Find a Therapist in California

Welcome to the California therapist directory at GoodTherapy.org. Our directory is the fastest and safest way to find a good counselor or therapist in California cities. We only include professional therapists, counselors, and psychologists whose work accords, in attitude and orientation, to the elements of good therapy. Find a therapist or counselor in your California zip code, or click on the links below to see the counselors in your city. If you are looking for telehealth therapy you can click here to see all California telehealth therapists.

Alameda County

Butte County

Contra Costa County

El Dorado County

Fresno County

Humboldt County

Kern County

Los Angeles County

Marin County

Mendocino County

Mono County

Monterey County

Napa County

Nevada County

Orange County

Placer County

Riverside County

Sacramento County

San Bernardino County

San Diego County

San Francisco County

San Joaquin County

San Luis Obispo County

San Mateo County

Santa Barbara County

Santa Clara County

Santa Cruz County

Shasta County

Solano County

Sonoma County

Stanislaus County

Ventura County

Yolo County

Mental Health Matters in California

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, California ranked as number 18 for overall well-being; the survey rated emotional health, work environment, live evaluation, physical health, healthy behaviors, and basic access to things like health insurance, food, and shelter. For example, the study showed that 55.5% of the state’s 37.2 million residents exercise frequently, and 58.6% eat produce regularly.

As for mental health statistics, California falls in line with national averages: 19.6% of adults live with some kind of diagnosable mental health condition, and 4.3% of residents are impaired by a serious mental health condition. Six percent of adults experienced a major depressive episode over the course of a year, and this number, too, is consistent with the national average of 6.7%. Serious suicidal thoughts affected 1.8% of residents, and .01% of Californians died by suicide. Major depression impacted 8.2% of adolescents in California.

Unfortunately, between 2009 and 2012, California’s mental health budget plummeted by $764.8 million, or 21.2%, reducing access to mental health services for residents. Indeed, over the decades, funding for mental health has declined severely; in the 1950s, for example, California provided an average of 555 hospital beds per 100,000 residents, and this number has been reduced to just 14 beds per 100,000 residents today.

However, there are many people, groups, and organizations working to improve mental well-being in California. For example, in 2013 an organization called Directing Change conducted a statewide student video contest in an effort to prevent teen suicide, eliminate stigma related to mental health conditions, and promote student wellness. Students submitted 60-second videos in two categories: suicide prevention and eliminating stigma. From 371 entries produced by 922 students, three winners and one honorable mention were selected in each category. Funding for the project was provided by the voter-approved Mental Health Services Act of 2004 (Proposition 63), which levied a 1% income tax on personal incomes in excess of $1 million to help fund mental health services across the state.

Additionally, there are a large number of mental health professionals serving state residents. In California there are 5,977 psychiatrists, 16,279 psychologists, 27,874 marriage and family therapists, 8,125 counselors, 19,359 social workers, and 877 child and adolescent psychiatrists according to figures from 2012.

References:

  1. California HealthCare Foundation, Center for Health Reporting. (2012) Mental Health by the Numbers. Retrieved from http://centerforhealthreporting.org/article/mental-health-numbers890
  2. Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. (2013). 2012 State of Well-Being: Community, State and Congressional District Well-Being Reports. Retrieved from http://www.well-beingindex.com/files/2013WBIrankings/CA_2012StateReport.pdf
  3. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (2011). State Mental Health Cuts: The Continuing Crisis, APPENDIX II: State Mental Health Budgets FY2009-FY2012. Retrieved from: http://www.nami.org/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm?ContentFileID=147768
  4. Source: McIntosh, J. L., & Drapeau, C. W. (for the American Association of Suicidology). (2012). U.S.A. Suicide 2010: Official Final Data. Retrieved from http://www.suicidology.org/c/document_library/get_file?folderId=262&name=DLFE-636.pdf
  5. UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, California Health Interview Survey. (2012). More Than Half a Million California Adults Seriously Thought About Suicide in the Past Year. Retrieved from http://healthpolicy.ucla.edu/publications/Documents/PDF/test1.pdf
  6. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2012). Mental Health, United States, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k12/MHUS2010/MHUS-2010.pdf
  7. Wiener, Jocelyn (for CHCF Center for Health Reporting). (2012, May 27). Mentally ill inmates on the rise in California prisons and jails. The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved from http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/27/4519117/mentally-ill-inmates-on-the-rise.html#storylink=cpy
 

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