Dallas is the ninth-largest US city, with about 1.3 million residents in the city and roughly 2.6 million in Dallas County. Public mental-health services are coordinated by Metrocare Services, the Local Mental Health Authority for Dallas County. UT Southwestern Medical Center is the academic anchor; Parkland is the county safety-net hospital. This guide walks through the system as families navigate schizophrenia care.
In Dallas, public schizophrenia care is led by Metrocare Services (the LMHA), with academic anchor at UT Southwestern, safety-net hospital care through Parkland Health, and 24/7 crisis access at 988 or the Adapt Crisis Line at (866) 260-8000.
Texas Medicaid in Dallas
Texas did not expand Medicaid. Most adults with schizophrenia who receive SSI enrol in STAR+PLUS. Plans active in Dallas County include Amerigroup, Molina, Superior, and UnitedHealthcare. Information is at hhs.texas.gov.
Metrocare Services
Metrocare Services is the LMHA for Dallas County, serving more than 60,000 people each year across more than 40 locations. Programs include outpatient psychiatry, ACT teams, supported housing, supported employment, an early-psychosis program, primary care integration, and forensic and jail-diversion services. Metrocare accepts Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and serves uninsured residents on a sliding scale or via indigent-care eligibility.
The historical NorthSTAR carve-out, which once delivered behavioural-health care across seven North Texas counties, was discontinued in 2017. Since then, Dallas-area services have been delivered through standard LMHAs and STAR+PLUS plans.
Academic psychiatry
- UT Southwestern Medical Center — Department of Psychiatry, with the Altshuler Center for Education and Research, the Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care, and the CEDAR (Center for Evaluation and Discovery in Adolescent Research) Clinic for early-psychosis evaluation. UTSW residency trains at Parkland and Children's Health.
- UT Southwestern's Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute — schizophrenia and broader psychotic disorders research.
- Texas A&M College of Medicine — Dallas campus and Burnett School of Medicine at TCU — additional academic training partners.
Safety-net and county hospitals
Parkland Health — operated by the Dallas County Hospital District — provides inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services and runs a busy psychiatric emergency department. Children's Health and Methodist Health System operate additional inpatient psychiatric beds. Terrell State Hospital, east of Dallas, is the long-stay public psychiatric hospital serving the region.
Community providers
- Mental Health America of Greater Dallas — advocacy, education, peer support.
- The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center — homeless services with embedded behavioural-health care.
- Family Endeavors, Lakes Regional Community Center — additional community providers serving the broader region.
- Adapt Community Solutions — operates the regional crisis line under contract.
Advocacy: NAMI in Dallas
NAMI Dallas runs Family-to-Family classes, support groups, and a helpline. NAMI North Texas and NAMI Collin County serve adjacent areas. The state branch is NAMI Texas.
Crisis services
- 988 — routes to local crisis lines.
- Adapt / North Texas Behavioral Health Authority Crisis Line: (866) 260-8000 — 24/7 access for Dallas County, dispatches Mobile Crisis Outreach Teams.
- RIGHT Care — Dallas Police Department's co-responder pilot pairing officers, paramedics, and Parkland clinicians for many mental-health calls.
Metrocare operates Crisis Stabilisation services and a Crisis Residential Unit. The Adult Crisis Receiving Centre at Parkland's Behavioral Health Center is the main psychiatric ER for Dallas County.
Your loved one is voicing thoughts of suicide, threatening violence, or unable to keep themselves safe — call 988, the Adapt crisis line at (866) 260-8000, or 911 and request a CIT or RIGHT Care responder.
Civil commitment in Texas
Same Texas Health and Safety Code framework as the rest of the state — Chapter 573 (emergency detention) and Chapter 574 (court-ordered mental health services). See the statute on capitol.texas.gov. Texas allows court-ordered outpatient mental health services as its version of assisted outpatient treatment.
Practical first steps
- Call the Adapt crisis line at (866) 260-8000 for any behavioural-health crisis or assessment.
- Call Metrocare's intake line for a non-emergency assessment, regardless of insurance status.
- If on Medicaid, call your STAR+PLUS plan for a list of in-network behavioural-health providers.
- For first-episode psychosis, ask about Metrocare's CSC team or contact UT Southwestern's Department of Psychiatry directly.
- Connect with NAMI Dallas for Family-to-Family classes and peer support groups.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified mental health professional. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number.