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Behavioral Health Services
Behavioral health encompasses mental health, emotional well-being, and substance use, as well as the behaviors, relationships, and life circumstances that influence them.
Behavioral health services include prevention, early intervention, treatment, recovery support, and other services that help people and communities thrive.
Behavioral health is also shaped by the conditions in which people live, learn, work, and age. These social determinants of health include housing, education, employment, food and nutrition, social connection, personal safety, and access to nature and recreation.
This page provides a summary of the behavioral health services that member agencies provide. Agencies apply strength-based, person-centered approaches that value and respect each person’s ethnic, racial, and gender identity, as well as their family and community relationships. We apply destigmatizing, evidence-based practices that achieve results.
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
Supporting young children and families during the years that shape a lifetime.
The first five years of life are foundational to a child’s development and long-term well-being. Collaborative agencies support young children, families, and caregivers through Head Start programs, consultation for childcare professionals, parenting education, and family support. Specially trained staff provide services in childcare programs, community settings, and other places where children and families live, learn, and grow.
School-based
Services
Supporting social, emotional, and academic success.
Collaborative agencies support schools and students with a wide range of needs. Services include school engagement, individual, family, and group therapy, consultation and training for school staff, psycho-educational groups, behavior coaching, and health and wellness centers. Agencies serve public schools, as well as Charter, Non-Public, and alternative school settings.
Outpatient Behavioral
Health Services
Relief, relationship, and hope.
Collaborative providers use social, psychiatric, and recovery-oriented approaches to reduce distress and support the well-being of individuals and families. Services include individual, group, and family therapy, medication evaluation, skill development, and consultation and coaching for professionals and other partners. Services are provided in offices, family homes, and other community settings.
Substance Use
Disorder Services
Safety, skills, and recovery.
Collaborative member agencies provide community-based and residential treatment programs for people experiencing substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions. Services help people manage withdrawal symptoms and cravings, develop coping skills, strengthen support systems, and build fulfilling lives in recovery. Agencies use evidence-based, harm reduction approaches that are effective, compassionate, and avoid stigma.
Integrated Behavioral
Health Services
Healing the mind and the body.
Collaborative member agencies recognize that behavioral and physical health are interconnected and essential to overall well-being. Agencies providing integrated care bring medical and behavioral health professionals together to support clients in medical offices, health clinics, and community settings.
Intensive Community-Based Behavioral Health Services
Doing "whatever it takes" to keep people in the community.
Collaborative agencies provide intensive, team-based services around the clock for people with acute behavioral health needs. Programs such as Wraparound, Full-Service Partnership, and In-Home Behavioral Services use individualized, family-focused, and needs-based approaches to support youth, adults, and seniors. Teams help clients build on their strengths and develop natural support networks that sustain their well-being.
Crisis Stabilization and Diversion Services
Saving lives and changing futures.
Collaborative agencies respond to emotional, psychiatric, family, and substance use crises. Staff work closely with county agencies, law enforcement, hospital systems, and community partners to connect people with timely support. Services include crisis hotlines, parent support lines, mobile crisis response, 23-hour crisis stabilization units, jail diversion, and short-term crisis residential treatment. These services save lives and help prevent unnecessary hospitalization or incarceration.
Residential
Treatment
Stabilization, treatment, and transition.
Collaborative agencies provide short-term and longer-term residential treatment for youth and adults whose behavioral health needs cannot be safely met in the community. Multidisciplinary teams provide focused therapeutic care in highly structured, resource-rich environments. Agencies use person-centered, strength-based approaches that engage each client’s family and support system.
Supportive Housing
& Shelter Services
Housing First
Alameda County faces profound housing challenges, particularly for people with behavioral health needs. Collaborative agencies provide emergency shelter for youth and adults, short-term and long-term supportive housing, and a range of services for unhoused community members. These programs help people achieve safety, stability, and greater independence.
Family and Peer
Support Services
Support from those who care and those who understand.
Collaborative agencies support the families, caregivers, and other loved ones of people experiencing behavioral health challenges. Services include Family Resource Centers, warm lines for parents and clients facing stress, Family Partners, peer support provided by people with lived experience, support groups, and family education programs. Agencies also offer advocacy and support to people navigating family court and other legal processes, along with information and connections to essential community resources.
Therapeutic Foster Care
and Treatment
Helping children and families heal from trauma.
Children must sometimes be separated from their families to ensure their safety and support healing. Collaborative agencies provide high-quality out-of-home care and family preservation services that support both children and their families. Services include Emergency Foster Care, Kinship Care, Therapeutic Visitation, Shelter Care, and Intensive Services Foster Care. Each service works toward a safe, stable, and permanent family setting for the child.
Senior
Services
Aging with dignity and joy.
Collaborative agencies provide therapeutic and supportive services that help older adults maintain their well-being, independence, and social connections. Services include in-home assessments, memory care, home care, counseling, support groups, day programs, and palliative care.