Parents & Caregivers Mental Health Resources

Call or text 1-833-852-6262 any hour. Free, confidential, and answered by people trained for exactly this stretch: pregnancy, a new baby, and the part after when it does not feel the way you expected. English and Spanish.

Search therapists near you and see what actually matters before you reach out — who is accepting clients, when their next opening is, and what it costs, including with your insurance. Message someone or book a free intro call without making an account. Every provider goes through a license check, and most people hear back within a day.

Families Anonymous is a free 12 step group for anyone whose relative or friend has a drug, alcohol, or behavior problem, not just spouses. You do not need an account or any fee to attend, only a first name, and meetings run in person and online across the country with a Spanish speaking track listed separately. It uses the same step based, sometimes spiritual language as Al-Anon, so it will not suit everyone looking for a purely secular space. Find a meeting near you or join one online, and go quiet or talk as much or as little as you want.

Nar-Anon is a free 12 step group specifically for family and friends of someone dealing with drug addiction, distinct from Al-Anon which is built around alcohol. There are no dues, no fees, and no account needed, only a first name, with meetings held in person, by phone, and online, including a dedicated Spanish language track. Like Al-Anon, it leans on step based and higher power language, which will not fit if you want a secular option. Use the meeting finder to pick a day and time that works, virtual or in person.

Built for the whole family, not just the kid. Parents get the same 24-7 door as teens. Call 800-448-3000, text VOICE to 20121, or email and hear back within two days. Spanish and more than 100 other languages. Calls are private, though if someone is in danger they may need to get help.

A free eight-session course for anyone whose family member is living with mental illness, taught by other family members rather than clinicians reading from a script. Find one near you through your state NAMI affiliate.

For the parent who has called a dozen numbers that turned out to be selling treatment beds, this one is not one of those. Text CONNECT to 55753 or book a call, and a real specialist gets back to you within a day. Free, confidential, and you can use a fake name. It is not a crisis line, and they say so plainly.

For families who have lost a child, at any age, from any cause. More than 500 local chapters plus online groups, free, run by people who have been where you are and know there is nowhere to put it.

Plain-language answers for the moment you do not know what to say. What trauma actually looks like in a kid, written for parents and for foster, adoptive, and grandparent caregivers. Free, and in Spanish.

Loving someone with PTSD wears on you too. This one is written for the person doing the supporting, with real starting points for finding your own footing rather than only theirs.

If you are caring for a parent or partner through dementia, Parkinson disease, or a stroke, this is more than a phone number. A free dashboard that organizes services, support groups, and respite care around your actual situation. You will need to make an account first.

The book to hand someone the week caring for a parent becomes their new role. Not because it is comforting, but because it is honest about the exhaustion and grief that come with the role rather than only the medical logistics. Eighth edition, forty years in print.

Pauline Boss named the grief most people cannot find words for, when someone is physically here but psychologically gone. Dementia, addiction, estrangement. If you have been grieving someone who is still alive, this is the book that explains why it feels like that.

Supporting someone through a transplant is one of the most intense roads a caregiver can walk — this Spanish-language manual connects you with trained peers and walks you through recovery step by step.

The Caregiver Anger hub on AgingCare is a free set of articles written from real caregiver experience about the rage, guilt, and blowups this work can produce. You do not need an account to read the articles or the comment threads under them, where other caregivers describe the same anger. It is written for people caring for an aging parent, not for caregivers of a child or a spouse, and it sits inside a commercial site that also promotes paid senior care services. If you want proof someone else has screamed at their mother too, this is it.

Sheehy wrote this from the inside, after a decade caring for her husband through illness. It maps the messy stages of caregiving so you feel less alone inside them, including the part nobody warns you about, where you grieve someone who is still here.

You're not a bad parent for struggling — PSI offers referrals and information at any point in the journey.

Loneliness in older adults is a quiet crisis — the Friendship Line is a 24/7, AAS-accredited warm line for older adults and caregivers who are feeling isolated or overwhelmed. It's based in and primarily serves California.

This evidence-informed class series teaches caregivers the practical skills — communication, stress reduction, problem-solving — that most of us were never given but desperately need.

State-by-state finder for respite, legal help, and community support where you actually live.

Practical tools to set limits, communicate with providers, and find the support you've been putting off.

This federal program connects eligible caregivers to counseling, respite, training, and local services so the burden doesn't have to rest entirely on your shoulders.

The things nobody warns you about — finances, legal decisions, grief, and keeping a piece of your own life.

Day or night, in the language that feels most like home.

Dial 988, press 1, or text 838255 — responders trained specifically in military culture, 24/7.

24/7 support that affirms LGBTQ+ young people at their most vulnerable.

Peer support run by trans people, for trans and questioning people — full anonymity, no non-consensual active rescue. Hours vary by region and it's weekdays only, so check before you call.

Text STEVE to 741741 for a counselor who understands what racialized stress actually feels like — built on the belief that young people of color deserve support that sees race, identity, and daily pressure as connected, not separate problems.

Vetted therapists offering sessions starting around $30 — good care shouldn't only belong to those who can afford it.

The most comprehensive therapist directory in the country — filter by insurance, specialty, location, and sliding scale fees. If you're starting your search for a therapist, this is the place to start.

The VA built this specifically for veterans working through PTSD — grounding skills, symptom tracking, and crisis links, all in your pocket.

A therapist-search tool built around actually being understood — filter by specialty, language, faith, identity, and approach to find someone who already gets where you're coming from.

There's a kind of relief that comes from sitting across from someone who doesn't need everything explained — this helps you find a provider whose lived experience brings them closer to yours.

NAMI keeps a state-by-state directory of warmlines — a starting point for finding one near you, not a checked list, so confirm the number and hours on the warmline's own page before you call. Sometimes you don't need a crisis line. You just need someone to talk to.

Someone knowledgeable on the other end — real answers about conditions, treatment, and helping a loved one.