mental health department. You can find contact information for regional programs and clinics in the directory in the next section.
There are also many numbers you can call for help no matter where you are in Nevada. You can find numbers for statewide helplines and hotlines in the information box directly below.
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Important Numbers in Nevada
The statewide Nevada mental health crisis hotline is 988.
The Crisis Text Line for the state of Nevada is 741741.
For help and referrals for mental health and many other needs, you can call 211.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Helpline is 1-800-950-NAMI (6264).
You can reach the non-emergency NAMI Nevada Helpline by calling (775) 470-5600.
If you just need to talk to someone, you can call the 24/7 Nevada Warm Line at (775) 241-4212.
You can reach the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health at (775) 684-4200.
Public mental health services in Nevada are managed by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health within the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. For general information about Nevada’s system, you can contact DPBH at (775) 684-4200 or DHHS at (775) 684-4000.
However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling the Nevada mental health hotline or calling your regional behavioral health program. You can find the numbers for your region in the directory below.
Nevada Mental Health Directory
Nevada’s mental health system is split into three parts. Northern Nevada is served by Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (NNAMHS). Southern Nevada is served by Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (SNAMHS). The rest of the state is served by a network of rural outpatient clinics run by Rural Counseling and Supportive Services (RCSS).
Each of these organizations—RCSS, NNAMHS, and SNAMHS—is a unit within the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health (DPBH). You can find the numbers for your regional program in the directory below. You can also call DPBH at (775) 684-4200 for more information about the Nevada mental health system.
Nevada Clinics and Crisis Lines
- Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services
- Crisis Line: 988 or (775) 784-8090
- NNAMHS Clinic (Sparks): (775) 688-2001
- Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services
- Crisis Line: 988 or (775) 784-8090
- SNAMHS West Charleston Clinic (Las Vegas): (702) 486-6000
- SNAMHS East Las Vegas Clinic (Las Vegas): (702) 486-6400
- SNAMHS Henderson Clinic (Henderson): (702) 486-6700
- SNAMHS Laughlin Behavioral Health Center (Laughlin): (702) 298-5313
- SNAMHS Mesquite Behavioral Health Center (Mesquite): (702) 346-4696
- Rural Counseling and Supportive Services
- Crisis Line: 988 or (775) 784-8090
- Carson City Rural Clinic (Carson City): (775) 687-0870
- Churchill County Rural Clinic (Fallon): (775) 423-7141
- Douglas County Rural Clinic (Gardnerville): (775) 687-2160
- Elko County Rural Clinic (Elko): (775) 738-8021
- Humboldt County Rural Clinic (Winnemucca): (775) 623-6580
- Lander County Rural Clinic (Battle Mountain): (775) 635-5753
- Lincoln County Rural Clinic (Panaca): (775) 962-8089
- Lincoln County Rural Clinic (Caliente): (775) 726-3368
- Lyon County Rural Clinic (Dayton): (775) 461-3769
- Lyon County Rural Clinic (Fernley): (775) 575-7744
- Lyon County Rural Clinic (Silver Springs): (775) 577-0319
- Lyon County Rural Clinic (Yerington): (775) 463-3191
- Mineral County Rural Clinic (Hawthorne): (775) 945-3387
- Nye County Rural Clinic (Pahrump): (775) 751-7406
- Nye County Rural Clinic (Tonopah): (775) 482-6742
- Pershing County Rural Clinic (Lovelock): (775) 273-1036
- White Pine County Rural Clinic (Ely): (775) 289-1671
If you need information after hours or aren’t sure whether you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, it’s okay to call the Nevada 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.
The number for the statewide Nevada mental health crisis line—now 988—is the same as the number for the national mental health crisis line, but Nevadans who call that number will be connected with Crisis Support Services of Nevada, one of the state’s oldest mental health nonprofits and one of the oldest crisis centers in the country. This program has been helping Nevadans get through mental health crises for over fifty years.
Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are another great way to get affordable publicly-funded mental health services in Nevada.
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.
You can search for FQHCs near you by using the online search tool on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration website.
Troubleshooting Guide
The state mental health system is complicated and can be confusing to navigate. If you’re having any issues, we’re here to help. Here are some of our solutions to common problems you might experience.
Problems and Solutions
1. You can’t get through to someone on the phone.
Except in extremely rare circumstances, someone should answer the Nevada crisis line any time you call. But if you’re not in crisis, the person you talked to gave you another number to call, and you’re having a hard time getting through, you can try going to a walk-in clinic instead.
Some public clinics in Nevada have walk-in programs where you can be seen without an appointment during regular business hours on Monday through Friday. You can often be seen the same day. If the wait is long or they don’t have availability, you can schedule an appointment and come back.
We recommend calling your regional behavioral health clinic or the Nevada mental health hotline to learn more about when and where walk-in mental health services are available.
2. There’s a long waiting list.
State-funded services are often in high demand. Nevada is working to shorten waiting times and make sure you can get seen for essential services right away. However, if you’re not in crisis, you may still have to wait before you can be seen by a therapist or other mental health provider.
Sometimes, it’s worth it to wait if you’ve found a good therapist or service. You can read our article on what to do before your first therapy session for tips on how to maintain your mental health while you wait.
If your symptoms are getting worse and you’re worried you can’t wait, you should call the Nevada crisis line. The caring people who answer can help you figure out if you need help right away and tell you where and how to get the level of care you need.
If you’re not in crisis but don’t want to wait, you can still call the Nevada mental health hotline for help and information. You can also call an intake worker, the main number, or your contact person at the agency to ask if there are other options. There may be another affordable local program they could tell you about that could meet your needs but has a shorter waiting list.
3. You’re not eligible for state-funded services.
If you’re not eligible for state-funded mental health services in Nevada, you’re not eligible for the service you want, or your local clinic doesn’t offer that service, the people who work there should still be able to help you.
Intake workers usually keep lists of affordable local mental health resources for people who aren’t eligible or would prefer to go somewhere else. Ask for information, a printed resource list, or even a direct referral to another provider.
4. The state system doesn’t offer the service you want.
State mental health programs sometimes have to change or limit the services they offer based on their current funding. If you’re admitted to a public mental health clinic but it doesn’t offer the service you need, you have two options.
One is to try an alternative service that they do offer. The other is to ask if they can recommend an affordable alternative provider who does offer that service.
If they do offer the service you want, but it’s limited, stand up for yourself if they try to get you to do something else. Don’t accept getting pushed into something you don’t want just because it’s easier for them or because they can get you in faster.
If you’re willing and able to wait, tell them you would prefer to wait for the service you want, whether that’s therapy, medication, or something else.
5. You don’t like your therapist.
You should never accept bad therapy—or bad mental healthcare of any kind—for any reason. This is just as true in the public system as it is anywhere else. If you have a bad therapist, ask for a new one. Tell your main contact person at the agency, an intake worker, or a manager that you want to try a different therapist.
If you’re not sure whether you have a bad therapist, you can read our articles on how to spot an unethical therapist and how to do a background check on a therapist. If you don’t like your therapist but wonder if it the problem might be fixable, you can read our articles, “What If I Don’t Like My Therapist?” and “How to Fix Problems with Your Therapist.”
If you don’t like the first therapist you’re assigned, ask someone at the agency if they have a webpage or list of therapists you can review. You can read their bios and see if you think one might be a better match. Not all agencies do this, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. You can read our article on how to choose a therapist for information on what to look for.
If you’ve run into a problem that we haven’t addressed, don’t give up. Call someone at the program (or the Nevada mental health hotline) and tell them what’s going on.
You’re much more likely to get the help you need when you advocate for yourself and are persistent. Tell the person you talk to what you need or what problem you’re having.
If they don’t help the first time, call them back and tell them. If you keep calling and keep calm and focused, you should eventually get through to someone who can help you.
Deep Dive: How Does the System Work?
To understand Nevada’s mental health system, it helps to understand how it started and how it’s changed since then.
Public mental health services have been around for a surprisingly long time. But for over a hundred years in America, the only way to get them was in a psychiatric hospital.
In the 1960s, Americans started thinking differently about mental health care. Conditions in psychiatric hospitals were getting worse and new medications made it possible to provide mental health treatment on an outpatient basis.
In response, new laws were passed that required state and local governments to establish community mental health programs as alternatives to institutionalization for people with serious mental illness. The most important was the Community Mental Health Act, which President John F. Kennedy signed into law in 1963.
DEEP DIVE
For More Information
To learn more about what the public mental health system was like in the early days—and how psychiatric inpatient care has evolved since then—you can read our article “Do Insane Asylums Still Exist? The Surprising Past and Present.”
To learn more about what inpatient mental health treatment is like now, and the differences between how it works in general hospitals and specialized psychiatric facilities, you can read our article “How Inpatient Mental Health Treatment Works.”
Nevada was an early pioneer of public mental health, establishing a state mental health system in the late 1800s. The state built its first asylum in 1882 and started serving patients there in 1883.
Nevada embraced community-based mental health care and immediately started opening community mental health programs and clinics after the federal Community Mental Health Act was passed.
However, the Nevada system fell behind over the following decades. While other states shifted away from institutional care in the 1950s and 1960s, Nevada continued to depend on its early mental health infrastructure and focus more on inpatient care even as it built more community mental health centers.
Nevada did not establish a complete statewide system linking or standardizing its community mental health programs for decades. Nevada did not even open a public psychiatric hospital in the southern part of the state until 1975.
DEEP DIVE
What Is the Structure of the Nevada Mental Health System?
Public mental health services in Nevada are managed on the state level by the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health in the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.
Three units within DPBH are responsible for the operation of Nevada’s public outpatient and inpatient facilities. Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (NNAMHS) runs inpatient and outpatient programs in Sparks in Washoe County. Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services (SNAMHS) runs inpatient and outpatient facilities in Clark, Mesquite, and Laughlin Counties.
The rest of the state is served by Rural Counseling and Supportive Services (RCSS), which operates a network of 16 clinics in Carson City and 11 other counties across rural Nevada: Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing, and White Pine Counties.
Nevada’s unique geography, culture, and economy have made it particularly vulnerable to the effects of economic recessions.
The state made major funding cuts to public services including the mental health system in 1992 in response to a national recession. The Nevada mental health system never fully recovered and was significantly cut again after the 2007 recession.
Continual cuts to funding for mental health and Nevada’s fragmented system have consistently put the state at the bottom of national mental health rankings like Mental Health America’s. The issues with the state’s system came to a head in 2013 with a series of public mental health crises.
DEEP DIVE
The 2013 Mental Health Crisis in Nevada
In 2013, a series of mental health scandals surfaced in Nevada that had a major impact on the mental health system. An investigative piece in The Sacramento Bee revealed that the state hospital had been busing discharged mental health patients to other states, often with disastrous results.
In response, the state’s largest mental health hospital, Rawson-Neal, lost its accreditation from the Joint Commission. The state was sued in multiple class-action lawsuits over its hospital discharge policies and for overly long wait times for mentally ill inmates waiting for evaluation and treatment.
Fortunately, these crises spurred some action, and since then, Nevada’s mental health system has started to recover. Rawson-Neal regained its accreditation in 2015 and was even awarded a Gold Seal by the Joint Commission in 2021. Advocates and legislators continue to work on updating and improving the system.
Over the last decade, Nevada has steadily increased funding for its mental health system. Officials made an “unprecedented” and historic multi-million-dollar budget increase in 2023.
These new funds will go toward ongoing projects including expanding inpatient facilities, improving crisis response programs, and increasing the mental health workforce. Nevada launched the statewide 988 crisis hotline in 2022 and has recently made significant efforts to reduce wait times for evaluation and treatment for people involved in the justice system. It is also investing in the expansion of mobile crisis response teams.
You can use these new state services to get the help you need. If you’re in crisis or need mental health care and aren’t sure what to do, you can start by calling 988—the people who answer know how the system works and will help you get where you need to go.
Conclusion
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 40 percent of people in Nevada 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 Nevada state mental health services, call your regional mental health division or the statewide mental health hotline. You may find out you can get mental health services from a public clinic 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.
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