About Behavioral Health Services

The County of San Diego’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS) department provides mental health and substance use disorder services to over 111,000 San Diego County residents of all ages. Services are provided through 9 county-operated programs, over 300 contracts, and 800 individual fee-for-service providers. BHS offers services across the lifespan through coordinated systems of care and embraces  Live Well San Diego, the County’s over-arching vision for a region that is building better health, living safely, and thriving.

BHS is leading an ongoing, collaborative effort with justice partners, hospitals, community health centers, and other community-based providers to enhance, expand, and innovate the array of behavioral health programs available throughout the region. This body of work is referred to broadly as the Continuum of Care, and includes the establishment of behavioral health hubs, networks, and new care coordination services to ensure BHS clients have access to the appropriate level of psychiatric services to meet their immediate needs and support long-term recovery.

BHS is also working to innovate and expand the substance use disorder treatment system through the implementation of the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS). DMC-ODS provides improved services including withdrawal management, expanded case management, post-treatment recovery services, residential treatment, physician consultation, and medication assisted treatment services. This transformative blend of new and expanded services provides a full continuum of integrated substance use disorder treatment and is designed to serve BHS clients throughout the entire recovery process.

Please explore this site for more information about Behavioral Health Services. For administrative information or to provide feedback about this page, send us an email.