Your (Unofficial) Guide to State-Sponsored Therapy in California

You should consider looking into your county program if you (or a loved one) are having a mental health crisis, have a severe mental health condition, have Medi-Cal, or have a limited income.

Everyone in California can use the state-funded mental health emergency response system. If you or someone you love is in crisis, you can call your local crisis line to get the help you need, quickly.

Even if you’re not in crisis, you can call your local mental health hotline for information about affordable mental health services in your area. When you call, you can find out whether you might qualify for state-funded mental health services, schedule an assessment or intake appointment, or get free information about other affordable local providers.

Other parts of the system have stricter eligibility requirements. You need to have a serious mental health condition (a diagnosable condition that affects your daily functioning) to qualify for public outpatient mental health care in many California counties. However, more people have a qualifying condition than realize it. Don’t assume you’re not eligible!

One of the most important requirements you need to meet to get services at a county mental health program in California is to be a resident of the county it serves.

It’s a great option if you’re a county resident with a public insurance plan. If you qualify for Medi-Cal, you’re probably also eligible for your county’s mental health program. All state-funded providers in California accept Medi-Cal, and it can be hard to find other providers who do.

You can also qualify if you have no insurance and have a limited income. Community mental health programs in California focus on serving people whose income is 200 percent of the federal poverty level or less. If you qualify, you can usually get services for the cost of a low sliding-scale fee.

You can also qualify if you have a severe mental health condition that affects your functioning or safety on a day-to-day basis. You may also qualify for services if you belong to a special eligibility group.

In general, community mental health programs aren’t the best place to go if you have mild mental health issues and are covered by a private insurance plan.

However, if you’ve recently been hospitalized for mental health reasons or are unemployed or homeless because of a mental health condition, you should definitely call your county program. Their specialized services are designed to help you address these challenges and get the support you need to regain stability while living at home in your local community.

You can also usually find affordable therapy and other basic outpatient mental health services like medication management at California’s county mental health programs. You may not need to have a serious mental health condition to qualify if you meet income eligibility requirements. If you’re eligible, you can usually get the care you need for a very low co-pay or sliding-scale fee.

You can find the number for your county’s program in the directory below. We encourage you to call even if you think you might not be eligible.

Even if you’re not eligible, or if the program doesn’t offer the service you want, they can probably still help you. County mental health workers are knowledgeable about local resources and will often give you free information or even referrals to other affordable providers nearby, including local non-profits that provide free or low-cost counseling.

The easiest way to learn more about state mental healthcare in California is to call your county’s mental health hotline. Each county administers its own program separately, so which services are available and who’s eligible depends on where you live. To find your local number, scroll to the directory below.

Public mental health services in California are managed on the state level by the Mental Health Services Division of California’s Department of Health Care Services. For general information about California’s system, you can contact the Office of the Mental Health Ombudsman at (888) 452-8609.

However, you’ll probably get the best results by calling your county’s program directly. You can find the number for your county in the directory below.

There are 58 counties in California and 57 county mental health programs that serve those counties. (Sutter and Yuba Counties have a shared program.) Each county has a phone number you can call to get information about mental health services or to get help in a crisis.

Some counties have separate crisis and information lines, while others have a single mental health hotline you can call for either purpose.

You can find the website and contact numbers for your county’s program in the directory below.

Some counties have access lines that are staffed 24 hours a day, while others have access lines with limited hours.

If you need information after hours or aren’t sure whether you’re experiencing a mental health crisis, it’s okay to call a crisis line for help. The staff who answer are trained to quickly figure out what you need and can tell you what steps you need to take to connect with the right services.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) are another great way to get affordable publicly-funded mental health services in California.

These federally-funded programs provide cutting-edge care in places where good primary healthcare was once hard to find. Most provide integrated care, meaning you can get primary medical and mental health services at the same location.

Each FQHC accepts Medicaid and Medicare and offers low sliding-scale fees if you don’t have insurance. Their eligibility requirements are generally less strict than the requirements for the state-funded system.

You can search for FQHCs near you by using the online search tool on the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration website.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only 37 percent of people in California who have mental health conditions get treatment for them. Many of them qualify for public mental health services but don’t know about them.

You can make a difference by reaching out and connecting with local mental health resources to get the care you need. If you’re not sure whether you qualify for California state mental health services, call your county’s access and information line. You may find out you can get mental health services through your county’s program or that there’s another affordable option nearby.

The most important thing is to get started—the help you need may be only a call or click away.