San Diego Unified School District recognizes the value and importance of student wellness and has committed to making mental health services accessible to ALL students, at EVERY school campuses and at NO COST to students or families.
Connecting your student with mental health and wellness services can be as easy as speaking with your school site team- school site administrators, teachers, school counselors, nurses and wellness center coordinators.
What Level of Support is Right for my Student?
To connect students with the appropriate level of service, the San Diego Unified School District uses a common Referral Pathway. The referral pathway provides guidance on the District's referral process and also shares the available options for support within our District.
What Services are Available?
Social Emotional Skill Building
Wellness Center Coordinators and School Counselors can help students to learn and practice social emotional skills to develop healthy identities, to manage emotions, to set and achieve goals, to promote empathy, to develop and maintain healthy relationships and to make responsible decisions. These skills provide a foundation for students to interact and to feel connected w/ their peers and school community, and help students develop the tools to self advocate and take initiative which promotes academic achievement. Often times, these learning these skills and having a connection with a safe trusted helping adult is what the student needs to feel successful.
Wellness Coordinators are currently available to support students and families onsite at middle and high schools within the following clusters:
- Canyon Hills
- Mira Mesa
- Mission Bay
- Morse
- San Diego
School Counselors are assigned to every elementary, middle and high school in our District to support schools, students and families.
Services are divided by district communities (also known as clusters). For more information on services available for your school, select your community from the provided list.
Mental Health Services
When social emotional needs are not able to be fully addressed or if the needs become greater and more complex, students may benefit from speaking with a mental health clinician. Connecting with a mental health clinician allows the student to build upon their social emotional skills and also the opportunity to explore their thoughts, feelings and behavior at a deeper level to address their increased need.
Mental Health Clinicians are available at all elementary, middle and high school sites to support needs associated with a mental health concern.
How to Access Onsite Mental Health Services
Students are able to access behavioral health services in the same way as students are able to access medical and mental health services within the community. Access and eligibility is dependent on factors such as: family income, insurance type and severity of symptoms. Below is a poster created by the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services which explains the system of outpatient mental health services within San Diego County.
What are the Available Onsite Mental Health Service Providers?
SchooLink Medi-Cal Providers
In partnership with the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services (BHS), school districts like San Diego Unified, can refer students to a network of SchooLink Medi-Cal providers. SchooLink clinicians are from agencies connected w/ the County of San Diego BHS, who are able to provide mental health services to students and families at designated school sites, within the home and the community. Students are eligible for these services based upon their Medi-Cal Insurance ,or that they are uninsured or underinsured by their insurance plans.
School Counselors and Wellness Center Coordinators can assist students and families with referrals to onsite SchooLink providers.
Please see link below to see if a SchooLink provider has been assigned to your student's school site by the County of San Diego Behavioral Health Services.
County of SD SchooLink Provider Assignments by School Site
CYBHI/District Funded Mental Health Providers
Following the pandemic, student mental health needs were steadily on the rise and access to onsite mental health services became a priority to support student wellness. Beginning in 2020, the San Diego Unified School District partnered with seven trusted community based agencies and created a system of mental health support separate from the SchooLink provider network. ALL students, not just those who were Medi-Cal Insurance eligible, now had access to an onsite mental health clinician across ALL San Diego Unified School campuses.
Beginning in July 2025, the District joined school districts across the State of California to participate in the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) Program. The goal of the CYBHI program is to enable California kids to find support for their mental health and substance use needs where, when and in the way that they need it most. Schools across California now have an opportunity to seek reimbursement from Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans and Private Insurance companies for services already being delivered to our district students. The ability for Districts across California to be reimbursed for these eligible services will help ensure the sustainability and accessibility to these services moving forward.
SDUSD CYBHI Provider Assignment by School Site
SDUSD CYBHI Website