Accessibility:  There are sub issues associated with accessibility.  Those are:  1) Can an individual directly enter and receive treatment care or is there a pre-screening process required to qualify for admission?   2)  What type of mental health concern(s) is the individual presenting (does the facility or therapist treat those sorts of issues)?   3) Does the individual seeking assistance meet the profile of the type of patient normally received by the service provider, i.e., a children’s hospital would not accept an adult?  4) Does the receiving facility’s have current capacity to receive new patients?   For example, during Covid some facility’s patient care capacity was maxed out and there was not available capacity to accept new patients.   

If a person is expressing thoughts of harming themselves, most medical care facilities are mandated to have to provide that person with care.  If an individual is experiencing an immediate crisis, they or others may call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and/or 911 assistance might need to be summoned and the individual will be subsequently transported to an emergency room or elsewhere where they will be assessed.  Contingent up the resulting assessment and other mitigating factors, the patient may then be transported to a longer term, mental health service provider facility.  Go to Crisis & Signs on this site for more explanation regarding calling 911 and what might ensue thereafter – up to and after release. 

Financial Payment:  Medical care – physical and/or mental – can be quite expensive.  Private health insurance policies include mental health care coverage.  If an individual does not have private insurance coverage, then the care can be paid for out of pocket and/or public assistance may be available for low income individuals. Go to Financial for more information.