Continuum of Behavioral Health

Gallatin County Behavioral Health Continuum of Care

This page provides an overview of behavioral health services available to adults and youth in Gallatin County. Behavioral health encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions and substance use disorders.


Gallatin County’s behavioral health contiuum of care includes a range of programs and services designed to promote universal individual, family, and community well-being and address diverse mental health and substance use needs spanning from low to high levels of acuity. Lower-acuity behavioral health services are delivered in home and community-based settings, while higher-acuity services are provided in residential, inpatient, and institutional settings. 

This service is available in Gallatin County but may not yet be fully optimized.

This service either exists available in Gallatin County or is in the planning stage. If it is available, strategic actions are needed to further develop and improve it.

This service is either not available in Gallatin County, is not in the planning stages, or is not functioning well.

Promotion & Prevention

211:

211 is a resource and referral service accessible by phone or online.  In Gallatin County, the Help Center answers 211 calls, helping people connect to the resources they need.

Awareness Campaign:

Awareness campaigns aim to teach people about important issues, such as health (Learn More). Past campaigns, including the “Are You In?” campaign, Man Therapy, and the Salons and Saloons event, focused on mental well-being and suicide prevention.

Crisis Intervention Team:

The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) works with other behavioral health organizations to support behavioral health crisis response. CIT trains first responders and others about how to effectively respond to and support people in behavioral health crisis.

Drop-in Center:

The HRDC operates a Drop-in Center, offering people experiencing homelessness a safe place to rest.  Guests can use Wi-Fi, take showers, do laundry, and receive food. The Drop-in Center also provides case management services. There is potential to expand drop-in services to include people with mental illness who are not unsheltered.

Outpatient

Follow-up Program:

The Help Center operates a Follow-up Program that supports people after a behavioral health crisis. Using a trauma-informed approach, the program helps keep people safely in their homes and communities while connecting these individual to needed safety and health resources.

Supportive Housing:

Supportive housing combines affordable housing with support services to help vulnerable community members, including those with mental illness, histories of trauma, chronic health conditions, and other challenges, find a path to recovery. (Learn More) Organizations including HRDC and Greater Impact provide supportive housing, but increased capacity is needed to meet the growing demand.

Mental Health Treatment:

Gallatin County has a strong community of private behavioral health providers who offer outpatient care. However, the demand for care exceeds the supply in safety-net organizations that serve socially and medically complex individuals who are more likely to be publicly insured (Medicaid or Medicare), under-insured (high deductible insurance plans), or uninsured.

Integrated Behavioral Treatment (IBH):

Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) involves behavioral health and medical professionals collaborating to provide comprehensive patient care. Many regional healthcare providers screen for depression and anxiety during primary care visits and connect patients to behavioral health services when needed.

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT):

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) involves a multi-disciplinary team of providers who work together to help people with serious mental illness access the services and supports they need to live successfully in their communities. 1 Gallatin County will launch an ACT team in early 2025, with a focus on serving individuals in the Housing First village.

Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Treatment:

Gallatin County has limited substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services, especially for individuals who rely on safety-net organizations for care.

Walk-in Clinic:

Bozeman Health is piloting a walk-in clinic that offers psychiatric care, care coordination, and resource navigation. The clinic operates Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Crisis Respite:

Gallatin County does not have a crisis respite service.

Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH):

The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program helps people transition out of homelessness by connecting them with mental health and SUD services and assisting them in securing housing. Community Health Partners and HRDC are implementing Gallatin County’s PATH program.

Crisis

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT):

Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs, known as Community Commitment in Montana, typically include intensive case management, housing assistance, therapy, SUD services, and medication management. Gallatin County was awarded a SAMHSA grant in September 2024 to develop an AOT program.

14-Day Diversion:

Judges may order individuals in crisis to a 14-day diversion program in a community-based inpatient mental health program, as an alternative to the Montana State Hospital. Programs provide assessment, inpatient behavioral health treatment, case management, and referral to outpatient services once the individual is stabilized and ready to return to the community. Gallatin County does not currently have a 14-day diversion program, but this will become an option once Bozeman Health opens its psychiatric inpatient unit in 2025.

Montana State Hospital:

The Montana State Hospital (MSH) is intended to provide the highest level of behavioral health services to individuals unable to be served safely in local communities. However, MSH lost its certification from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in April 2022 and continues to operate poorly.

911:

911 provides emergency response support for behavioral health emergencies. It can dispatch mobile crisis response services, law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services. In the future, 911 will also connect some people experiencing behavioral health crises to 988 for phone-based crisis response.

Mobile Crisis Response:

The Gallatin Mobile Crisis (GMC) team provides mobile crisis response services seven days a week, 12 hours a day. The program is hoping to grow to be able to run 24/7/365. The GMC team is dispatched through 988 or 911.

Crisis Receiving:

Bozeman Health operates a Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) unit, which provides crisis receiving services.

Crisis Stabilization:

There is no adult crisis stabilization program in Gallatin County.

Emergency Detention:

Gallatin County does not have local emergency detention beds. Bozeman Health may provide this service in its inpatient unit once it opens.