The Health and Human Services Agency is one of five groups or divisions of the San Diego County government. The Agency provides a broad range of health and social services, promoting wellness, self-sufficiency, and a better quality of life for all individuals and families in San Diego County.
The Agency integrates health and social services through a unified service-delivery system. This system is family focused and community-based, reflective of business principles in which services are delivered in a cost-effective and outcome-driven fashion.
* Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services - Behavioral Health Services provides community-based substance use disorder prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery services throughout San Diego County via contracts with local service providers. If you need an interpreter, you can get one in the language you choose. It's free. If you are visually or hearing impaired, you can get information in alternate formats.Services Offered: > Brief Outpatient for At-Risk Youth and Young Adults > Outpatient Treatment > Intensive Outpatient Treatment > Short-Term Residential Treatment > Withdrawal Management (formerly Detox) > Medication-Assisted Treatment > Opioid Treatment Programs > Case Management
* Adult/Older Adult System of Care - The San Diego County Adult/Older Adult System of Care offers a wide variety of treatment, rehabilitation and recovery services to help people who are experiencing persistent and severe mental illness or an addiction health crisis. All services provided are oriented to meet the unique linguistic and cultural needs of the persons served. > Adult Emergency and Crisis Services - If you need information about how to handle a mental health crisis, you can talk to a trained counselor who can help with your specific situation. Call the Access and Crisis Line at 1-888-724-7240. The toll-free call is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
* Children, Youth & Families System of Care - The Children, Youth and Families (CYF) section of Behavioral Health Services aids children and adolescents who are emotionally disturbed, and their families. CYF offers a wide variety of services, from early intervention to residential services. All services provided are oriented to meet the unique linguistic and cultural needs of the public to be served. > Emergency Screening Unit - The Emergency Screening Unit (ESU) provides emergency psychiatric evaluations, crisis intervention, crisis stabilization, brief outpatient counseling, case management and emergency medication management to children and adolescents under age 18.
> Juvenile Forensic Services - Juvenile Forensic Services provides psychological and psychiatric services to the youth residing within the juvenile detention facilities. These services may include counseling, assessment, crisis intervention, psychiatric medication management, and transition-to-community related assistance.
* Therapeutic Behavioral Services- Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) is an intensive, individualized, one-to-one behavioral coaching program available to children/youth up to age 21 who are experiencing a current emotional or behavioral challenge or experiencing a stressful life transition. TBS is only available to children/youth with full-scope Medi-Cal benefits who are receiving ongoing mental health services.
Fees and Payment
Services are covered by Medi-Cal.
Services Offered To: Adults Teens Children
Special Groups: Bilingual
Payment: Sliding Scale Pro-bono Medicare Medicaid
Were You Able To Make an Appointment?
One quick last question. Who was seeking counseling today?
Do you know the reason they are not accepting clients?
A community counseling agency is a group therapy practice that offers affordable mental health services. Most are independent non-profit agencies, state agencies, or publicly-funded agencies. A few may restrict who is eligible for services, so it is a good idea to check when you call.
Community counseling agencies are generally more affordable than other therapy providers, but how much more affordable they are will depend on whether you qualify for a discount or sliding scale fee (or if they accept your insurance). Many, but not all, have a policy that they won't turn away anyone due to inability to pay. You should ask about their fees when you first call.
Expect to talk to kind people who want to help you find the care you need. Most community agencies strive to connect you with a live person within 24 hours, if not immediately. If you're asked to hold or leave a message, don't give up; just leave a message and wait. You should hear back pretty quickly.
Most agencies try to set up an initial assessment appointment within a week (some do within 24 hours), though the waitlist to start therapy is usually longer—about a few weeks on average. If you're not eligible or if the agency is not right for you, it's usually still worth it to call or drop in, because staff are knowledgeable about local options and can often refer you to one.
