About the Missouri Department of Mental Health

The Missouri Department of Mental Health was first established as a cabinet-level state agency by the Omnibus State Government Reorganization Act, effective July 1, 1974.

State law provides three principal missions for the department: (1) the prevention of mental disorders, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, and compulsive gambling; (2) the treatment, habilitation, and rehabilitation of Missourians who have those conditions; and (3) the improvement of public understanding and attitudes about mental disorders, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, and compulsive gambling.

The seven-member Missouri Mental Health Commission, serves as the principal policy advisory body to the department director.

The Department of Mental Health (DMH) is organizationally comprised of three program divisions that serve approximately 150,000 Missourians annually, along with six support offices.

DMH makes services available through state-operated facilities and contracts with private organizations and individuals. The state-operated psychiatric facilities include inpatient psychiatric for adults and children, as well as the Missouri Sexual Offender Treatment Center. In addition, six habilitation centers and 11 regional centers serve individuals with developmental disabilities. Other services are purchased from a variety of privately operated programs statewide through approximately 4,000 contracts managed annually by DMH.

History

Though the Department of Mental Health was first established in 1974, its functions date back to 1847. The articles entitled History of the Division of Mental Diseases and The Missouri Division of Mental Health--An Overview provide detailed historical information regarding the treatment of mental diseases in Missouri.

For a living-history perspective, go to the two From The Archives articles, written by Dr. Henry V. Guhleman, the first director of the department’s Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services. In “Governor’s Suicide Calls Attention to Mental Illness,” Dr. Guhleman charts the course of events following the suicide of Missouri Governor Thomas Reynolds in 1844. Dr. Guhleman finds himself a personal witness to political controversies highlighted in “The Mental Health Crisis of 1961.”