Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in Utah
There’s a way to get affordable mental health care that you might not know about. That’s Utah’s mental health system.
If you qualify, you can get mental health care at a local mental health authority for a small co-pay or low sliding-scale fee. But even if you don’t qualify for services at a state-funded provider, Utah’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 Utah mental health system and who it’s for, you can read our quick start guide below.
Quick Start Guide
Quick facts about Utah’s mental health system:
- In the last few years, Utah has made major investments in its mental health system, dedicating tens of millions of dollars of new funding to expand mobile crisis response services, build more 24-hour crisis facilities, and expand the mental health workforce.
- Public outpatient mental health services in Utah are provided by regional programs called local mental health authorities and the private agencies affiliated with them.
- All publicly-funded mental health programs in Utah accept Medicaid and most offer low sliding-scale fees to people without insurance coverage.
What services are available?
- Utah’s mental health system offers specialty mental health services that can be hard to find anywhere else, like case management, day treatment, and community-based support services.
- Outpatient mental health services including psychiatric evaluation, medication, and therapy are also available at most local mental health authorities.
Who’s eligible?
- Some services, such as state and local crisis and information lines, are available to any Utah 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 Utah by dialing 988.
- You can find numbers for local mental health authorities, affiliated clinics, and local crisis lines by scrolling to your region in the directory below.
To learn more about public mental health services in Utah, 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 Utah’s mental health system might be right for you.
Who Is Eligible?
You should consider looking into the Utah 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 Utah 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.
PRO TIP
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 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 a 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 Utah from regional organizations called local mental health authorities (LMHAs) and the independent local providers that are affiliated with them. Some LMHAs provide services directly, while others contract with local nonprofit providers.
Each LMHA and its affiliated provider network provide a full range of outpatient and community-based mental health services including crisis intervention, medication management, outpatient therapy and counseling, and specialty services that can be hard to find in private clinics.
PRO TIP
Check Out the State System If You Need Specialized Services
Local mental health authorities in Utah 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 local mental health authority in Utah depends on how well-funded and staffed your local program is at the time. Utah 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 Utah public mental health system if you have or are eligible for Medicaid or have a serious mental illness. If you are not in one of these groups, whether you can receive services through the public system depends on where you live.
Accessibility and availability of publicly-funded mental health services in Utah varies widely by region. Whether you need to have a severe mental health condition to access public mental health services depends on funding and availability at your local LMHA. In regions that contract with independent nonprofit programs, eligibility criteria may vary from program to program in the same service area.
PRO TIP
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 Utah, but you get priority admission to your local mental health authority 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.
Local mental health authorities and affiliated clinics are a great option if you’re a local resident with a public insurance plan.
All state-funded mental health programs in Utah accept Medicaid. Most also accept a range of public, private, and commercial insurance plans. If you don’t have insurance or don’t have insurance with mental health coverage, most LMHAs also have affordable sliding-scale fees based on your income.
Local mental health authorities are also an important option if you live in a rural area. Rural areas that have few other mental health resources are covered by LMHAs, which usually have at least one clinic in each of the counties they serve.
PRO TIP
Check If You're Eligible for Medicaid
Medicaid is a great way to access the public mental health system in Utah. 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.
Utah accepted federal Medicaid expansion in 2020, 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 Department of Workforce Services office or fill out an online application on the Utah Medicaid page or Healthcare.gov.
You can find the numbers for your local mental health authority and affiliated programs and clinics in the directory below.
You can call your local mental health authority or the clinic you’re interested in 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 state-funded mental health program 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 Utah is to call your local mental health authority or the statewide mental health crisis and information line. You can find contact information for local mental health authorities and affiliated clinics in the directory in the next section.
There are also many numbers you can call for help no matter where you are in Utah. You can find numbers for statewide helplines and hotlines in the information box directly below.
PRO TIP
Important Numbers in Utah
The statewide Utah mental health crisis hotline is 988.
The Crisis Text Line for the state of Utah 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 Utah Help Line by calling (801) 323-9900.
If you just need to talk to someone, you can call the Utah Warm Line to speak to a peer any time from 8AM to 11PM any day of the year at (801) 587-1055 or (833) 773-2588.
You can reach the Utah Office of Substance Use and Mental Health by calling (801) 538-3939.
You can reach the general information hotline for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services by calling (888) 222-2542.
Public mental health services in Utah are managed on the state level by the Office of Substance Use and Mental Health in the Utah Department of Health and Human Services. For general information about Utah’s mental health system, you can contact SUMH at (801) 538-3939 or DHHS at (888) 222-2542.
However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling the state mental health hotline or by calling a local mental health authority or clinic directly. You can find the contact information for your region in the directory below.
Utah Mental Health Directory
The Utah mental health system is divided into 13 regions. Each region has a mental health authority that either provides services directly or plans and manages the provider network for publicly-funded mental health services in their catchment area.
You can find the websites and contact numbers for all local mental health authorities, local and regional crisis lines, and contracted adult outpatient mental health providers in the directory below.
Utah Clinics and Crisis Lines
Northern Utah Clinics and Crisis Lines
- Bear River Mental Health Services
- Serving Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties
- Main Number: (435) 752-0750
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Outpatient Locations:
- Logan Clinic: (435) 752-0750
- Brigham City Clinic: (435) 734-9449
- Tremonton Clinic: (435) 257-2168
- Garden City Clinic: (800) 620-9949
- Bear River Health Department Counseling Services
- Serving Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties
- Main Number (Logan Office): (435) 792-6500
- Outpatient Counseling Office Locations:
- Logan Office: (435) 792-6500
- Brigham City Office: (435) 792-6500
- Tremonton Office: (435) 792-6500
- Weber Human Services
- Serving Morgan and Weber Counties
- Main Number: (801) 625-3700
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Office Location:
- Ogden Office: (801) 625-3700
- Davis Behavioral Health
- Serving Davis County
- Main Number: (801) 773-7060
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: (801) 614-2829 or 988
- Adult Outpatient Clinic Locations:
- Main Street Clinic (Layton): (801) 773-7060
- North Layton Campus (Layton): (801) 447-1848
- Clearfield Clinic (Clearfield): (801) 773-7060
- Bountiful Clinic (Bountiful): (801) 693-4509
- Crisis Recovery Unit (Layton): (801) 773-7060
Wasatch Front Clinics and Crisis Lines
- Wasatch Mental Health
- Serving Wasatch and Utah Counties
- Main Number (Utah County): (801) 373-4760
- Main Number (Wasatch County): (435) 654-3003
- Crisis Line (Utah and Wasatch Counties): 988
- Outpatient Mental Health Locations:
- Westpark Family Clinic (Provo): (801) 373-4760
- Provo Family Clinic (Provo): (801) 377-1213
- Wasatch County Family Clinic (Heber): (435) 654-3003
- American Fork Family Clinic (American Fork): (801) 763-5010
- Eagle Mountain Family Clinic (Eagle Mountain): (385) 268-6780
- Payson Family Clinic (Payson): (801) 852-3805
- South Provo Clinic (Provo): (801) 373-7443
- Psychological Assessment Services (Provo): (801) 852-1422
- Mountain Peaks Counseling Clinic (Provo): (801) 960-1620
- Healthy U Behavioral
- Serving Summit County
- Main Number: (833) 981-0212
- Crisis Line: (833) 995-1295 or 988
- Main Office Location:
- UNI Park City Clinic: (435) 658-5461
- Healthy U Behavioral Online Search Tools:
- Salt Lake County Behavioral Health Services
- Serving Salt Lake County
- Main Number: (385) 468-4707
- Statewide 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Optum Medicaid Mental Health Helpline: (877) 370-8953
- Mobile Crisis Outreach Team: (801) 587-3000
- Utah Warm Line: (833) 773-2588
- Adult Outpatient Mental Health Clinics in the Optum Medicaid Network:
- Asian Association of Utah Behavioral Health Services (Salt Lake City): (801) 990-9441
- Aspen Ridge Counseling Centers:
- Magna Office: (801) 990-4300
- Bountiful Office: (801) 990-4300
- Sandy Office: (801) 990-4300
- Taylorsville Office: (801) 990-4300
- Tooele Office: (801) 990-4300
- West Jordan Office: (801) 990-4300
- Changes Counseling (Sandy): (801) 542-7060
- Christian Counseling Centers of Utah (Murray and Ogden): (801) 268-1564
- Center for Family Evaluation and Treatment (Taylorsville): (801) 265-3895
- Child and Family Empowerment Services (West Valley City): (801) 448-3504
- Clinical Consultants:
- West Jordan Office: (801) 233-8670
- Ogden Office: (801) 621-8670
- Tooele Office: (435) 228-6523
- Empowerment Counseling Services:
- Salt Lake Location: (801) 603-2547
- Clearfield Location: (801) 603-2547
- The Family Support Center Counseling Program (Taylorsville): (801) 955-9110
- First Step House Outpatient Mental Health Program (Salt Lake City): (801) 359-8862
- Hopeful Beginnings (West Valley City): (801) 979-1351
- Jewish Family Service Counseling Program (Salt Lake City): (801) 746-4334
- LifeStance Health Ascendant Behavioral Health Clinics:
- Riverton Clinic: (801) 872-5516
- Murray Clinic: (801) 872-5516
- Lehi Clinic: (801) 872-5516
- The Lotus Center (Millcreek): (385) 272-4292
- Meadowbrook Counseling:
- Main Number: (801) 655-5450
- Orem Office: (801) 655-5450
- Lehi Office: (801) 655-5450
- Farmington Office: (801) 655-5450
- Heber City Office: (801) 655-5450
- Draper Office: (801) 655-5450
- Millcreek Office: (801) 655-5450
- Taylorsville Office: (801) 655-5450
- South Jordan Office: (801) 655-5450
- Payson Office: (801) 655-5450
- Logan Office: (801) 655-5450
- Mind and Matter Therapy (Midvale): (801) 645-5790
- Multicultural Counseling Center (West Jordan): (801) 915-0359
- Neurobehavioral Center for Growth:
- Main Number: (801) 683-1062
- Bountiful Office: (801) 683-1062
- Layton Office: (801) 683-1062
- Salt Lake City Office: (801) 683-1062
- Logan Office: (801) 683-1062
- Ogden Office: (801) 683-1062
- West Jordan Office: (801) 683-1062
- Odyssey House Martindale Clinic (Salt Lake City): (801) 428-3500
- Project Reality:
- Murray Office: (385) 881-0170
- Salt Lake City Office: (801) 364-8080
- South Point Counseling Services (South Jordan): (801) 302-3801
- Summit Community Counseling:
- Taylorsville Office: (801) 266-2485
- Heber City Office: (801) 266-2485
- Orem Office: (801) 266-2485
- SunDance Behavioral Resources:
- Murray Office: (801) 264-9522
- Provo Office: (801) 900-5616
- Turning Point Centers:
- Main Number: (888) 576-3717
- Sandy Outpatient Clinic: (888) 576-3717
- Holladay Outpatient Clinic: (888) 576-3717
- Kaysville Outpatient Clinic: (888) 576-3717
- University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute Outpatient Clinics:
- Main Number, Appointments, and Information: (801) 583-2500
- Assessment and Referral Services (Salt Lake City): (801) 587-2770
- Downtown UNI Behavioral Health Clinic (Salt Lake City): (801) 585-1212
- Farmington UNI Behavioral Health Clinic (Farmington): (801) 213-3770
- Park City Behavioral Health Clinic (Park City): (435) 658-9998
- Same-Day Psychiatry Clinic (Salt Lake City): (801) 585-1212
- Geriatric Psychiatry Clinic (Salt Lake City): (801) 587-8007
- Utah Behavior Services:
- Main Number: (801) 255-5131
- Outpatient Office Locations:
- Lehi Office: (801) 255-5131
- Roy Office: (801) 255-5131
- Salt Lake City Office: (801) 255-5131
- Taylorsville Office: (801) 255-5131
- The Utah House (Salt Lake City): (801) 859-3000
- Valley Behavioral Health:
- Main Number, Information, and Appointments: (888) 949-4864
- North Valley Outpatient Clinic (Salt Lake City): (888) 949-4864
- West Valley Outpatient Clinic (West Valley City): (888) 949-4864
- South Valley Outpatient Clinic (Kearns): (888) 949-4864
- Volunteers of America Cornerstone Counseling Center (Salt Lake City): (801) 355-2846
- Volunteers of America Family Counseling Center (Murray): (801) 261-3500
- Valley Behavioral Health
- Serving Tooele County
- Main Number: (435) 843-3520
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Outpatient Mental Health Location:
- Tooele Outpatient Clinic (Tooele): (435) 843-3520
Eastern Utah Clinics and Crisis Lines
- Northeastern Counseling Center
- Serving Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties
- Main Number: (435) 789-6300
- Statewide 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Daytime Crisis Line (Vernal): (435) 789-6300
- After Hours Crisis Line (Vernal): (435) 828-8241
- Daytime Crisis Line (Roosevelt and Duchesne): (435) 725-6300
- After Hours Crisis Line (Roosevelt and Duchesne): (435) 823-6823
- Outpatient Mental Health Locations:
- Vernal Office: (435) 789-6300
- Roosevelt Office: (435) 725-6300
- Duchesne Office: (435) 738-5512
- Four Corners Community Behavioral Health
- Serving Carbon, Emery, and Grand Counties
- Main Number: (435) 637-7200
- Statewide 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Carbon County Daytime Crisis Line: (435) 637-2358
- Carbon County After Hours Crisis Line: (435) 637-0893
- Emery County Daytime Crisis Line: (435) 381-2432
- Emery County After Hours Crisis Line: (435) 381-2404
- Grand County Daytime Crisis Line: (435) 259-6131
- Grand County After Hours Crisis Line: (435) 259-8115
- Outpatient Mental Health Clinics:
- Carbon County Outpatient Clinic (Price): (435) 637-2358
- Grand County Outpatient Clinic (Moab): (435) 259-6131
- Emery County Outpatient Clinic (Castle Dale): (435) 381-2432
- Green River Medical Center (Green River): (435) 564-3434
Central and Southern Utah Clinics and Crisis Lines
- Central Utah Counseling Center
- Serving Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne Counties
- Main Number: (435) 283-8400
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Outpatient Mental Health Offices:
- Delta Office: (435) 864-3073
- Ephraim Office: (435) 283-4065
- Fillmore Office: (435) 743-5121
- Junction Office: (435) 896-8236
- Loa Office: (435) 896-8236
- Nephi Office: (435) 623-1456
- Richfield Office: (435) 896-8236
- Southwest Behavioral Health Center
- Serving Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties
- Main Number: (435) 634-5600
- Crisis Line: (800) 574-6763 or 988
- Outpatient Mental Health Locations:
- Washington County Office (St. George): (435) 634-5600
- Iron County Office (Cedar City): (435) 867-7654
- Beaver County Office (Beaver): (435) 438-5537
- Garfield County Office (Panguitch): (435) 676-8176
- Kane County Office (Kanab): (435) 644-4520
- Crisis Stabilization Center (Hurricane): (435) 676-8176
- San Juan Counseling Center
- Serving San Juan County
- Main Number: (435) 678-2992
- Toll-Free Number: (888) 833-2992
- 24-Hour Crisis Line: 988
- Main Clinic Location:
- Blanding Office: (435) 678-2992
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.
Also Consider: Federally Qualified Health Centers
Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are another great way to get affordable publicly-funded mental health services in Utah.
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 a state or local 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.
Many local mental health authorities in Utah have walk-in centers where you can be seen during regular business hours on Monday through Friday. Some let you walk in and wait without an appointment. 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 checking your LMHA’s website for walk-in clinic locations and hours.
2. There’s a long waiting list.
State-funded services are often in high demand. Utah 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 a 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 call a state or local mental health hotline, 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 for state-funded mental health services in Utah, you’re not eligible for the service you want, or your local mental health authority 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 your local mental health authority 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 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 Utah’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.”
Utah was an early pioneer of public mental health, establishing a state mental health system in the late 1800s. The state started planning its first asylum in 1881 and started serving patients there in 1885.
Utah’s public mental health system focused on its state psychiatric hospital, the Utah State Hospital, until 1969, when it updated its policies to focus on alternatives to hospitalization and founded some of its first community-based programs. Utah had established a community-based mental health system by the 1970s.
Utah made many innovative updates to its mental health system over the years, including a formative public-private mental health partnership with the University of Utah in the 1980s. However, its mental health system has struggled to meet Utahns’ mental health needs over the last several decades for many reasons.
Stigma, limited state funding for mental health, a statewide provider shortage, and even altitude have played a role in Utah’s high rate of mental illness and low ranking on Mental Health America’s survey of state mental health programs, which focuses on prevalence of mental illness and access to care.
DEEP DIVE
What Is the Structure of the Utah Mental Health System?
Public mental health services in Utah are overseen on the state level by the Office of Substance Use and Mental Health in the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Each county or multi-county region in Utah operates its own local mental health authority. Some LMHAs provide services directly, while others contract with independent nonprofit programs to provide state-funded mental health services. Utah currently has 13 LMHAs.
Utah has taken major steps in recent years to reverse these trends and improve its mental health system.
Utah began a major project to update to its mental health crisis response network in 2011, culminating with the launch of the statewide mental health crisis line in 2018 and the state mental health warm line in 2020. Utah updated its statewide crisis number and implemented the 988 statewide crisis hotline in 2022.
In 2020, Utah passed a historic multi-million-dollar mental health funding bill that dedicated millions of dollars to expanding mobile crisis teams and building more 24-hour crisis facilities. The state mental health department has since significantly expanded the reach of crisis services across Utah.
DEEP DIVE
The Huntsman Mental Health Institute
In 2021, the University of Utah dedicated the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, marking a further evolution of the university’s long-standing partnership with the state mental health system to provide essential mental health services to Utahns, especially in and around Salt Lake County. One of their first major projects has been building a new 24/7 crisis center.
In 2023, the Utah government passed four significant mental health bills. These funded the ongoing expansion of crisis services across the state including mobile crisis teams and facility-based crisis services. A new law also allows licensed mental health professionals from other states to provide telemedicine services in Utah to help address the state’s mental health workforce shortage.
Utah also recently launched a mental health coalition focused on improving the coordination between public and private mental health providers and improving the mental health system as a whole.
You can use Utah’s new mental health services and initiatives 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 a local 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 50 percent of people in Utah 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 Utah state mental health services, call a local mental health authority or the state mental health hotline. You may find out you can get mental health services from the public mental health system 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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