Suicide Hotlines and Crisis Lines in Ecuador

A helpline is a place to talk to someone when you are struggling, before or instead of a crisis. The lines on this page are answered by health ministry staff, municipal psychologists or a charity, depending on the service. If you are not in Ecuador, the worldwide list is organised by country.

What you share is kept private in almost all cases; if a counsellor believes a life is in immediate danger, they may arrange urgent help. What each service costs is set out beside it below, in the operating organisation's own words.

TherapyRoute is a directory. We do not answer calls or messages ourselves, so please use the numbers below rather than contacting us if you need someone now.

CRISIS LINES, SUICIDE HOTLINES, AND HELPLINES IN ECUADOR

Each number below was checked in August 2026 at the operating organisation's own website, or at official Ecuadorian government pages that publish the service.

Notice an error or a missing service? Please tell us so we can correct it.

The emergency number, and what it covers

Línea 171, opción 6, the health ministry's mental health option

Teleconsulta en salud mental, for readers in Quito

ÁnimaEC, an app from the Instituto de Neurociencias

While you are waiting to be answered

If you are worried about someone else

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The emergency number, and what it covers

Ecuador runs a single consolidated emergency number. There is no separate national number for ambulance, police or fire; all are dispatched through 911, the Servicio Integrado de Seguridad ECU 911.

The government's official services portal, publishing information it states is provided by ECU 911, says the line "is served across all Ecuadorian territory, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year", and that "the procedure has no cost". There is also an ECU 911 smartphone app for Android and iPhone, where holding the 911 button for three seconds sends an alert.

Tel: 911

911 is not a counselling line; it dispatches a response. Its place on this page is that the Municipality of Quito states that its psychologists, trained in mental health first aid, answer through ECU 911. In the municipality's words, this runs "24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for cases where there is an imminent suicide attempt". That arrangement is documented for Quito. Whether psychologists answer such calls through 911 elsewhere in Ecuador is not published.

Línea 171, opción 6, the health ministry's mental health option

Line 171 is the general health line of the Ministerio de Salud Pública, answered by ministry staff rather than volunteers. Option 6 on its menu is the mental health route, and the option is part of the number, so dial 171 and then select option 6.

The ministry describes option 6 as a "free mental-health care and crisis-intervention service", and says it keeps the line active "so that citizens who need psychological first aid can get in touch and receive timely support". Where a case is judged high-complexity, the ministry says the caller can be sent to a specialist facility in coordination with ECU 911.

Tel: 171, then select option 6.

Hours: Monday to Sunday including public holidays, from 07:00 to 20:00. This line is not round-the-clock. The ministry published these hours in January 2023, and no newer ministry page restates or changes them. Outside these hours, the number that answers is 911.

Cost: the ministry calls it "línea gratuita 171" [free line 171], reachable "through a call at no cost from a landline or mobile".

Teleconsulta en salud mental, for readers in Quito

This service covers Quito only. It is a teleconsultation line run by the city's Secretaría de Salud, where a psychologist assesses the caller and may refer them on to in-person care.

The municipality is explicit that this line is for cases that are not emergencies; emergencies go to 911. In its own words, published in March 2026: "If you or someone close to you needs psychological guidance, you can get in touch free of charge on line 101 option 9, Monday to Friday, from 07:00 to 19:00."

Tel: 101, then select option 9.

Hours: Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 19:00.

Cost: "El servicio es gratuito" [the service is free], in the municipality's own words.

An older municipal page from 2023 also published a second number for the same service, 1800-510-510, option 9. The municipality's newer pages no longer print that number, so 101 is the form to try first.

ÁnimaEC, an app from the Instituto de Neurociencias

ÁnimaEC is a mental health and suicide-prevention service of the Instituto de Neurociencias, the psychiatric institute of the Junta de Beneficencia de Guayaquil. It is reached through the institute's own app, available for Android and iPhone.

In the institute's words: "Your feelings matter, which is why we created Ánima EC, an app intended for mental-health care and suicide prevention. We have help lines, emotion logging, expert psychologists, among others." The institute also states that Befrienders Worldwide, the international suicide-prevention body, endorses the app, and that the service provides "support and psychological first aid to patients with anxiety and depression disorders".

App: ÁnimaEC, linked from the institute's servicios digitales page.

Tel: no helpline telephone number is published on the institute's own website, so this page lists the app alone. Numbers for this service circulate elsewhere online, and we could not verify them, so we do not print them.

Hours: not published.

Cost: not published for the helpline.

While you are waiting to be answered

Two of these lines keep set hours, and a line that is open can still be busy. If you are waiting, try to stay with someone you trust, or ask someone to sit with you until the call connects.

If you have anything near you that you could use to harm yourself, put it somewhere harder to reach, or ask someone else to hold it for you. Distance and time both help.

If waiting is not possible, dial 911 or go to a hospital emergency department. You do not need an appointment and you do not need to explain yourself well.

If you are worried about someone else

Ask them directly. Asking someone whether they are thinking of suicide does not put the idea there, and it often comes as a relief to be asked plainly.

Listen more than you advise. You do not need the right words, and you are not expected to fix anything.

If they are willing, offer to sit with them while they call one of the numbers above, or to make the call together. If they are in immediate danger, treat it as you would any medical emergency and dial 911.

Supporting someone through this is heavy, and it is reasonable to want support of your own. The same lines are open to you.

For services in other countries, see the list of helplines and suicide hotlines worldwide.

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