Emergency and Crisis Services

San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital

Walk-in emergency mental health services are available for adults and older adults who are experiencing a mental health emergency or crisis at the Emergency Psychiatric Unit located at:

San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital
3853 Rosecrans Street
San Diego, CA 92110
Telephone: 619-692-8200

Crisis Stabilization Units 

Crisis Stabilization Units (CSU) provide immediate mental health support and treatment services in a calming setting to individuals with serious behavioral health needs. Available for short-term stays, generally up to 24 hours, CSUs can help prevent or treat a behavioral health crisis and can assist clients in getting connected to ongoing care.

Mobile Crisis Response Teams

Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT) provide in-person support to people of all ages who are experiencing a mental health, drug, or alcohol-related crisis.  

MCRT is comprised of licensed mental health clinicians, case managers, and peer support specialists. They respond to behavioral health crisis calls instead of law enforcement when the call does not involve known threats of violence or medical emergencies.

  • For more information on the MCRT program and how to access services, visit the MCRT web page.

Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams

Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams (PERT) provide in-person crisis resolution and proactive outreach to people experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

PERT is different from MCRT as teams include a licensed mental health clinician paired with specially trained law enforcement officers.

Teams are dispatched through 911 calls from the community or other law enforcement agencies in the field. PERT will check the situation, assess the individual's mental health condition, and may:

  • Transport the individual to a hospital or other treatment center, or
  • Refer them to a community-based resource or treatment facility.
Additional Resources

For other resources throughout the County, including urgent walk-in clinics, visit the Outpatient Behavioral Health Services page.

Not sure where to start?

Call the Access and Crisis Line (ACL) at 1-888-724-7240 (7-1-1 TDD/TYY for the hearing impaired) to speak to an experienced counselor who can help you find the right service for you or someone you care about.

The ACL is operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Interpreter services are available in over 200 languages. Live chat is also available Monday through Friday, 4pm-10pm, through the ACL website or up2sd.org.


The material provided on this page is for reference only.  If you are experiencing an emergency, please call 9-1-1. If you need support or are actively seeking services, please call the ACL at 1 (888) 724-7240 (TDD/TTY Dial 711) and an experienced counselor will provide you with a referral to meet your needs and help determine eligibility.

For administrative information or to provide feedback about this page, send us an email.