Therapy at UC Davis: what's free and what's covered

TherapyCalifornia Editorial

Updated August 25, 2026 · Sources cited below

Davis runs counselling through Student Health and Counseling Services — "counseling sessions are no cost," funded by the Mental Health Fee and Student Services Fee that every registered student already pays, with no insurance test.¹ There is no published session cap; what the campus publishes is an average — "students on average see their counselor for 3-5 sessions" — which is a description, not a limit, and worth knowing the difference.¹ Its embedded-counsellor programme places clinicians in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science, plus Law, Medicine, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, Graduate Studies and Athletics.¹

The Davis-specific choice is geographic: search locally, include Sacramento, or use telehealth statewide — one California license works across California →. UC SHIP includes an off-campus behavioral-health route, and SHCS referral staff can help you use it. Compare written prices practice by practice: full fee, expected plan cost, cancellation charge and lowest sliding-scale opening. A city average cannot tell you what one appointment will cost.

On a parent's plan: the EOB privacy fix → exists in California law. Money thin — TA stipend, ag-econ realities: Medi-Cal runs on your current income →; Yolo County's access line is (888) 965-6647 — the county's Medi-Cal handbook describes it as running 24 hours a day, while its public web page describes calling it during business hours to book a triage appointment, so treat after-hours as 988 territory². And the quarter-system pressure spike is predictable: book ahead of finals, not during — waitlists work like this →.

Choose the right UC Davis door

First visit: call 530-752-0871. Visits have no separate charge; three to five sessions is a published average, not a cap.
After hours: call the same number and follow the prompts; use 988 if you cannot connect promptly.
Embedded support: ask for the counselor serving your college or graduate/professional school when applicable.
Longer care or medication: ask SHCS for an insurance match and confirm where psychiatry begins and what it costs.

In crisis? Call or text 988 — free, 24/7.

Sources: 1. UC Davis Student Health and Counseling Services and the campus Aggie Mental Health FAQ — shcs.ucdavis.edu and mentalhealth.ucdavis.edu, read 18 August 2026. Counselling Services: 530-752-0871, with after-hours prompts on the same number. 2. Yolo County HHSA behavioral health pages and DMC-ODS beneficiary handbook, read 18 August 2026 · UC SHIP — ucop.edu.

Who this covers

Undergraduate and graduate students

Undergraduates

Currently enrolled undergraduate students can use the campus counseling service under the eligibility and fee rules above.

Graduate students

Currently enrolled graduate students can use the campus counseling service under the eligibility and fee rules above.

Official eligibility source →

Money check

Help paying therapy copays and other costs

These routes are different. A reimbursement fund repays an eligible cost. Emergency aid is reviewed case by case. Insurance pays only under its plan rules.

Direct reimbursement

Health Equity Fund

Who: Registered undergraduate and graduate students eligible for SHCS

What it may pay: $50–$2,500 for eligible out-of-pocket physical or mental-health costs, including off-campus outpatient mental-health care. The $2,500 limit applies across the student’s time at UC Davis.

What to do: Check eligible service dates and the deadline before relying on the award. Save itemized invoices, receipts and insurance explanations of benefits; submit only the documents the official application requests.

Open the official program page →

Official college material checked 2026-08-25. Recheck due 2026-11-23. Aid is never guaranteed: confirm the program is open and approves the cost before relying on it.