Austin Mental Health

The Austin-Round Rock metro area is also one of the fastest growing in the United States with an estimated population of 1.4 million. Over 650,000 of those residents live and work in Austin, the state capital of Texas and county seat of Travis County.

The atmosphere in Austin is best described as “laid back”. For two consecutive years, Men’s Fitness magazine has rated the city at #19 in a survey of the “fittest cities” in the US. Austin is also rated as one of the least stressful metropolitan cities in the state, with only the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area rated as less stressful.

In 2004, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation ceased operations. Although the Texas Department of Health Services still offers some programs and administers others, most public mental health services are provided by Local Mental Health Authorities (LMHAs). In Austin, several facilities specialize in mental health services for area residents.

Austin State Hospital

Founded in 1856, the Austin State Hospital was the first state mental health facility built west of the Mississippi. Originally named the Texas State Lunatic Asylum, the name was changed to the Austin State Hospital in 1925. At its peak, the Austin State Hospital housed more than 3,000 patients. However, today the hospital is a 300-bed acute care facility and the average stay is approximately 18 days, with the goal being to return patients to their communities after their condition stabilizes.

ASH provides inpatient care through three major services:

• Adult Psychiatric Services

• Specialty Adult Services

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Services

Specialized programs are also provided for older adults, the long-term disabled, and those with multiple disabilities. Austin State Hospital also maintains a forensic unit.

The Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center

As the LMHA for Austin, the Austin Travis County MHMR (The Center) provides public mental health services for Austin residents through utilization of a network of over 60 internal and external providers. Services are categorized as:

• Adult Mental Health Services

• Child & Family Services

• Developmental Disabilities Services

• Substance Abuse and Specialized Services

The Center, although publicly funded, is neither a state nor a county agency and is a non-profit organization that bases services for the severely disabled on their needs. Inpatient services are available for both children and adults.

The Austin Child Guidance Center

Established in 1951, the Austin Child Guidance Center works to help children and their families develop the skills to stay emotionally healthy. The Austin Child Guidance Center treats child mental health and emotional disturbances with focus on the family as a group and offers family therapy and/or peer-group therapy based on the findings of the initial assessment.

Services are available to all children under 18 who experience emotional, behavioral or social problems and are provided on a sliding fee scale, which means that no one is refused service based on their ability to pay.

Seton Shoal Creek

Seton Shoal Creek is a private inpatient facility that specializes in stabilization and acute care for children, adolescents, adults, and seniors who need intensive treatment of mental health and/or substance abuse related problems. Seton Shoal Creek also provides outpatient services for those individuals with less severe problems or who need long-term treatment beyond stabilization of their problems.

In 1839 the city of Waterloo, was renamed in honor of Stephen F. Austin when chosen as the capital of the new Republic of Texas. Texas became a US state in 1845 and its capital city kept the name of Austin who is noted as the “father of Texas”. Throughout its history, Austin has remained a cultural and economic giant in the mainland US’s largest state and it’s clear from its varied mental health resources that mental illnesses and disorders “meet their Waterloo” in the city of Austin.