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Mental Health Intervention in Wyoming
Mental health intervention in Wyoming, from a Title 25 hold to a lasting yes.
Wyoming families call it “Title 25,” after the statute that governs emergency detention, involuntary hospitalization and directed outpatient commitment. This guide explains each step in plain terms, what your family can and cannot do, and where a planned, voluntary intervention belongs.
In Wyoming a psychiatric emergency is usually a county matter before it is anything else. The county where your loved one is detained pays for the first 72 hours, a local gatekeeper coordinates with the court, and the nearest designated hospital may be a long drive away. The law moves fast for three days, and then it gets narrow.
For the much longer stretch when someone is ill but not dangerous, Title 25 offers little. That is where a prepared, voluntary intervention does its work. G3 plans it with your family, confirms the program before anyone sits down, and is paid by your family alone.
First, safety
Call 911 if anyone is in immediate danger. For a mental health crisis, call, text or chat 988. The Wyoming Department of Health says two in-state centers answer Wyoming’s 988 calls, Wyoming Lifeline and the Central Wyoming Counseling Center Lifeline, between them covering every hour of the day.
W.S. 25-10-109
Emergency detention, hour by hour
Wyoming’s emergency detention statute, in Title 25 of the Wyoming Statutes, lets a law enforcement officer or an examiner (a category that includes licensed physicians) detain a person when there is reasonable cause to believe they are mentally ill as the statute defines it, meaning a disorder that makes them dangerous to themselves or others. The Department of Health’s Title 25 page adds that this includes someone who, because of mental illness, cannot meet their own basic needs.
The person goes to a hospital or another appropriate care setting. Jail is permitted only in an extreme emergency or when no reasonable alternative exists. Then the deadlines:
- an examiner must complete a preliminary examination within 24 hours, or the person is released;
- an examiner reexamines them at least every 48 hours until the hearing;
- no one may be detained more than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, without a hearing;
- if the court finds the person mentally ill, it may order continued detention for up to 10 days.
The Department of Health explains that the county where the person is detained pays for transportation and treatment during the first 72 hours, and that counties also cover court and attorney fees for Wyoming residents. A gatekeeper, someone who understands the emergency detention process, coordinates with the court and the detained person and may testify.
Involuntary hospitalization under W.S. 25-10-110
If more than a short detention is needed, proceedings “may be commenced by the filing of a written application” with the court in the county where your loved one was first detained. The statute does not list who may file it, and the county attorney appears in the public interest. If you are considering this step, ask the county attorney’s office or a Wyoming lawyer how applications are handled where you live.
The application must include an examiner’s certificate made no more than 15 days before filing, or a statement that your loved one refused examination. An examination follows within seven days of notice, your loved one or their lawyer may ask for a jury within five days, and the court or jury must find by clear and convincing evidence that they are mentally ill.
Admission is to a designated hospital or an appropriate alternative facility. The Department of Health describes a progress evaluation within three months of admission and every six months after that. For a comparison with other states’ processes, see our guide to involuntary psychiatric pathways.
W.S. 25-10-110.1
Directed outpatient commitment: court-ordered care at home
Ill, but not needing a hospital
If the court finds a person mentally ill but not in need of inpatient care, it “shall consider issuing a directed outpatient commitment order.”
Up to two years
An order may last up to two years, with court review at least every six months. That is long by national standards, and it suits the illness that relapses whenever medication stops.
A plan the court approves
An examiner sets the terms with any gatekeeper, and they can include medication, periodic reporting, restrictions on alcohol and drugs with testing, and short inpatient stays to stabilize.
Revocation after a hearing
If a condition is violated, the court may revoke or modify the order after a hearing, on a preponderance of the evidence.
Wyoming’s mental illness definition draws a hard line around addiction. W.S. 25-10-101 says the terms “do not include addiction to drugs or alcohol, drug or alcohol intoxication or developmental disabilities.” So Title 25 does not reach a loved one whose only problem is alcohol or methamphetamine, and we found no separate Wyoming statute that commits an adult to substance use treatment.
The line moves when a psychiatric illness is also present. A person with bipolar disorder who drinks can still meet the Title 25 definition on the strength of the bipolar disorder, and a directed outpatient order can include restrictions on alcohol and drugs. For addiction alone, a voluntary intervention is the main route; our Wyoming interventionist page describes that work, and our guide on co-occurring mental illness explains how we sequence care when both are present.
Why Title 25 stops short of addiction
Where an intervention fits around Title 25
The statute is built for three dangerous days. Families live with the other three hundred and sixty-two. Here is how the two fit.
Instead of a detention. Your brother in Gillette has stopped his medication, sleeps in his truck and believes his phone is monitored, yet he is not threatening anyone. No officer or examiner would detain him. A rehearsed family conversation, with a psychiatric program confirmed in Colorado, Utah or Montana and transport already arranged, is the realistic route.
After a detention ends. Many detentions end in release at the preliminary exam or hearing. With your loved one’s written permission, Hannah gathers what the treating team learned, and we use the following days to offer care at the right level. Our guide to psychiatric levels of care describes residential treatment, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs.
Alongside an outpatient order. A two-year directed outpatient commitment works only if your loved one keeps showing up. Families who learn a calmer way to talk about treatment help an order hold, and our guide to high-acuity presentations helps you spot the early signs of relapse.
Wyoming help lines, ombudsman and facility directory
911 for immediate danger. 988 by call, text or chat, answered in-state. The Department of Health also lists the Crisis Text Line (text 741-741) and its Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Services line at (800) 535-4006.
Ombudsman. The department lists a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Ombudsman at 888.857.1942, who can advocate at no charge for someone involved in the Title 25 process.
Licensing. The department’s Healthcare Licensing and Surveys office licenses psychiatric hospitals and community mental health centers among other facilities, and publishes a Healthcare Facility Directory. Its Behavioral Health Division separately certifies mental health and substance use providers.
Independence. Most Wyoming families end up looking out of state for residential psychiatric care. Because no program pays G3, our treatment navigation weighs those options on clinical fit and budget alone.
Travel in the least populous state
G3 is based in Austin, Texas, and preparation starts by phone and video the day you call. Matt usually flies into Casper (CPR) or Jackson Hole (JAC), or into Denver International (DEN) for Cheyenne and Laramie, and drives the rest. Winter weather is part of the plan. When the program is several hundred miles away, a sober transport companion travels with your loved one until admission is complete, and our guide to interstate intervention logistics explains how we handle state lines.
Our fee is flat and written down before you commit. Travel is billed at actual cost, and transport is quoted on its own line.
Common questions
Wyoming families ask us about Title 25.
How long is an emergency detention in Wyoming?
Who can place someone on a Title 25 hold?
Who pays for a Title 25 detention?
What is directed outpatient commitment?
Can we commit someone for drug or alcohol addiction in Wyoming?
Our loved one was released after the preliminary exam. What should we do?
Keep reading
Wyoming pages and guides for the next step
The next step is a conversation
You do not have to figure this out alone.
One confidential call with G3 begins it. No pressure, no judgment, just a path forward.