The short answer: The six on-campus visits cover an academic year, not each term — but they are not the whole of what the college pays for. El Camino also gives for-credit students BetterMynd, a telehealth service with no visit cost and appointments at nights and weekends, which the campus’s own page describes as "free unlimited virtual mental health care."¹ ⁴ Use both before you plan an outside referral.
Start with Student Health Services Mental Health
Book it: Use the health portal or call Student Health Services for an in-person or virtual appointment. The current phone number is 310-660-3643. Open the official service page →¹
Who can use it: Currently enrolled students attending a for-credit class who paid the health fee. The fee, in figures: "The Student Health Fee of $27 per fall and spring semesters and $22 per summer session covers most services at ECC's Student Health Services, with no need for insurance or a co-pay."³ What it costs: Six short-term counseling sessions are included in the health fee with no added charge.¹
The limit that matters
Six sessions per academic year, in the college’s own words: "Student Health Services offers short-term counseling limited to six sessions each academic year." Some students use one, some use all six, and the psychologist provides referrals in the community for anyone who needs more.¹
The six are the limit on in-person campus counselling, not on what the college pays for. BetterMynd is a separate route with no visit cost, and El Camino’s Center for Well-Being page calls it "free unlimited virtual mental health care." BetterMynd’s own campus page names no session count, so treat "unlimited" as the college’s word rather than a rule you can hold anyone to — but ask about it before you pay for anything outside.¹ ⁴ Confirm both at intake: staffing and campus rules change during the year.
If you need help today
Student Health Services offers "Crisis Assessment – Immediate assistance if you are in an acute crisis such as considering harming yourself or others or experiencing hallucinations" — during open hours only: "Student Health Services is closed on weekends, holidays, and school breaks and there are no night/weekend services."¹ ³ Fall hours are Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the Center for Well-Being is Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and closed Fridays.³ After hours: call the after-hours emotional-crisis line at 310-660-3377.²
Medication and longer-term therapy
Psychiatry: "Students receiving mental health services are not prescribed psychotropic or any type of medication by our staff."¹ When campus care is too short: a psychologist provides community referrals, and Student Health Services publishes an off-campus clinic list.¹ ³
If you use a parent’s insurance, billing paperwork can disclose that care was used. Read the student privacy and EOB route →. If money is the obstacle, compare Medi-Cal →, sliding-scale care →, and California-wide telehealth →.
Choose the right El Camino College door
| What you need | Start here | What to say or ask |
|---|---|---|
| Help today | Student Health Services offers crisis assessment during open hours. | “I need urgent support today.” If you may be in immediate danger, call 911. |
| A first counseling visit | Use the health portal or call Student Health Services for an in-person or virtual appointment. | Ask whether intake counts toward the session allowance and when the first clinical visit can happen. |
| Evening or weekend support | For a crisis, call the after-hours emotional-crisis line at 310-660-3377. For a booked session, BetterMynd schedules nights and weekends at no visit cost. | Ask whether the crisis line is one-time support only; BetterMynd is the route that can schedule recurring care outside office hours. |
| Medication | The counseling staff do not prescribe psychotropic medication. | Ask whether a referral is required, what a visit costs and who handles refills between terms. |
| Weekly, specialized or longer-term therapy | Ask about BetterMynd first — no visit cost, and a network to choose from. Past that, a psychologist provides community referrals or guidance using insurance. | Say what matters: specialty, identity, location, telehealth, language, insurance and maximum price. |
Before you spend money outside campus
Campus counseling and outside insurance are separate. Before booking an outside therapist, ask:
- Is this clinician in-network for my exact plan—not just the insurance company?
- What will I owe before and after my deductible?
- Does the plan require a campus referral or prior authorization?
- If the clinician is out-of-network, will they provide a superbill and where do I submit it?
If you use a parent’s plan, ask the insurer how to request confidential communications before the first claim. An explanation of benefits can otherwise show that care was used.
What to ask in the first appointment
- What is my individual-session limit this term or year, and does intake count?
- If I need weekly or specialized care, who starts the outside referral?
- Is psychiatry separate, and does it require a campus or insurance referral?
- What can I use while I am waiting: a group, same-day consultation, or virtual care?
- Will any charge or insurance explanation be sent to someone else?
Verification record
Every campus-specific statement above was read on an official El Camino College page; the counselling and BetterMynd pages were re-read on 23 September 2026. Core access facts are due for re-check by 2026-11-22. A missing number is reported as “not published,” never filled from an old catalog or another campus.
Sources
- El Camino — Mental Health, read 2026-09-12 and re-read 2026-09-23 — "Student Health Services offers short-term counseling limited to six sessions each academic year," and "Students receiving mental health services are not prescribed psychotropic or any type of medication by our staff." Both unchanged.
- El Camino — Center for Well-Being, read 2026-09-12.
- El Camino — Student Health Services, read 2026-09-12, and its off-campus health clinics list.
- El Camino — BetterMynd, read 23 September 2026 — "El Camino College is excited to offer BetterMynd - a telehealth program for El Camino College students. The service will provide access to virtual mental health care from anywhere in the United States, with no cost to visit!"; appointments "including nights and weekends"; workshops are now open to non-credit students while "For-credit students continue to h[ave]" full access. The page states no session count. The phrase "free unlimited virtual mental health care" is El Camino’s, from its Center for Well-Being page, re-read the same day; it is quoted as the college’s description, not as a contractual entitlement.
Correction, 23 September 2026: this page treated the six on-campus sessions as the whole of what El Camino pays for, and told students to plan an outside referral early because of them. That understated the college. El Camino also offers for-credit students BetterMynd, a telehealth service with no visit cost and appointments at nights and weekends, which the college’s own Center for Well-Being page calls “free unlimited virtual mental health care.” A student following the old advice could have paid for care the college already covers. The six-session limit itself was re-read on the college’s page and is unchanged, as is the no-prescribing rule.