Mental health services for Santa Ana, CA

Language should not be the reason someone puts off care. Ask for Spanish at the start of your first call and intake routes you accordingly, instead of making you navigate in English first. Not every clinician is a Spanish speaker, so intake matches you with Spanish-capable staff when available. Across our programs, staff work in English, Spanish, Farsi, and Hindi.

Puedes decir: «Necesito servicios en español».

Círculo Latino es un grupo de apoyo mensual, gratuito y abierto a la comunidad. Se reúne el primer martes de cada mes, de 5:30 a 7 pm, en Laguna Hills, completamente en español. No necesitas ser cliente de Shanti para participar.

Case management can also be provided in Spanish when Spanish-speaking staff are available.

Coordinación de servicios para ayudar a personas viviendo con VIH/SIDA en el condado de Orange a conseguir atención médica y servicios de apoyo, incluyendo vivienda, salud mental y nutrición. Escríbenos a [email protected].

Psychological testing is one of the things Santa Ana residents most often go looking for, so it is worth describing precisely. Licensed psychologists evaluate cognitive, emotional, developmental, and behavioral functioning for ages 6 and up, using interviews, questionnaires, and standardized tests: specific learning disorders, ADHD, mood concerns, executive functioning, personality disorders, thought disorders, trauma (PTSD), and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The process runs across several appointments over roughly two to four weeks, in person at the Laguna Hills office: a testing intake of one to two hours to gather history and obtain insurance pre-authorization, then testing sessions, then a review session about two to three weeks later, followed by a detailed written report with results, conclusions, recommendations, and referrals. Many insurance plans are accepted for testing, though coverage varies by plan and is verified at the testing intake.

Now the part that saves people a wasted trip. We do not provide disability assessments, parenting assessments or anything related to divorce, or forensic and court assessments such as custody, risk, or competency evaluations. If a court, an agency, or an attorney asked for one of those, we are not the right provider, and you should hear that now rather than after an intake appointment.

Shanti was founded in 1987 and responded to the HIV crisis through the 1990s; HIV care is still one of our four programs. Case management is free, confidential, and open to adults living with HIV/AIDS in Orange County. It starts by identifying your needs and building a personal care plan, then connecting you to what that plan requires.

Counseling covers individual, couples, group, and teen and family work, for anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, and chronic illness. Our staff is specialty-trained in chronic disease and illness navigation, a result of decades of HIV work. All services are LGBTQ-affirming, and a clinician-led weekly HIV therapy group is available by intake.

Separately, our community education program is free to Orange County high schools and colleges. A Sexual Health Educator leads a discussion on sexual health and prevention aligned to the California Healthy Youth Act (AB-329), paired with a Shanti Ambassador, a person living with HIV/AIDS who speaks about their own experience. Santa Ana educators can contact us to schedule one; tell us the grade level and the time you have and we will tailor the session.

Santa Ana sits north of Laguna Hills in central Orange County. The usual approaches are the I-5 heading south, or SR-55 down to the I-405 and across. Parking is free and on site.

That drive is real, though, especially at commute hours or if you are taking time off hourly work for an appointment. Telehealth for counseling is available throughout California, and for many Santa Ana clients it is the difference between starting therapy and postponing it indefinitely. Intake confirms whether it fits. Psychological testing is the exception and has to be in person.