Harris County Mental Health Warrant: How To Get An Involuntary Commitment In Harris County

harris county mental health warrant

Harris County Mental Health Warrant: How To Get An Involuntary Commitment In Harris County


In this resource guide, I will explain how to file a mental health warrant in Harris County.

If you have a family member or friend who has a history of mental illness that causes them to become suicidal, homicidal, or simply stop their treatment, you may be able to file a mental health warrant to get them help.

While it is much easier to get help for someone who is willing to receive treatment, this is not always the case. If someone you know is a danger to themselves or others this article will explain how to get a Harris County mental health warrant filed to get your loved one help.

Editor’s Note: I will provide a brief summary of how mental health warrant works, but for specific questions, you are encouraged to contact Harris County Psychiatric Center at 713.741.6024. If there is an immediate psychiatric emergency you can call 911 and ask for a Crisis Intervention Officer. HPD and Harris County should have specially trained mental health officers.

What Is A Mental Health Warrant?

Mental Health Warrants are a type of court order used by law enforcement to provide emergency mental health treatment for adults who have been experiencing a significant disruption in their functioning due to mental illness or substance abuse.

The starting point for filing a mental health warrant is typically at your county’s psychiatric hospital. Here you will have judges who can decide if a mental health warrant is needed based on the actions of the individual with mental illness.

Calling 911 To Get Help For Someone With Mental Illness

If someone is in immediate danger you can call 911 to request mental health officers. Filing for a mental health warrant takes time, therefore if someone is in immediate danger (suicidal, homicidal) you may not have time to wait for the judge to approve your request for a mental health warrant in Harris County.

When calling 911 during a psychiatric emergency, you can inform the operator that the individual has a history of mental illness and they are needing immediate assistance. Most police departments have special mental health police who have experience working with individuals who have a mental illness.

The goal when a mental health police officer or sheriff’s deputy that arrives is not to harm, arrest, or jail a person. These officers want to simply deescalate the situation and help those with severe mental illness safely get to an inpatient mental health facility.

Mental Health Police Departments In Houston/Harris County

You can learn more about Houston Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Officers by visiting the mental health division website. Here you will learn more about the services they can offer to individuals with a mental health history.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office also has a similar division that responds to individuals in a behavioral crisis.

How To File A Mental Health Warrant In Harris County

You will need to contact the Harris County Psychiatric Center at 713.741.6024. The Mental Health Division of the Harris County Clerk’s Office is housed here and will be able to help you understand if a mental health warrant is appropriate.

The address to Harris County Psychiatric Center or HCPC is 2800 South MacGregor Way, Houston, TX 77021. The mental health warrant judges in Harris County are available Monday through Friday (no holidays) from 8 am to 4 pm. You can find a map with HCPC’s location in the section below.

Editor’s Note: You can learn more about Court Ordered and Involuntary commitment in Houston/Harris County by visiting the Harris County Psychiatric Center webpage.

HCPC is the starting point to file mental health warrants for adults in Harris County/Houston.

Mental Health Warrants For Children In Houston/Harris County

To schedule a psychiatric evaluation for a child, you will need to contact Harris Center at 713.970.7070.

Harris Center psychiatrists perform mental health evaluations and then refer the child/adolescent to either outpatient or inpatient psychiatric treatment in Houston.

If your child is in a current psychiatric emergency, you can take them directly to the Neuro-Psychiatric Center (NPC) which is in the Texas Medical Center. The phone number is 713.970.7070. The address to the Houston NPC hospital is 1502 Ben Taub Loop, Houston, TX 77030.  You can find a map with NPC’s location in the section below. 

Voluntary Commitment Options In Harris County (Mental Health Hospitals In Houston)

If someone is willing to admit themselves to the hospital this is the best scenario for everyone. If your family is willing to accept help here are a few crisis hospitals that you can take them in the Texas Medical Center:

Neuro-Psychiatric Center (NPC Hospital)

This psychiatric hospital is managed by Harris Center. They are the mental health authority in Harris County.

Houston’s NPC hospital is located in the medical center at 1502 Ben Taub Loop, Houston, TX 77030. The phone number to call NPC is 713.970.7070.

Ben Taub Mental Health Hospital

Right next door to NPC is the Ben Taub hospital. They also offer psychiatric treatment for voluntary individuals. This hospital is managed by the Harris Health System.

The address to Ben Taub hospital is 1504 Taub Loop, Houston, TX 77030. The Ben Taub phone number is 713.793.2000.

If you do not live near the Texas Medical Center you can find closer places to go for involuntary commitment in Harris County by reading our article titled Where To Find Emergency Psychiatric Hospitals In Houston. There are hospitals in SW Houston all the way to 1960 in this guide.

Conclusion

To file a mental health warrant in Harris County, you need to start by contacting the Harris County Psychiatric Center at 713.741.6024. Judges here cases Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4 pm.

You may not be able to wait for a hearing with a Harris County mental health judge if your situation is more urgent. In this instance you have two choices:

  1. If your family member is willing to admit themselves to a hospital you can use the listing of hospitals above or call Harris Center’s 24 crisis line to learn about hospitals for involuntary commitment.
  2. If your family member is not willing then you may need to consider getting a mental health police officer to your location. When calling inform the operator that your loved one has a history of mental illness and the operator will do their best to get a trained mental health officer to you.

When someone is unwilling to get help it is extremely frustrating and scary at times. If you have questions about mental health resources another place that you can call is the Harris Center crisis line which is available 24 hours a day. You can reach them at 713.970.7070.

Similar Articles That May Interest You: 

4 thoughts on “Harris County Mental Health Warrant: How To Get An Involuntary Commitment In Harris County

  1. Loretta hughes Reply

    My brother in law says he hears voices. And he tries to enter people’s homes without permission he has been issued a no trespassing from one of our neighbors and more have been calling the police I’m afraid he’s going to get shot or hurt real bad. He has threaten to kill me and set the house on fire. I have a family to protect never thought it had to be from other family members

    • Nick Bryant Post authorReply

      Hi Loretta, I am sorry to hear that your brother-in-law is experiencing such severe difficulties. It sounds like he is in a very difficult and dangerous place right now, and it is important that he receives professional help as soon as possible. Definitely take steps to protect you and your family. If he posses an immediate danger HPD has trained Crisis Intervention Officers who are trained to deal with situations where the person may have a mental illness. If you ever call HPD you can ask for a CIT officer and they should (if available) send out one of those specific officers. Also consider talking to a judge at Harric County Psychiatric Center and they will be able to provide you with guidance on filing a mental health warrant if it is necessary. Lastly Harris Center is the mental health authority here in Harris County/Houston. If you have question about the process of involuntary commitments or want to know more about how the CIT officer w HPD work the Harris Center Crisis Helpline is a good resource. You can call them at 713.970.7000 anytime 24 hours a day.

      I would say contact either the Harris Center Crisis Helpline or HCPC hospital to get a better understanding of their options, the process, and get specific questions answered regarding your brother.

      Let me know if you have any other questions, happy to help.

      God bless!

      Nick

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *