If you feel there is an immediate risk of harm call 911.
- Tell the dispatcher that this is a mental health crisis.
- Ask if a Crisis Intervention Team trained officer is on duty.
- Provide the dispatcher with:
- details of the situation, including any visible symptoms and underlying diagnoses,
- information about any weapons that have been used, and any weapons that are on the premises, and
- other information you think is relevant, especially if it may make it safer for everyone.
All Mainers experiencing a mental health crisis will have timely access to behavioral health professionals for supportive deescalation, stabilization, suicide prevention, and connection to ongoing care as needed. OBH follows SAMHSA’s National Best Practice for Crisis Care to provide the essential elements within a no-wrong-door integrated crisis system.
Someone to Talk To: Maine Crisis Line
The Maine Crisis Line (MCL) is Maine’s centralized crisis lifeline and the state’s mental health crisis line. The MCL is staffed 24/7 by clinically trained crisis workers who provide crisis intervention support by telephone, text and chat. Operators can also connect those in crisis with services in their area including community resources and referrals to outpatient services, mobile crisis response, local crisis units, and inpatient services.
Someone to Respond: Mobile Crisis Teams
Behavioral health crisis that cannot be resolved over the phone by the Maine Crisis Line and are not an imminent risk are referred to the mobile crisis team in their region. Mobile crisis teams are responders to specially trained to de-escalate mental health crises, assess needs, and provide anappropriate level of care in the least restrictive setting. Mobile crisis teams are dispatched by MCL and respond to the location of the person in crisis. Services are subject to MaineCare Rule.
A Place to Go: Crisis Receiving and Stabilization Facilities
Mobile crisis teams also offer walk-in stabilization facilities providing crisis stabilization services to all referrals in a home-like, non-hospital environment. Hours currently vary by provider but will be 24/7 in the near future.
Crisis Receiving Centers
Serves adults and children aged 14 and up
- Spurwink Services (Portland)
895 Washington Avenue
Portland, Maine 04103 - Spurwink Services (Lewiston)
1155 Lisbon Street
Lewiston, Maine 04240
Crisis Residential Services
Crisis Residential Services are individualized therapeutic interventions provided during a psychiatric emergency. Services are provided for a time-limited, post-crisis period in order to stabilize the member’s condition. These services may be provided in the member’s home, or in a temporary out-of-home setting and include the development of a crisis stabilization plan. Components of crisis residential services include:
- assessment;
- monitoring behavior and the member’s response to therapeutic interventions;
- participating and assisting in planning for and implementing crisis and post-crisis stabilization activities; and
- supervising the member to assure personal safety.
Services are subject to MaineCare Rule.
Children’s Behavioral Health & Residential Treatment
Crisis Residential Units
District 1: York County
- Adult: Sweetser
- Children: Sweetser
District 2: Cumberland County
- Adult: The Opportunity Alliance (TOA)
- Adult (MaineCare ONLY): Sweetser
District 3: Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties
- Adult: Community Concepts Inc. (CCI)
- Adult: Community Concepts Inc. (CCI) (TBD)
- Adult (MaineCare ONLY): Sweetser
- Children: Community Concepts Inc. (CCI) (TBD)
District 4: Waldo, Lincoln, Knox, Sagadahoc Counties
- Adult: Sweetser
- Children: Sweetser
District 5: Somerset and Kennebec Counties
- Adult: Kennebec Behavioral Health (KBH)
District 6: Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties
- Adult: Community Health and Counseling Services (CSCS)
- Children: Community Health and Counseling Services (CHCS)
District 7: Washington and Hancock Counties
- Adult: Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC)
- Children: Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) (TBD)
District 8: Aroostook County
- Adult: Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC)
- Children: Aroostook Mental Health Center (AMHC) (TBD)
Peers & Recovery Coaches in Emergency Department
Though the Emergency Department should be a last resort for mental health crisis care unless there is imminent risk of self-harm or harm to others, OBH contracts with community hospitals to provide mental health peer support specialists and substance use recovery coaches in emergency departments around the state to assist individuals experiencing behavioral health crises. These specialists and recovery coaches utilize training and lived experience to help individuals in crisis by providing support to deescalate acute situations, assist individuals in self-advocacy, and provide a connection to recovery supports in the community. Recovery Coaching Services are currently offered at the following emergency departments:
York County
- Southern Maine Medical Center - Sanford
- Southern Maine Medical Center – Biddeford
Cumberland County
- Maine Medical Center - Portland
- Mid Coast Hospital - Brunswick
Franklin County
- Franklin Memorial Hospital – Farmington
Oxford County
- Stephens Memorial Hospital – Norway
Knox County
- Penobscot Bay Community Hospital - Rockport
Lincoln County
- Miles Memorial Hospital - Damariscotta
Waldo County
- Waldo County General Hospital - Belfast
Piscataquis County
- Mayo Hospital - Dover-Foxcroft
Penobscot County
- St. Joseph Hospital - Bangor
Hancock County
- Blue Hill Hospital - Blue Hill
- Maine Coast Hospital - Ellsworth
- Mount Desert Island Hospital – Bar Harbor
Maine Mental Health Crisis Service Providers
DHHS Contracted Mobile Crisis Providers
District 1-York County
- Sweetser
District 2- Cumberland County
- The Opportunity Alliance (TOA)
District 3 - Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford Counties
- Sweetser
District 4 - Waldo, Lincoln, Knox, Sagadahoc Counties
- The Opportunity Alliance (TOA)
District 5 - Somerset and Kennebec Counties
- Sweetser
District 6 - Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties
- Community Health & Counseling Services (CHHS)
District 7 - Washington and Hancock Counties
- Aroostook Mental Health Services (AMHC)
District 8 - Aroostook County
- Aroostook Mental Health Services (AMHC)
Maine Crisis Line & National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call Center
Statewide
- The Opportunity Alliance (TOA)
Tribal Crisis Response
Tribal Health District
- Wabanaki Care Line
State Psychiatric Hospitals
Augusta, Statewide
- Riverview Psychiatric Center (adults)
Bangor, Statewide
- Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center (adults)
Private Psychiatric Hospitals
Bangor, Statewide
- Northern Light Acadia Hospital (youth and adults)
Westbrook, Statewide
- Spring Harbor Hospital (youth and adults)
Private Hospitals with Psychiatric Inpatient Units
- Portland, StatewideMaine xMedical Center (adults)
Brunswick, Statewide
- MidCoast Hospital
Fort Kent, Statewide
- Northern Maine Medical Center (youth and adults)
Lewiston, Statewide
- St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center (youth and adults)
Augusta, Statewide
- Maine General (adults)
Biddeford, Statewide
- Southern Maine Health Care
Veterans Hospital
Augusta, Statewide
- Togus