Have you ever heard the phrases “tortured artist” or “mad genius”? These harmful stereotypes make it seem like it’s okay for artists to be struggling with mental health issues, or that they can create better work if they’re going through difficult situations. Our team at Texas System of Care (TxSOC) wants to help end this stigma.
We encourage the artistic community in Texas and beyond to seek help when needed. Creating art is a great way to reflect on your experiences and process your emotions, but letting mental distress linger won’t benefit your creativity. You deserve to feel your best; we’re here to help support you in your journey.
Here are some resources to help get you started or build on your current support system:
General mental health resources
- Alcohol Help: Alcoholism has affected billions of people. This site offers educational posts, treatment options, and recovery support.
- Clubhouse International: This non-profit helps start and grow Clubhouses where people with mental illness can go to get their lives back. You can find Clubhouses across the US, including Texas cities like San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas.
- National Institute of Mental Health (NIH): Here you can find educational posts about a variety of mental health topics such as depression, substance use and co-occurring mental disorders, and therapies.
- Find a Therapist: Psychology Today offers a directory of mental health practitioners.
- Mental Health America: You can find multiple mental health screening tests on this site. After testing, you’ll see information, resources, and tools to help you understand and improve your mental health.
- Mental Health Texas: This site offers a range of resources, including general mental health needs and specific needs for different populations. It also provides crisis services, substance use referrals, and information on finding mental health treatment facilities in Texas.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness Texas (NAMI): NAMI offers free mental health education and support groups for the community as well as individuals, families, significant others, and friends of people with mental health conditions.
- The Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA): DBSA offers online support groups for people living with depression and bipolar disorder.
- Phoenix House Texas: Phoenix House provides drug and alcohol prevention education, residential addiction treatment, and outpatient counseling. They’ve helped thousands of individuals overcome drug and alcohol addiction and successfully lead fulfilling lives.
- Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC): HHSC contracts with 37 local mental health authorities and two local behavioral health authorities to deliver mental health services across Texas. You can put in your zip code to locate services in your area. They also offer mental health and substance use resources.
- A Guide to Obtaining Insurance for Mental Health Care: This resource guides you through the process of getting mental healthcare and explains insurance coverage for mental health services.
- Resource Library by the Mental Health Coalition: This site provides a compilation of mental health resources for addiction, anxiety, therapy, and specific populations, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and young people.
- National Eating Disorders Association: This site offers a helpline, chat, screening tool, and resources for eating disorders, including a database of treatment providers across the country.
- Community Resource Coordination Groups (CRCGs): These county-based groups of local partners and community members provide support to parents, caregivers, youth, and adults— including behavioral health services, basic needs, and caregiver aid. They help people whose needs can’t be met by one single agency.
For youth under 18
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Finder: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry offers this online research tool for parents and other adults who are seeking psychiatric care for their children.
- Child Mind Institute: The institute is dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health conditions. Whether you’re looking for parenting advice or information about a mental health or learning challenge, their evidence-based resources can help.
- Clarity Child Guidance Center: They’ve created a wealth of online materials for the community about children’s mental health and treatment.
- Hand to Hold: Provides social and emotional support for families who are experiencing a NICU stay. Services are free and include peer mentor matching, in-hospital rounding, and counseling.
- Mental Health Screening Tool for Youth: This questionnaire, provided by Mental Health America, can be used to see if school-age children are having emotional, attentional, or behavioral difficulties.
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network: This network is a resource for the public, professionals, and others who care about children and are concerned about child traumatic stress. They offer educational materials and training for general trauma, assessment and intervention techniques, service systems, and more.
- Navigate Life Texas: This site provides information and resources for families of children and young adults with disabilities or special healthcare needs in Texas. You’ll find resources related to education, healthcare, legal services, financial assistance, community forums, and more.
For BIPOC & LGBTQ+
- Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM): BEAM is dedicated to the healing, wellness, and liberation of Black and marginalized communities. They work to remove the barriers that Black people experience getting access to or staying connected with emotional health care and healing, through education, training, advocacy, and the creative arts.
- Brown Girl Therapy: Sahaj Kohli founded Brown Girl Therapy so that those who come from immigrant backgrounds — especially South Asians, first-gens, hyphenates, and women of color — have a place to learn more about therapy and identity exploration.
- PsychHub: They’ve put together an extensive list (17 pages to be exact) of BIPOC behavioral health resources and anti-racist actions for allies.
- QTPoC Mental Health: QTPoC Mental Health creates online and offline spaces for trans and queer people of color to practice being their whole selves. This volunteer-led organization hosts meditations, publishes original art, and strives to create inclusive spaces both on and offline for the communities they serve.
- The Loveland Foundation: The foundation provides financial assistance and access to culturally competent therapy and services for Black women and girls nationwide.
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN): The network is a healing justice organization committed to transforming mental health for queer and trans people of color (QTPoC). It was founded in 2016 to increase access to funds, practitioner directories, local meet-ups, and more.
- The Asian Mental Health Project: The project helps prevent Asian individuals from the fear and guilt that are often associated with mental illness. By increasing dialogue via storytelling and helping spread support resources with mental health professionals, they make it easier for Asian folks to be open to the idea of mental health support and treatment.
- The Trevor Project: This organization offers many resources for LGBTQ+ people and includes a crisis phone, text, and chat line where you can talk to a trained counselor. It also offers educational materials on LGBTQ+ topics and mental health.
For creatives
- The SIMS Foundation: An Austin-based non-profit that provides mental health and substance use recovery services and support for musicians, music industry professionals, and their dependent family members.
- Artists’ Mental Health Therapists in Texas: Zencare, a site that helps find your ideal therapist, created an option to search for therapists in Texas who specialize in artists’ mental health. Many of the therapists offer both in-person and online options.
Helplines
- 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the US.
- Crisis Text Line: If you’re in a crisis, you can text HOME to 741741 to connect with a volunteer crisis counselor.
- 2-1-1 Texas: No matter where you live in Texas, you can dial 2-1-1, or (877) 541-7905, and find information about resources in your local community. You can get help with food, housing, child care, crisis counseling, substance abuse treatment, and more.
You’re invited to join our Texas Mental Health Creative Arts Contest
In case you haven’t heard, we’re accepting submissions for original artwork, writing, or photography from Texans of all ages until March 1st. This year’s theme is “Why does mental health matter to you?”
Our goal is to raise awareness of how common mental illnesses are and encourage people to treat them with the same openness as other illnesses.
Visit our contest site to learn about rules, guidelines, prizes, judging, previous winners, and more.
Are we missing any important mental health resources?
We hope this list was helpful. If you know about other resources that should be on this list, especially artist-specific tools/organizations, please let us know! We appreciate your input.
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