Mental Health Center in Chicago

CDPH is committed to ensuring all residents have access to high-quality mental health services.

To help meet the mental health needs of our insured city residents, CDPH partners with community mental health providers and makes direct investments in community partners who provide mental health services to city residents. For those with insurance, the benefits of accessing mental health services through these community mental health partners may include: integrated mental health and medical treatment; expanded service options, including additional service locations and hours; improved prescription drug coverage; and reduced expense related to co-pays.

For those city residents without insurance, the Department provides clinical mental health services in 6 CDPH-operated clinics throughout the City of Chicago. A variety of services are available at CDPH mental health clinics, including:

• Comprehensive mental health assessments

• Individualized treatment planning
• Crisis intervention
• Individual counseling
• Group therapy
• Medication monitoring
• Case management
• Psychosocial rehabilitation
• Anger management

Facts about Mental Illness

Few families in the United States are untouched by mental illness. It is estimated that approximately 1 in 5 American adults (nearly 44 million people) and 13-20% of children living in the United States will experience a mental health disorder in a given year.

Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning. Many factors contribute to mental health problems, including:

• Biological factors, such as genes or brain chemistry
• Life experiences, such as trauma or abuse
• Family history of mental health problems

Experiencing one or more of the following feelings or behaviors can be an early warning sign of a mental health problem:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Pulling away from people and usual activities
• Having low or no energy
• Feeling numb or like nothing matters
• Having unexplained aches and pains
• Feeling helpless or hopeless
• Smoking, drinking, or using drugs more than usual
• Feeling unusually confused, forgetful, on edge, angry, upset, worried, or scared
• Yelling or fighting with family and friends
• Experiencing severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
• Having persistent thoughts and memories you can’t get out of your head
• Hearing voices or believing things that are not true
• Thinking of harming yourself or others
• Inability to perform daily tasks like taking care of your kids or getting to work or school

Mental health disorders are real, common and treatable. Many people diagnosed with mental illness achieve strength and recovery through participating in individual or group treatment. There are many different treatment options available. There is no treatment that works for everyone – individuals can chose the treatment, or combination of treatments, that works best.

(Sources: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, HHS Publication No. (SMA) 13-4805, 2013; National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: progress and possibilities, 2009; mentalhealth.gov.)