A free guide from Cima Find Care

Free and low-cost therapy in Fort Worth

No insurance, not much money, or on Medicaid? You can still get help in Fort Worth and Tarrant County, for your mental health or for drinking or drug use. Here are the places to call, what each one does, who qualifies and how to get started.

Updated October 25, 2026. We checked each phone number on the organization's own website or a state or federal agency's. General information, not medical, legal or insurance advice.

If you need help now: call 911 in an emergency. In a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, any time. In Tarrant County you can also call or text MHMR's 24/7 crisis line, 1-800-866-2465.

Help right now

Call 911 if someone is in danger or has a medical emergency.
Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's free, private and open 24/7, and you don't have to be suicidal to call. For Spanish, call and press 2. Veterans can press 1.
Call MHMR's ICARE Call Center, 817-335-3022, or call or text toll-free 1-800-866-2465. It's Tarrant County's crisis line for mental health and substance use emergencies, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Someone can come to you: MHMR's Mobile Crisis Outreach Team gives 24-hour crisis help to children, teens and adults in Tarrant County. Ask for it when you call.

MHMR of Tarrant County: the county's public mental health system

Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) names a local mental health authority for every county: the public agency that provides or arranges mental health care for people who are uninsured, have little money, or have Medicaid or Medicare. For Tarrant County, it's My Health My Resources of Tarrant County, known as MHMR Tarrant.

What it does: 24/7 crisis care; mental health services for adults, children and families; substance use services; and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Who qualifies: for adult mental health programs, you need to live in Tarrant County and qualify by income. Most programs serve the state's priority groups, such as people with major depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. If you don't qualify, MHMR will point you to other help.
What it costs: fees depend on the program's funding and what you can pay. If you're uninsured, staff can help you apply for Medicaid.
How to start: walk in to any MHMR center, or call 817-335-3022 for a phone interview. Then comes an in-person screening; bring proof of income if you're uninsured. If you're eligible, you'll get an appointment.

For a child or teen, see MHMR's Child and Family Services. Live in Parker, Johnson, Denton or another county near Fort Worth? Your local authority is different: look it up with HHSC's Find Your Local Mental Health or Behavioral Health Authority, or call 2-1-1.

Free and low-cost rehab for drinking or drugs

Texas pays for substance use treatment, including detox, outpatient and residential rehab, for people who can't afford it. The front door is called OSAR: Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral. An OSAR screens you for free and connects you with a state-funded program. HHSC says the only requirement is that you live in Texas. State-funded outpatient and residential treatment is for adults whose income and resources qualify, and some pay part of the cost.

Tarrant County's OSAR line is 817-332-6329. HHSC lists the Recovery Resource Council, 157 Blandin St., Fort Worth, as the county's OSAR, and MHMR sends people to the same number. If you're uninsured or underinsured, they check whether you qualify for full or partial help paying for treatment. After screening, you can have up to six brief counseling sessions with them while you get started.
MHMR Tarrant also offers substance use services, with fees on a sliding scale. Medicaid or private insurance may cover them.
HHSC's OSAR page lists every OSAR by region, or call 2-1-1 (877-541-7905) and ask for one.

SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357, is free, private and open 24/7 in English and Spanish, and can point you to state-funded and sliding-scale programs. So can FindTreatment.gov.

Sliding-scale and low-cost counseling

A sliding scale means the fee goes down when your income is lower. When you call, ask what you'd pay at your income, and have a photo ID, proof of address and proof of income ready. Low-cost clinics often have waitlists, so it's fine to call two or three. If things get worse while you wait, call or text 988.

Community health centers

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are community clinics funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). They see you with or without insurance, charge on a sliding scale by income and family size, and can't turn you away because you can't pay.

North Texas Area Community Health Centers has clinics in Fort Worth, including Northside and Southeast Fort Worth. It offers one-on-one, group and family counseling alongside primary care, sees people regardless of income, insurance or ability to pay, and can help you apply for Medicaid and CHIP. Find the clinic nearest you, and its number, on its website. Find more centers near your ZIP code with HRSA's Find a Health Center.

A university training clinic

Texas Wesleyan University's Counseling Center in east Fort Worth is open to the public. Graduate counseling students see clients while their professors supervise. Fees run $10 to $50 a session on a sliding scale. Appointments are by phone only: 817-531-4859.

Free counseling for some groups

The Recovery Resource Council offers free counseling for youth ages 11 to 19 (up to 10 sessions), and free individual, couples and family therapy for veterans and their families. Call 817-332-6329 and ask about its programs.

Free support: NAMI Tarrant County

NAMI Tarrant County runs free, peer-led support groups for people living with a mental health condition and their families, in Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties. It isn't therapy, but it's real support while you wait. Call 817-332-6677.

If you also need a doctor

JPS Connection is JPS Health Network's financial help program for Tarrant County residents with low income. It covers care at JPS, including behavioral health. Call the Eligibility Center, 817-702-1001, and ask about the income limit.

Medicaid and CHIP

Medicaid and CHIP cover mental health and substance use care. Texas Medicaid covers children, pregnant women, some parents and caretakers with limited income, people with disabilities and people 65 and older. Texas hasn't expanded Medicaid to most other adults, so many adults without children don't qualify. CHIP covers children in families that earn too much for Medicaid.

Apply at YourTexasBenefits.com, or call 2-1-1 (877-541-7905), pick a language and press 2. Help is free. If you don't qualify for Medicaid, the state checks your children for CHIP.
You'll pick a health plan. Most Texans with Medicaid get it through a health plan they choose (called managed care). Call the member services number on your card to find therapists or treatment in your plan. To choose or change plans, call the Texas Enrollment Broker, 800-964-2777.

Our guide to using insurance for therapy in Texas explains the programs and what to ask your plan.

How Cima Find Care can help

Cima Find Care is a free directory of Texas therapists, counselors, addiction counselors (LCDCs), recovery coaches, psychiatric prescribers and treatment programs, and we check each provider's Texas license (how listings work). We're adding providers now, so the listings are still growing. If you don't find a fit yet, the places above can help today.

Find your fit: five quick questions. Under "How will you pay?" choose "I'll pay myself" or your Medicaid plan; under "What matters to you?" tick "Sliding scale".
Search Texas providers: set Insurance to "I'll pay myself" to see providers who list a self-pay rate or sliding scale, or pick Texas Medicaid or your plan. Looking for rehab? Choose "Treatment programs (IOP and PHP)" or "Addiction counselors" under Kind of care.
Video visits anywhere in Texas: a provider licensed in Texas can see you by video wherever you are in the state.
How to choose a therapist: what the letters mean, how to check a license, and what to ask on a first call.

Not sure how much care you need? Read IOP vs PHP vs weekly therapy. Know someone in Dallas or Houston? See low-cost therapy in Dallas and in Houston.

Questions people ask

Is there free rehab in Fort Worth?

For people who qualify, yes. Call the OSAR line, 817-332-6329. The screening is free, and if you're uninsured they'll check whether you qualify for full or partial help paying for detox, outpatient or residential treatment.

Is there really free therapy in Fort Worth?

For some people. The Recovery Resource Council's youth and veterans counseling is free, and NAMI Tarrant County's groups are free for everyone. MHMR's fees depend on what you can pay. Texas Wesleyan and community health centers are low-cost rather than free.

I don't have a diagnosis like bipolar disorder. Can MHMR still help?

Call and ask. MHMR's adult programs mainly serve the state's priority groups, but its crisis line helps anyone, and if you don't qualify for a program, staff will point you to other help.