Atlanta’s mental health services ecosystem encompasses the full continuum from population-level prevention initiatives and community outreach through individual outpatient psychotherapy and psychiatric care, crisis intervention, intensive case management, supported employment and housing, peer support programs, and inpatient psychiatric hospitalization, reflecting the breadth of what “mental health services” encompasses beyond the clinical provider-patient relationship that characterizes mental health clinics. The city’s mental health service landscape includes both DBHDD-licensed behavioral health providers operating under Georgia’s public mental health system and private sector providers, together serving a metropolitan population that spans extreme wealth to extreme poverty, with mental health needs that include trauma from violence and poverty in underserved communities, anxiety and depression associated with professional and financial pressure in affluent communities, and the specific needs of Atlanta’s large LGBTQ+ community, veterans population, and diverse immigrant communities whose mental health needs intersect with identity, cultural context, and experiences of discrimination. The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities funds a network of community service boards that provide publicly funded mental health services throughout the state, with the Behavioral Health Link (DBHDD’s contracted access point) and the Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) serving as the gateway to public mental health services statewide. Georgia requires behavioral health service providers to hold applicable state professional licenses and DBHDD service provider licenses, and Joint Commission or CARF accreditation provides quality assurance recognition above the state license minimum for larger behavioral health organizations.
When seeking mental health services in Atlanta, identify the type of service most relevant to your needs: outpatient individual therapy for ongoing mental health support, psychiatric medication management for conditions requiring pharmacological treatment, crisis services for acute mental health emergencies, or intensive community-based services for individuals with serious and persistent mental illness who require supports beyond the traditional therapy appointment model. Ask whether the provider or organization offers integrated services addressing both mental health and substance use needs, since these conditions so frequently co-occur that separating them into entirely distinct service systems creates gaps for the majority of individuals with significant mental health presentations. For individuals with serious mental illness including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with significant functional impairment, and major depression with recurrent hospitalization, ask about Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams that provide intensive, mobile, multidisciplinary mental health support in the community rather than requiring the individual to travel to clinic appointments. Red flags include mental health service organizations that do not have peer support services as a component of their care model for serious mental illness populations, since lived experience peer support is a demonstrated effective component of recovery-oriented mental health services that represents quality above basic clinical service delivery.
Top Mental Health Service Companies in Atlanta
1. Hillside – Youth Behavioral Health Services
Address: 934 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
Phone: (404) 888-5475
Website: https://www.hside.org
Services:
- Residential inpatient behavioral health treatment for youth ages 7 to 21
- Day treatment programs
- Outpatient behavioral health services for children and adolescents
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) specialized programming
- Expressive therapy including art, music, and drama therapy
- Trauma-informed care
- Family therapy and parent education
- Academic support and school re-entry planning
- Crisis stabilization
- Individualized behavioral health treatment planning
About: Hillside is Atlanta’s leading specialized youth behavioral health services organization, providing residential inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment for children and adolescents ages 7 to 21 with a clinical model that emphasizes individualized treatment, evidence-based therapeutic approaches including Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and expressive therapies that engage young people through creative modalities that complement traditional talk therapy in developmentally appropriate ways. The residential program provides intensive 24-hour therapeutic and milieu treatment for young people whose mental health needs cannot be safely or effectively addressed in outpatient settings, with an academic component that maintains educational continuity during the residential stay and facilitates school re-entry planning before discharge. Hillside’s clinical staff provides treatment for the full spectrum of child and adolescent behavioral health conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, trauma and PTSD, emotional dysregulation, self-harm, suicidality, eating disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders, with individualized treatment planning rather than a uniform protocol applied to all residents. The organization’s family therapy and parent education component recognizes that lasting behavioral health recovery for children and adolescents requires engagement and change within the family system that surrounds the young person.
2. Behavioral Health Connections Georgia
Phone: (770) 343-3242
Website: https://www.behavioralhealthgeorgia.com
Service Area: Atlanta metro and broader Georgia
Services:
- Inpatient behavioral health services
- Outpatient psychiatric and counseling services
- Children and adolescent behavioral health
- Adult psychiatric services
- Senior and geriatric mental health services
- Veteran-specific behavioral health services
- Substance abuse treatment integrated with mental health
- Crisis stabilization services
- Specialized programming by age group and clinical need
About: Behavioral Health Connections Georgia provides a broad scope of behavioral health services across Atlanta and Georgia serving multiple age groups and clinical populations through both inpatient and outpatient modalities, with specialized programming that recognizes the distinct mental health service needs of children and adolescents, working-age adults, older adults with late-life psychiatric presentations, and veterans whose military service history and trauma exposure create specific clinical considerations beyond what generalist mental health services address. The organization’s substance abuse treatment integration reflects the clinical necessity of concurrent treatment for co-occurring mental health and addiction conditions rather than requiring individuals to sequentially complete addiction treatment before accessing mental health services or vice versa, a sequential approach that fails the majority of dual diagnosis patients. Veteran-specific services at Behavioral Health Connections acknowledge the specific clinical presentations common in the veteran population including PTSD from combat or military sexual trauma, adjustment disorders related to military transition, traumatic brain injury-related mental health sequelae, and suicide risk that requires specialized cultural competence and clinical protocol. The organization’s geographic reach beyond Atlanta into the broader Georgia market serves communities with limited local mental health service availability.
3. Grady Health Behavioral Health Services
Address: 10 Park Place NE, Atlanta, GA (outpatient)
Phone: (404) 616-1000
Website: https://www.gradyhealth.org/services/behavioral-health/
Services:
- Outpatient psychiatric evaluation and medication management
- Individual and group counseling and therapy
- Substance use disorder assessment and treatment
- Crisis evaluation and Georgia Crisis and Access Line linkage (800-715-4225)
- Case management and community support services
- Walk-in access Monday–Friday 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM for new patients
- Sliding scale and Medicaid-based services for uninsured and low-income patients
- Multidisciplinary care team including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and peer support specialists with lived experience
- Care coordination with Grady’s medical services for co-occurring medical conditions
About: Grady Health’s behavioral health services function as the de facto community mental health system for uninsured and underinsured Atlanta residents, providing sliding scale psychiatric and counseling services alongside crisis linkage and case management within one of the city’s most trusted and accessible public health institutions, serving a diverse patient population that includes Atlanta’s homeless individuals, recently released incarcerated individuals, refugees and immigrants, and low-income community members for whom private sector mental health services are financially inaccessible. The multidisciplinary team structure integrating psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges provides culturally grounded, whole-person care that addresses both clinical psychiatric needs and the social determinants of mental health including housing instability, food insecurity, and social isolation that powerfully influence psychiatric outcomes. Grady’s behavioral health program’s integration within the hospital health system facilitates care coordination for the significant proportion of mental health service patients who have concurrent medical conditions, enabling medication reconciliation, chronic disease management, and specialist referral within a system that holds the patient’s complete health record. The walk-in access model for new patients removes one of the most significant structural barriers to mental health service entry for individuals without the organizational capacity to navigate a formal appointment scheduling process while in distress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What mental health services are available for people without insurance in Atlanta?
A: Uninsured Atlanta residents can access mental health services through several pathways. Grady Health’s Behavioral Health Outpatient Center provides sliding scale services with walk-in access for new patients Monday through Friday, accepting patients regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Georgia’s community service boards, including Behavioral Health Link which serves Fulton and DeKalb counties, provide publicly funded mental health services for Georgia residents who meet income eligibility criteria. The Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 800-715-4225 provides 24/7 crisis support and can connect callers to mobile crisis teams and crisis stabilization services that do not require insurance. Federally Qualified Health Centers in Atlanta including Mercy Care and Atlanta Community Food Bank’s health services provide primary care with behavioral health integration on a sliding scale. For prescription medication assistance, most psychiatric medication manufacturers provide patient assistance programs for eligible uninsured individuals who cannot afford their medications.
Q: What is the Georgia Crisis and Access Line and how does it help in Atlanta?
A: The Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL) is a statewide 24/7 behavioral health crisis support service operated by Behavioral Health Link and funded by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, reachable at 800-715-4225. GCAL provides telephone crisis counseling and support for individuals experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis, and can dispatch mobile crisis teams in Fulton and DeKalb counties who respond in person to individuals in crisis rather than requiring them to travel to an emergency department. GCAL can also coordinate access to crisis stabilization units, psychiatric inpatient evaluations, and behavioral health services, and maintains a database of available mental health resources statewide. The line operates around the clock including weekends and holidays, and is available in multiple languages. Calling or texting 988 also reaches the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which can connect callers to local resources including GCAL.
Q: What specialized mental health services are available for children and youth in Atlanta?
A: Atlanta offers several specialized youth mental health service resources beyond standard pediatric outpatient therapy. Hillside at 934 Briarcliff Road provides residential and intensive outpatient behavioral health services for children and adolescents ages 7 to 21, including specialized DBT programming and expressive therapies. Georgia APEX (Apex Program) provides school-based mental health services in many Atlanta-area public schools, connecting students to licensed mental health counselors during the school day without requiring transportation to a separate clinic. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Marcus Autism Center and Behavioral Health programs provide specialized services for children with autism spectrum disorder and complex psychiatric needs. The Peachford Hospital Branches outpatient program serves children and adolescents with intensive outpatient programming. For youth in crisis, the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 800-715-4225 can access youth-specific crisis resources and mobile crisis teams with child mental health expertise.
Conclusion
Atlanta’s mental health service landscape spans specialized youth behavioral health, community-based services for serious mental illness, publicly funded services for uninsured residents, and integrated programs that address the co-occurrence of mental health and substance use disorders across the metropolitan population. Hillside provides Atlanta’s leading specialized youth behavioral health services including residential treatment, DBT programming, and expressive therapies for children and adolescents ages 7 to 21 at its Briarcliff Road campus. Behavioral Health Connections Georgia delivers broad inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services across multiple populations including children, adults, seniors, and veterans with substance abuse integration. Grady Health Behavioral Health Services provides the essential public mental health safety net with sliding scale access, walk-in availability, and multidisciplinary team care for uninsured and low-income Atlanta residents. Contact each organization directly to discuss your specific mental health service needs, confirm eligibility requirements and insurance acceptance, and learn about current wait times and service availability.