Mental Health Resources for Idaho Residents

If you’re in crisis right now, the numbers below connect you to real people who can
help, most of them available 24 hours a day. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911.

Behavioral Health Crisis

  • Suicide Prevention Hotline: 988
  • Mobile Crisis (for extreme psychiatric emergencies): 208.334.0808
  • Text ‘HOME’ to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor
  • Go to the crisis center nearest you
    • Pathways in Ada County- 7192 Potomac St in Boise
    • Western Idaho in Canyon County- 524 Cleveland Blvd Suite 160 in Caldwell

Domestic Violence/ Sexual Assault

  • Women and Children’s Alliance (WCA) 24 hour crisis line- 208.343.7025
  • Go to FACES of Hope any time immediate safety is needed
    • 417 S 6th St. in Boise
    • 208.577.4400
  • Idaho Domestic Violence Hotline- 800.669.3176
  • Visit the Nampa Family Justice Center (Mon-Fri)
    • 1305 3rd Street South in Nampa
    • 208.475.5700

Housing Crisis

  • Ada County: Our Path Home Housing Crisis Hotline- 208.336.HOME (4663)
  • Canyon County: Regional Access Point- 208.495.5688

Substance Use Crisis

  • Please work with your provider when considering stopping substance use. Some substances, when stopped ‘cold turkey,’ can create a health emergency and require immediate medical attention. If you are able, please call 911 or have someone take you to the nearest emergency room if you are experiencing possible overdose or withdrawal symptoms. 

Not Sure Where to Start?

Not every hard season is an emergency, and the gap between “I’m struggling” and “this
is a crisis” is where most people actually live. If you’re somewhere in that middle
ground, Idaho has a few front doors worth knowing about.

Dial 2-1-1 to reach the Idaho Careline. It’s a free statewide service that connects
callers to mental health providers, food assistance, housing support, utility help,
and more. If you don’t know what kind of help you need yet, this is usually the most
efficient place to begin.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Division of Behavioral Health manages
publicly funded mental health and substance use services across the state, including
regional clinics that offer care on a sliding scale.

NAMI Idaho runs free peer-led support groups and education programs for people living
with mental illness and for the families supporting them. Support groups fill a
different need than therapy does, and for many people the two work well together.

About the Resources on This Page

Most of the crisis services listed above serve Ada and Canyon Counties, which covers
the Treasure Valley and the surrounding communities. If you’re elsewhere in Idaho, the
Idaho Careline and the statewide crisis lines will connect you with services in your
region.

A few things worth knowing:

Crisis lines aren’t only for emergencies. Plenty of people call when they’re
overwhelmed, panicking, or just out of ideas for getting through the night. You don’t
need to be in danger to deserve support.

Crisis centers are an alternative to the emergency room. Pathways and Western Idaho
offer immediate behavioral health support in a setting built for it, usually with
shorter waits and lower cost than an ER visit.

Advocacy organizations can help when the system is the obstacle. If you’re stuck on an
insurance denial or can’t get a provider to call back, that’s a solvable problem and
there are people whose job it is to solve it.

When You’re Ready for Ongoing Support

Crisis resources do exactly what they’re built for, which is getting you through the
next few hours. They aren’t designed for the slower work of understanding why the same
patterns keep resurfacing.

If what you’re carrying is longer-standing, whether that’s anxiety, trauma, grief, or a
life transition that knocked you sideways, working with a therapist over time tends to
produce different results than a single call. Authentic Gains offers individual therapy
and EMDR from an office in Eagle, Idaho, along with virtual sessions for clients
anywhere in the state.

If you’re not sure whether therapy is the right next step, a free 20-minute
consultation is a low-pressure way to find out.

Looking for support in California instead? A separate list is available for California
residents.