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

There’s a way to get affordable mental health care that you might not know about. That’s Pennsylvania’s mental health system.

If you qualify, you can get mental health care at a community agency for a small co-pay or a low sliding-scale fee. But even if you don’t qualify for services at a state-funded program, Pennsylvania’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 Pennsylvania mental health system and who it’s for, you can read our quick start guide below.

To learn more about public mental health services in Pennsylvania, 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 Pennsylvania’s mental health system might be right for you.

Who Is Eligible?

You should consider looking into the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.

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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 state and local crisis lines 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 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.

While there are some services in the Pennsylvania mental health system that have stricter eligibility requirements than others, in general, the public mental health system is pretty accessible. There are no statewide eligibility criteria for public outpatient mental health services in Pennsylvania.

Because Pennsylvania county mental health departments contract with independent local agencies instead of directly providing services, eligibility requirements vary from county to county and program to program. Which services you can get also depends on where you’re looking. Some programs focus on services for people with serious mental illness, while others serve clients with milder conditions.

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You don’t have to have a serious mental illness (SMI) to get basic outpatient mental health services from most publicly-funded outpatient programs in Pennsylvania, but some services and programs are exclusively for people who have SMI.

For example, you’re usually only eligible for case management services if you have a serious and persistent mental illness. In addition, when demand is high or staffing is low, people with SMI are given priority admission at some programs.

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.

The primary way Pennsylvania provides state funding assistance for mental health services is through Medicaid. If you’re not eligible for Medicaid, you will need to use a different type of insurance or pay out of pocket for services.

Most programs that participate in the Pennsylvania public mental health system accept Medicaid as well as many other insurance plans. If you don’t have insurance, you can often get counseling for reduced fees at many state-licensed clinics. Many offer income-based sliding scales.

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If you don’t have Medicaid or other insurance, you may be able to get special state financial assistance to get mental health services in Pennsylvania. However, you usually need to meet somewhat strict income or clinical eligibility criteria to qualify. You can apply for financial aid through your county mental health department.

In Pennsylvania, county mental health departments oversee local provider networks for the public system. They don’t determine whether you’re eligible for services at any given program, but they do determine whether you qualify for state financial assistance.

In many cases, if you don’t qualify for public funds, you can still access community mental health care. Your county mental health department will refer you to a local program for further assessment after they determine your eligibility for state funding assistance. That program will then help you figure out if you’re eligible and what your payment options are.

If you don’t qualify for state financial assistance, programs in the public network may still be an affordable option. To find out how fees for programs in your county public mental health network compare to fees for other providers, you can call the program you’re interested in and ask about their payment options.

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Medicaid is a great way to access the public mental health system in Pennsylvania. Not only do most programs in the public mental health system accept it, but you can also use it to get services from many other programs and private practitioners.

Pennsylvania accepted federal Medicaid expansion in 2015, 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 county assistance office or fill out an online application on COMPASS or Healthcare.gov.

Pennsylvania’s multifaceted mental health system includes small private counseling practices as well as large non-profits and comprehensive for-profit companies.

This is because Pennsylvania’s mental health system is a hybrid public-private system. While state and county mental health departments oversee mental health policy and provide case management and some other services, most services are provided by independent programs that contract with them. This means what services you can get and whether you’re eligible depends on where you’re looking.

Some programs in the public mental health system focus only on therapy and counseling, while others focus on specialty and intensive services for people with serious mental illness. Some comprehensive programs offer both. So, you’ll need to look through the local programs that serve your county to find the right one for you.

You can find contact information for your county mental health department and affiliated programs in the directory section of this article.

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Publicly-funded mental health programs in Pennsylvania 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.

You can call your county mental health department to learn more about how to get help accessing mental health services where you live. You can call a local agency directly to learn more about what services they offer, whether you’re eligible, and whether there’s a waitlist. You can find the numbers for county mental health departments and local programs in the directory below.

We encourage you to call even if you’re not sure whether you’re eligible or whether you’ve found the right program. Even if you don’t meet the program’s requirements or they don’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 health services in Pennsylvania is to call your county mental health department or county mental health hotline. You can find the contact information for your county in the directory in the next section.

There are also many numbers you can call for help no matter where you are in Pennsylvania. You can find the numbers for statewide helplines and hotlines in the information box directly below.

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The statewide Pennsylvania mental health crisis hotline is 988.

The Crisis Text Line for the state of Pennsylvania 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 Keystone Pennsylvania Help Line at (888) 264-7972 or (412) 366-3788.

You can find contact information for other local NAMI Pennsylvania affiliates on this page.

If you just need to talk to someone, you can talk to a peer between noon and 7:30PM any day of the week by calling the UPMC WarmLine at (877) 550-4007.

You can find listings for local county warmlines for many counties in Pennsylvania on this page and in the directory below.

You can get help connecting with resources by calling the PA Support and Referral Helpline at (855) 284-2494.

You can contact the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services by calling (717) 787-6443.

You can contact the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services by calling (800) 692-7462.

Public mental health services in Pennsylvania are managed on the state level by the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services. For general information about Pennsylvania’s system, you can contact DHS at (800) 692-7462 or call OMHSAS at (717) 787-6443. You can also call a regional OMHSAS field office.

However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling your county mental health department or the program you’re interested in. You can find contact information for your county in the directory below.

County-by-County Directory

Public outpatient mental health services in Pennsylvania are provided by private agencies that contract with county mental health departments.

Most county mental health departments serve a single county, while some are partnerships between two or more counties. There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania and 48 county mental health programs that serve those counties.

In addition, each county is served by a Medicaid managed care organization (MCO) that has its own provider network. If you have Medicaid, your Medicaid MCO’s page is where you can search for in-network providers and find numbers you can call to learn more about your insurance.

Each county has a general number you can call for information as well as a crisis line you can call to get help in a crisis. In the directory below, you can find those numbers as well as contact information for outpatient mental health programs that contract with your county (and a link to your local MCO).

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.

If you’re not in crisis, you can call your county mental health department for help if you’re having trouble finding the right kind of provider. You can also use online tools to search for provider types we haven’t included in our directory above, such as counselors in private practice or youth programs.

Pennsylvania uses the Network of Care site for local provider listings. You can go here to find and search the page for your county. You can also use the central Human Services Provider Directory to search for local licensed mental health providers.

Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers

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

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.

If you’ve run into a problem that we haven’t addressed, don’t give up. Call someone at the program (or a state or local 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 Pennsylvania’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

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.”

Many state mental health programs trace their origins back to the 1960s when these important changes started to happen. Pennsylvania is no exception.

After Congress passed the 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act, Pennsylvania passed its own state Mental Health and Intellectual Disability Act in 1966. Like similar laws passed in other states, it required state and county governments to establish a network of community-based mental health services.

The 4210 Regulations of 1975 outlined specific rules for how to implement the 1966 state law and still guide the way community mental health programs are administered in Pennsylvania today.

DEEP DIVE

Pennsylvania regulates its public mental health system at the state level but implements it on the county level. County programs vary in funding, the scope of services they offer, and how they are operated.

Pennsylvania state law requires each county to have a “base service unit” (BSU). A BSU ensures access to mental health services by providing assessment and referral services and making sure needed services are available to county residents. However, state regulations do not require counties to directly provide treatment or even to directly operate BSUs.

Counties have interpreted state regulations in different ways. Some BSUs are directly operated by the counties and others are operated by contracted agencies.

The extent to which BSUs provide treatment also varies. While most BSUs directly provide crisis services, and many provide case management, many do not provide therapy or other outpatient services. Instead, they refer county residents to private agencies.

Pennsylvania continues to use a county-based model for its mental health system. However, in 1997, Pennsylvania transitioned to a Medicaid managed care system that affected how state mental health services were funded and operated across the state.

Since then, county mental health departments have directed people who are enrolled in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid managed care program (HealthChoices) to a different provider network than people who don’t have Medicaid.

This approach has streamlined the mental health system in some ways. Splitting services this way has allowed Pennsylvania to have less restrictive eligibility criteria for county mental health services than it might otherwise have, making it easier for people with moderate to severe mental health conditions to get state-funded mental health care. But it has also led to disparities across the state.

DEEP DIVE

Since 1997, Pennsylvania has used a Medicaid managed care system called HealthChoices to organize its public mental health system.

County mental health departments refer people who aren’t enrolled in HealthChoices to mental health providers who contract with the county, while they refer HealthChoices members to one of five HealthChoices behavioral health managed care organizations:

Each managed care organization has its own provider network. People who call their MCO or use their MCO’s website to seek services are allowed to choose from providers who are in-network with that MCO. Which MCO people use is determined by the county they live in.

In some cases, providers in the MCO network also contract with the county BSU to provide services to people who lack insurance. In other cases, the providers who contract with the BSU and the providers who contract with the MCO are different.

Pennsylvania’s mental health system ranks well on national mental health surveys like Mental Health America’s, but it has faced a series of crises in recent years.

Nationwide issues including the mental health workforce shortage have affected Pennsylvania as well. Lack of inpatient and crisis resources have led to many people with mental health conditions being held in jail or emergency rooms while waiting for space at a state or private psychiatric hospital.

Pennsylvania made major cuts to mental health funding in 2013 and the system has still not fully recovered. Inadequate funding of county-based mental health services and increased demand since the pandemic have led to long wait lists, program closures, and service reductions at publicly-funded mental health agencies across Pennsylvania.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania is taking action to address these issues. The mental health department launched the statewide 988 crisis line in 2022 and organizations across the state are opening new crisis facilities, including new crisis centers in Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, and Harrisburg. And while Pennsylvania didn’t increase the mental health budget for nearly a decade after the 2013 budget cuts, it started increasing funding again in 2023, and advocates are pressing for more.

You can use these new state services to get the care 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 or your county crisis line—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 48 percent of people in Pennsylvania 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, call your county mental health department or a state or local mental health hotline. You may find out you can get mental health services through a state-funded 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.

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.

Therapy with No Waiting Rooms or Driving. Take a quick quiz about your preferences and needs and get matched to a therapist in as little as 48 hours.

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

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.

Have you been in therapy before?

Quick Start Guide

Who Is Eligible?

PRO TIP

Use the State System When You're in Crisis

PRO TIP

What Is Serious Mental Illness?

PRO TIP

Apply for State Financial Assistance

PRO TIP

Check If You're Eligible for Medicaid

PRO TIP

Check Out the State System If You Need Specialized Services

Where Do You Call to Get Started?

PRO TIP

Important Numbers in Pennsylvania

County-by-County Directory

Pennsylvania Clinics and Crisis Lines

Adams County and York County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Allegheny County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Armstrong County and Indiana County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Beaver County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Bedford County and Somerset County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Berks County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Blair County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Bradford County and Sullivan County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Bucks County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Butler County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Cambria County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Cameron County and Elk County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Carbon County, Monroe County, and Pike County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Centre County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Chester County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Clarion County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Clearfield County and Jefferson County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Clinton County and Lycoming County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Columbia County, Montour County, Snyder County, and Union County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Crawford County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Cumberland County and Perry County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Dauphin County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Delaware County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Erie County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Fayette County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Forest County and Warren County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Franklin County and Fulton County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Greene County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Huntingdon County, Juniata County, and Mifflin County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Lackawanna County and Susquehanna Clinics and Crisis Lines

Lancaster County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Lawrence County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Lebanon County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Lehigh County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Luzerne County and Wyoming County Clinics and Crisis Lines

McKean County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Mercer County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Montgomery County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Northampton County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Northumberland County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Philadelphia County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Potter County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Schuylkill County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Tioga County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Venango County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Washington County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Wayne County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Westmoreland County Clinics and Crisis Lines

Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers

Troubleshooting Guide

Problems and Solutions

Deep Dive: How Does the System Work?

DEEP DIVE

For More Information

DEEP DIVE

What Is the Structure of the Pennsylvania Mental Health System?

DEEP DIVE

Medicaid Managed Care in Pennsylvania

Conclusion

Are You Thinking of Online Therapy? Start Here to Get Matched with a Licensed Therapist Right For You.