Mental Health Treatment in San Diego for Medi-Cal Adults

Medi-Cal Covers Mental Health Treatment in San Diego County

Medi-Cal is California's Medicaid program. With Medi-Cal on any of the four San Diego County plans (Blue Shield Promise, Community Health Group, Kaiser Permanente, or Molina), our partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs are covered at no cost to you when clinical criteria are met. They are Specialty Mental Health Services delivered under County of San Diego Contract 575462 and administered by County Behavioral Health Services rather than by your plan, so no referral is needed. See how Medi-Cal works here or call (858) 925-8589.

Two levels of care, one building

Golden Coast Rehab is a contracted provider of Specialty Mental Health Services (Partial Hospitalization Program and Intensive Outpatient Program) for the County of San Diego, Behavioral Health Services, under County Contract 575462. Both programs serve adults 18 and older whose primary condition is a mental health condition, and both are delivered at our La Mesa facility.

Partial hospitalization is structured day treatment: the most intensive care available without staying overnight in a hospital. Intensive outpatient is several sessions a week, scheduled around work, school, and family. Most people move from the first to the second and then to weekly outpatient therapy.

We do not provide residential or inpatient treatment. If your assessment shows you need a level of care we do not offer, we will say so directly and help you find it.

How to know which level fits

You do not have to work that out before you call. A clinical assessment (a conversation about symptoms, history, safety, and what your days actually look like right now) is what determines the level of care. The practical differences look like this:

It takes one call to start: (858) 925-8589, answered 24 hours a day.

When substance use is also part of the picture

That combination is common, and it is treated here by the same clinical team. Our substance use programs run under a separate authority, DHCS certification 370254AP, covering outpatient detox, outpatient, intensive outpatient, and medication-assisted treatment. The partial hospitalization program enrolling today at Golden Coast Rehab is a specialty mental health service; we are licensed for a substance use PHP, but that track is not yet enrolling. Start from the mental health side on our co-occurring disorders page, or from the addiction side on dual diagnosis.

Paying for treatment

If you have Medi-Cal in San Diego County, on any of the four managed care plans, this care can be covered at no cost to you, because specialty mental health services are administered by San Diego County Behavioral Health Services rather than by your plan. See how Medi-Cal works here.

If you are in crisis, the San Diego County Access and Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day at 1-888-724-7240. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 988 or 911.