North Carolina Locations

Adults and children in North Carolina have access to mental health facilities and services, including the state’s crisis resources: the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) and North Carolina’s Statewide Peer Warmline, 1-855-PEERS-NC (1-855-733-7762), both available 24/7. These lines connect residents to trained crisis counselors and can reduce the need to dial 911 or visit an emergency room, though 911 should still be used for any life-threatening emergency.

Mental Health America’s annual State of Mental Health in America report ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia using data trends across categories such as mental illness and substance use disorder, suicidal thoughts, and access to care for both adults and adolescents. In recent editions, North Carolina has landed in the lower third of states, ranking around 39th overall for mental health and access to care and roughly 32nd for the prevalence of adults with any mental illness — placing it among the states with higher-than-average concentrations of mental illness and lower access to care.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) tracker of the U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey, between September 29 and October 11, 2021, about 35% of adults in North Carolina reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, compared to 31.6% of adults nationwide. Mental Health America’s data likewise show a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care for adults in North Carolina.

Seven factors comprise the adult ranking:

• Adults with any mental illness
• Adults with substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year
• Adults with severe thoughts of suicide
• Adults with any mental illness who are uninsured
• Adults with any mental illness who didn’t receive treatment
• Adults with any mental illness reporting unmet needs
• Adults with a disability who could not see a doctor due to costs

Federal SAMHSA data (which the World Population Review draws on for its serious-mental-illness figures) place North Carolina among the top 10 states for the highest rates of serious mental illness, at roughly 4.85% of adults — about 9th nationally. Unfortunately, due to provider shortages, many people in need of mental health or substance use treatment cannot get it in a timely manner, especially in rural areas.

There is also concern that increased demand during the pandemic made these provider shortages worse. However, the ongoing shift toward telemedicine for mental health services may help reduce some of the difficulty in finding professionals such as licensed therapists and psychologists.

Many health insurance plans cover treatment for mental health and drug abuse disorders. Any health plan that includes mental health and substance use services must match its insurance coverage with the plan’s physical health coverage, according to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008. This means that both mental health services and physical health services in North Carolina must have the same copays, deductibles, number of days spent in a hospital or treatment facility, prior authorization, prescription drug tiers, and maximum benefit restrictions.

Below are additional mental health statistics for North Carolina, according to NCDHHS, NAMI North Carolina, and the NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner:

• Roughly 1.5 million adults in North Carolina live with a mental health condition, and about 356,000 adults live with a serious mental illness each year.
• An estimated 77% of North Carolinians who need substance use treatment do not receive it.
• More than 1,400 North Carolinians die by suicide each year — about four people every day.
• North Carolina loses more than 4,300 residents to drug overdose annually — roughly a dozen people a day — with the large majority of those deaths involving opioids such as fentanyl.
• North Carolina expanded Medicaid in December 2023, extending behavioral health coverage to more than 675,000 previously uninsured residents, and Medicaid is now the largest payer of behavioral health services in the state.

Mood Treatment Center has multiple North Carolina mental health centers: Winston Salem- Polo Rd, Winston Salem- Country Club, and Greensboro, and access to multiple telehealth options. In addition, we are in-network with most major insurance plans. Learn more here.

At Mood Treatment Center, our care is grounded in science and compassion, supporting people through anxiety, depression, ADHD, mood disorders, trauma, and more. We focus on the whole person—building a treatment plan that reflects your goals, your strengths, and your unique path forward. Whether you’re navigating a new diagnosis or working through long-standing challenges, our team is here to help you move toward stability and meaning. 

We offer multiple service in-house and under one roof including diagnostic assessments, medication management, therapy, substance use disorder treatment, TMS for depression and Spravato for depression.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Crisis services. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/mental-health-developmental-disabilities-and-substance-use-services/crisis-services

Mental Health America. (2025). Ranking the states. https://mhanational.org/the-state-of-mental-health-in-america/data-rankings/ranking-the-states/

Bright Path Behavioral Health. (2026, June 10). Teen mental health statistics North Carolina. https://www.brightpathbh.com/teen-mental-health-statistics-north-carolina/

Kaiser Family Foundation. (2021). Adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic [State health facts data tracker, U.S. Census Household Pulse Survey]. https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/adults-reporting-symptoms-of-anxiety-or-depressive-disorder-during-covid-19-pandemic/

Mental Health America. (2025). Adult ranking. https://mhanational.org/the-state-of-mental-health-in-america/data-rankings/adult-ranking/

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017). State and substate estimates of serious mental illness from the 2012–2014 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (Short Report No. 3190). https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/report_3190/ShortReport-3190.html

World Population Review. (2026). Mental health statistics by state. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/mental-health-statistics-by-state

Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110–343, 122 Stat. 3765 (2008).

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2021). Mental health in North Carolina [State fact sheet]. https://www.nami.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NorthCarolinaStateFactSheet.pdf

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. (2023, February 21). North Carolina reports 22% increase in overdose deaths [Press release]. https://www.ncdhhs.gov/news/press-releases/2023/02/21/north-carolina-reports-22-increase-overdose-deaths

North Carolina Institute of Medicine. (2026, April 7). Drug overdose trends in North Carolina and potential impacts of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). https://nciom.org/drug-overdose-trends-in-north-carolina-and-potential-impacts-of-the-one-big-beautiful-bill-act-obbba/

World Forum for Mental Health. (2025, November 19). North Carolina drug and alcohol statistics. https://www.wfmh.org/stats/north-carolina-drug-alcohol-statistics