Mental Health Services
425 Fifth Avenue North
3rd Floor, Cordell Hull Building
Nashville, Tennessee 37243
(615) 532-6767

The Division of Mental Health Services (DMHS) provides and/or contracts for treatment and support services, particularly those services that complement mental health services provided by TennCare, for adults with a mental illness and children with a serious emotional disturbance. DMHS is responsible for:

• Regulatory oversight to ensure that state planning and policies reflect current business practices and treatment options.
• Competency to stand trial and insanity defense evaluation and treatment services for individuals involved in the criminal justice system; mental health evaluation for children involved in the justice system.
• Activities that support the development of housing options for adults with a mental illness.
• Activities that promote interagency collaboration in planning and implementing services for children with serious emotional disturbance.
• Support of consumer and family run programs that provide mental health education, support and advocacy.
• Pre-Admission Screening and Annual Resident Review (PASARR) for persons seeking admission to a nursing home.
• Interstate and inter-facility transfers.
• Administration and oversight of state and federal funds allocated for mental health services.
• Facilitation of the Statewide and Regional Mental Health Planning Councils’ activities.

TDMHDD operates 5 Regional Mental Health Institutes (RMHIs). Lakeshore Mental Health Institute (Knoxville), Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute (Chattanooga) and Memphis Mental Health Institute provide in-patient psychiatric services to adults; Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute (Nashville) and Western Mental Health Institute (Bolivar) provide in-patient psychiatric services to both adults and children/youth. Most RMHI admissions are on an emergency involuntary basis, with a variety of court-ordered inpatient evaluation and treatment services also provided. The RMHIs provide psychiatric services based upon the demonstrated and emerging best practices of each clinical discipline.